The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth is a thrilling narrative of a 16 year-old girl and her battle for self-identity. Told in a first-person present-tense voice, the character Beatrice Prior is reminiscent of Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games. However, unlike Katniss, Beatrice or Tris, begins by making a self-focused choice and must gradually learn self-sacrifice through the plot of the three book series.
There are several big ideas in this book worth chewing on, but I have some reservations about recommending this book for teens (much less younger kids). Let me lay out the positive and negative aspects of this series so you can make a better decision (or, at the least, be informed) about if your child should read this series.
Negatives:
- Violence. There are several disturbing images, though they are not too graphically described. These include a boy who was knifed in the eye and a bloated body post suicide, as well as multiple fight scenes (both hand-to-hand and with guns) and several resulting deaths.
- Revenge. Tris is full of revengeful thoughts for those who have hurt her or the ones she loves, and though she rarely acts out on them, we hear her inner narrative.
- Lying. The ability to lie is viewed as laudable by the main character (though not all characters), and she does a fair amount of it, albeit usually to protect herself or others.
- Sensuality. This is my primary reason for not wanting to recommend this book to teens (or tweens) who are already overly hormonal. While it is unclear if the relationship is fully consummated, every touch and sensation are described with titillating detail (much more graphically than the violence). This includes kissing, laying in bed, touching under clothes, and pressing bodies together.
Other factors you may want to be aware of that exist in this series: suicide and homosexuality.
Positives:
- Big Ideas. This book will make you think. It might even make your kid look up words in the dictionary (the names of the five Factions that society is broken into are all archaic words for different virtues: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, and Amity). When are these qualities virtues and when are they taken to the extreme? What is the human condition?
- Self-sacrifice. This is a huge theme in the books, and really, the greatest gift is has to offer its reader. Our society in general, and youth in particular, are so self-focused that this is a very appropriate and poignant message.
- Independence. An admirable quality about the main character is her ability to make the hard choice when it has to be made, regardless of what others will think.
So, now you have my take. I hope this helps you make an informed decision about whether to allow your child to read this series or gives you ideas of how to discuss it with them.
Of course, as parents, we all need to have times when we loosen our control and allow our children to prepare to make decisions and deal with more mature subject matter. If this is where you find yourself with your child and choose to allow her to read the Divergent series, I have prepared a discussion guide for the series as a whole that you may find helpful. Click the link below to download it.
Divergent Series Discussion Guide (includes spoilers)
If your tween is looking for a great (appropriate) dystopian series, try The City of Ember.
Would you allow your child to read Divergent? I’d love to know why or why not.
Wow, thank you. This is great coverage of the book series. I used to take the time to read everything my preteens were reading. By the time they get to high school, it’s impossible to keep up. This is a very helpful review! I need to stop back by again for other book reviews. Thanks!
Thanks for the encouragement! I know none of us have time to keep up with every book our kids want to read. The more book blogs, the better for all of us! 🙂
I definitely think this book/series needs to wait for older teens (I would think at least 16). I have mixed feelings over this series as a whole though after reading the final book.
I completely agree! I’ve been very concerned at how often this book is recommended for younger readers. A friend had someone at her church give it to her for her 6th grader to read! I know none of us can pre-read everything, but I do feel like we need to be informed about what our kids are reading. Thanks for checking in! 🙂
I had heard some Christians say these books were worthwhile reads, but while seeing the review above I really have my own hesitations.
Especially with the sensuality. Do we really need to feed that in our teens??
Thanks so much for sharing this book review with us on this week’s Mom 2 Mom Link Up Party! Hope you come join us again soon with more posts, Rachael @ Diamonds in the Rough
I can see where they are coming from, in some ways, as there is so much you could discuss with your teen about these books, but the intense sensuality makes it a no-go for us. I’m especially concerned about younger kids reading this book. A friend of mine was handed this book at her church for her 6th-grader and told it was wonderful with no caveats. I have a problem with that.
Thanks for the opportunity to link up! I’ll be back! 🙂