Has anyone else read the Divergent series? Spoilers!

behsco90

So this weekend BF and I went to see the movie, helllloooooo Theo James   I decided to read the books and I finished the 3rd one last night (I'm a big bookworm and once I start a book it's hard for me to put it down so yeah...)  I think I liked the movie better than the first book, but maybe that's because I saw the movie first and read the book second.

Spoilers below....













Anyways, I wish I would have listened to the Amazon reviews on the third book, Allegiant.  It was a pretty big disappointment.  Sometimes I don't mind a sad ending where the main character dies, and throughout the book I was kind of assuming that would happen since she was switching between Tris and Tobias point of views, but I felt like Tris dying was pointless.  I wish I would have just read the first two books and stopped there, but of course I had to know what was beyond the fence!

Also I feel like Four's character got lost in the 3rd book.

Pretty much it felt like she just wrote the third book in one night and decided to call it good.  I'm hoping the next third movie will be better than the book...I wonder if they'll change the ending.

What did you guys think?

behsco90

I feel like the script and the characters in the movie are so much more well written than in the book.  When I was reading the book, sometimes I felt like they were a bunch of 12 year olds running around (maybe that was just me? Idk).  In the movie they feel more developed and mature.

I don't really remember who Finnick Odair is in the book, it's been awhile since I've read the books and seen the movies.

No I haven't read the Maze Runner series, but I just saw a preview for the movie last night.  Are they any good?  Just based on the preview, I would assume the books were written for middle schoolers, but maybe the books are different?  When I read the Hunger Games, that's how I felt but the plot was enough for me to keep reading.

WinstonsGirl

Maze Runner is also young adult, but I haven't read it.  I felt Divergent was just good, but good throughout, whereas HG was amazing and then tanked by the third book.  I did find the chemistry a little off between Tris and Four though, with the should we sleep together, but we're only 16 thing.  I though it would have been a bit more believable if they were 18/20.  It just didn't feel right the way it was done

behsco90

@WinstonsGirl - I also felt the 3rd book of Hunger Games was kinda lame.  We'll see how the third movie turns out.  I also was wondering, Are they gonna sleep together? But then I figured they wouldn't because of the age and the fact that it was more of a young adult book.

@shrekspeare - I'm not on GoodReads but I just looked it up and I will definitely join.  BF and another coworker have not read/finished the Divergent books yet, so I needed to talk about the books with someone!  And I will download a sample of Maze Runner.  I'm out of books to read now that I've finished the Divergent series.

JCbride2015

WinstonsGirl said:

Maze Runner is also young adult, but I haven't read it.  I felt Divergent was just good, but good throughout, whereas HG was amazing and then tanked by the third book.  I did find the chemistry a little off between Tris and Four though, with the should we sleep together, but we're only 16 thing.  I though it would have been a bit more believable if they were 18/20.  It just didn't feel right the way it was done

@WinstonsGirl LOL was this an actual conversation that was vocalized in the movie?  Awkward.  In the books I think Four is 18 and Tris is 16, so the sexual tension isn't that weird.  And I'm sure the actors in the movie are actually older than that.

I did not love the series.  I really liked the first book and then I felt the whole "experiment" explanation for the dystopia was just lame.  It would have been better if they just never explained what happened and kept on with the faction war storyline.  

I actually thought it worked that Tris died, though.  She struggled with self-sacrifice through the whole series and the death made a lot of sense for her character.  I remember impressed than an otherwise lame series had the guts to pull that off.

Meanwhile I loved HG.  I think it was much better written and more meaningful.

WinstonsGirl

@JCBride2014 - No, there was no conversation in either the book or the movie.  It was just a general undertone in the book that didn't seem to really fit.  It's like the author was trying to develop this possible romance/character development and it didn't really fit in with the book.  It just felt awkward overall.  

tcnoble

@sbehbaha I read the series, loved it, and LOOOOVED the movie. Okay okay I mostly loved Theo James. I am usually really disappointed when a book becomes a movie but I wasn't disappointed at all. I loved Ashley Judd's role, and how they brought in Kate Winslet to amp up that role more. I was also disappointed with the third book, but I'm finding as I read more and more trilogies I'm very rarely happy with the final ending. I want it to keep going!

I just finished the Delirium series - IMO a great read. Ashes was another REALLY great series. I finished the three books in less than a week. Check out the Ashes series for sure. I don't think it will ever make it to the big screen because it is pretty gruesome and less warm-and-fuzzy.

Currently reading the first book in the Legend series.

Not sure why these types of story lines are so enticing but I'm enjoying them! I vary between those types and the 50 shades/trashy indulgence books, quite the contrasting story lines haha

arrippa

tcnoble said:

@sbehbaha I read the series, loved it, and LOOOOVED the movie. Okay okay I mostly loved Theo James. I am usually really disappointed when a book becomes a movie but I wasn't disappointed at all. I loved Ashley Judd's role, and how they brought in Kate Winslet to amp up that role more. I was also disappointed with the third book, but I'm finding as I read more and more trilogies I'm very rarely happy with the final ending. I want it to keep going!

I just finished the Delirium series - IMO a great read. Ashes was another REALLY great series. I finished the three books in less than a week. Check out the Ashes series for sure. I don't think it will ever make it to the big screen because it is pretty gruesome and less warm-and-fuzzy.

Currently reading the first book in the Legend series.

Not sure why these types of story lines are so enticing but I'm enjoying them! I vary between those types and the 50 shades/trashy indulgence books, quite the contrasting story lines haha

I agree! I kept getting Divergent and Delirium series mixed up.  Delirium was good,  Divergent was not.

tcnoble

@moemacwed30594 I LOOOOOVED Delirium!! Finished that series in less than a week too. Again, another trilogy where I wasn't crazy about the ending, but the first two kept me going. 

tcnoble

Double post

beharrington

So the movie is better?  I read all three Divergent books and keep telling people I wish the author would have put down the plot and had someone else write the book.  Just bad writing.

Chipmunk415

I got the impression that Tris and Four actually did end up sleeping together the night before Four went back to Chicago and Tris died. In HG, I did like the tie back to Finnick at the end that SPOILER he and annie had a baby boy.

WinstonsGirl

I think they did, but all the lead up just felt awkward to me

behsco90

@tcnoble - Theo James is VERY nice eye candy!  I saw the movie for a second time with a coworker last night, and was drooling pretty much the entire time

@beharrington - I thought the movie was better.  I felt like the books were a little "dumbed" down for me.  Plus of course in the movie they left a lot of unimportant scenes out.

@Chipmunk415 and @WinstonsGirl - I was thinking maybe they did sleep together that night, but wasn't sure...maybe the author just didn't imply it very well for me.