Divergent Isn't Much of a Dystopia

I've mentioned Divergent by Veronica Roth, but barely read it. The book series is labeled "The new/next The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins." There are similarities, but the dystopic society in Divergent isn't as developed as in The Hunger Games. There will be spoilers in this post to explain why I think Divergent is a weak dystopia. I try to be vague.

Immediate Reaction

The beginning of Divergent felt slow and for a younger audience than The Hunger Games. I also saw a big flaw in the dystopic society. Dystopic societies are false utopias because they have flaws and usually have false intentions from rulers, but the society is typically united as a whole even if the citizens do not believe the government's proclamations.

Single belief broadcast everywhere in Equilibrium.

The dystopic society in the movie Equilibrium concluded that emotion caused war so emotion was eliminated with sedatives. They united under this envisioned utopia. Violence is used only on those who oppose.

In Divergent, separation from different races, religions, and politics is proclaimed as a cause of war. So for peace they decide to unite by values. However, they remain separated by dividing into factions with different single values. For example, the Dauntless faction live brave, but they have the aggression that Amity faction forbids. This society does not share the same vision and the new arrangement does not sound too different from before. The difference is that you live with people of same expressed thinking. You're still part of the same nation as those who are different..

Shirt design of The Hunger Games districts.

Districts in The Hunger Games have unique cultures as a result of their different production and climates. They all have the same rules from the same ruler. If one district disobeys, then all are punished. The districts are united from the same ruler and on-going punishment. To keep them from uniting into a force against the ruler, they are physically separated from each other. The government forces two children from each district to fight each other annually.

Divergent doesn't have a single ruler figure. One faction has the society's government positions as their contribution.

Factions in Divergent see each other in public areas such as school so anyone can notice the obvious differences. As different as different countries. The devoted members despise the other factions. "We are right. Those guys are arrogant. And these guys are actually ruled by greed." The factions automatically fight each other. They don't even pretend to work towards the same goal, which is peace.

The curious ones observe and consider leaving their own faction. At age 16, everyone chooses which faction to live the rest of their life. Although choosing another faction is felt as betrayal and "Faction before family" is taught to those who change, the choice has too much freedom for a dystopic society. Someone else choosing for you or rigged test results is more dystopic.

But I Still Got Hooked

The concept of living under one value and denying yourself the rest is interesting. The freedom to choose another faction isn't dystopic, but it's interesting too.

Left to right the factions are Dauntless, Erudite,
Candor, Selfless, and Amity.

The main character, Beatrice "Tris," may seem more passive than other heroines because she was raised to be selfless, but she has attitude. She has the teen problems of not meeting family and society expectations.

I was hooked after Tris made her choice. I enjoyed her reactions to new experiences such as running for fun. The author Veronica Roth gave a good description for that example. The story became thrill action militaristic adventure now that she had to pass the initiation for the faction to accept her. This part is the majority of the book. The teen interactions reminded me of the military sci-fi Insignia.

Another problem I had though was that Tris separated herself from everyone with the label Divergent. Even after agreeing with the boy Four that we should have all the values not choose one and put down others. I felt like I was hearing, "I'm special. Who else is one of the special people like me?" instead of "We are all human. Humans cannot live limited by one value. We are all those values." Hopefully she learns in another book.

Then I Lost Interest

After the initiation, the story changed quickly. The evil mastermind and the evil plan appeared. I thought they were weak. A peer during initiation is a stronger antagonist. I lost interest in reading the rest especially as certain characters died. Their deaths were weak scenes. One event was too close to one in Mockingjay, the 3rd book of The Hunger Games.

I had hoped that these events were a simulation. That would explain the quick weak turns. That was the only way I'd be pleased, but the weak events were not a simulation. It was a short section left but I still wasn't eager to read it.

I don't know if the next book Insurgent has a thrill ride too, but I'll stop at Divergent. I'd recommend Divergent for its teen identity struggles, trials, and "What if.." concept, but not as a dystopia. I'll probably see the movie in March 2014 with friends.

Fall of Games

The movie adaptations for Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game comes out on Nov. 1 and Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire is Nov. 22.

Ender's Game was published in 1970s. The series is more military sci-fi than dystopic. I read it about 8 years ago in high school. I've also read Ender's Shadow, Speaker for the Dead, and half of Shadow of the Hegemon. There are more books for this universe, but I'm content with how much I read already.  I recommend Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow.

Speaker for the Dead is the drama and biological science part of the series. I don't remember military in it. I liked most of it, but maybe I didn't understand a dark moment at the end. I didn't think I'd read it again, but now I think I might. As a heads-up, Speaker for the Dead has Portuguese dialogue that isn't translated. Because I know some Spanish, I was able to understand some lines.

Any movie ad for Ender's Game gets me excited. I am most excited to see the training room on the screen! :D A key element of the story though is compassion.  Here's the trailer:

This video states the similarities and differences between Ender's Game and The Hunger Games:

The trailer for Ender's Game left me with some goosebumps, but The Hunger Games' 2nd movie, Catching Fire, left me teary.

The first movie felt more like an introduction to the series so I expect more from Catching Fire for the social aspect of the world. The trailer covers it and also the question of how can a dystopic society have living idolized victors? : )

I thought Divergent was coming out next fall, but the release is March 2014. I'm still on the library's waitlist for the book, but now I know I can read Brave New World first.

For now, I'm interested in watching Guillermo Del Toro's movie Pacific Rim next month.

I'm hoping for a social/cultural aspect to the connected minds. Pacific Rim looks fun otherwise.

Half-way Through Insignia

I have been picky on sci-fi books this summer. Currently, I am half-way through Insignia by S. J. Kincaid, and I am already more trilled and satisfied than from I, Robot: To Protect and The Maze Runner. If you were in the same room as me as I read Insignia, then you would become intrigued and jealous from how much I laugh and gasp.

Insignia is a new Young Adult (YA) Sci-Fi book published this past July. I found about it from the Dark Days of Summer promotional event for YA dystopias such as Insurgent by Veronica Ruth. I did not attend the event, but it was successful if non-attendees read the books because of the promotion. The first half of Insignia has more military and cyber themes than a dystopic theme.

Reviewers on GoodReads.com described Insignia as "Ender's Game and Harry Potter." Kid recruits are divided into divisions according to talents, but the half point of the book is when it feels more like Hogwarts. The hacker attacks and divisions points reminded me of wizard duels and the houses. By the way, a hacker's target is more personal than your computer. I leave that aspect for you to find out because it is part of the main story for the series.

Still need to look good for the camera.

If those two book comparisons are not enough for you, then how about the need for a sponsor like in The Hunger Games? A sponsorship in Insignia involves more politics and businesses like the fictional war does. Teen soldiers are recruited to fight by controlling robots. The book has an interesting mix.

I recommend Insignia. The beginning may feel too young for older audiences, but hang in there until Tom Raines, the main character, is recruited. It has numerous fun moments and conflicts. The characters have more depth than in The Maze Runner.

Insignia is a series like all the other books I listed. I am not going to read the next installment of I, Robot: To Protect or The Maze Runner, but I am eager for Kincaid's book after Insignia.

Let me know if you read Insignia. =)

Catching Fire: Likes & Dislikes

Hello. I felt guilty for most of December and so far in January, thinking I lacked a blog post for December. I did managed to write at least one blog though. December and probably November were busy for everyone--they were for me!

During that time, I finished Catching Fire (CF), the second book for The Hunger Games series. I can't say as much for that book as I did for the first one. First, I'll say what I liked, but there will be minor & major spoilers. I recommend that you have read at least up to Part 2 in Catching Fire:

• Character Interaction: Generally, I think I liked the interaction between Katniss and other characters better in CF. Darius became one of my favorite characters. As for Peeta, he was sweet and cute in the first book, but it was too mushy for me. He shows himself to be more than a love star in CF with his reactions and speeches.
• Revisiting District 12: I was happy to read about Katniss' hometown again. We get to learn more about characters such as Haymitch (a favorite of mine) and the district's history.
• Revisiting Mother/Daughter Relationship: In the first book, we immediately see how numb and hardened Katniss is from having to keep her family alive not just herself. Taking on this role caused her to dislike her mother. So I am pleased to see that with all essentials covered, Katniss makes an effort to understand her mother and have a better relationship. Katniss gets along better even with the cat!
• Twist in the Game (major spoilers!): When I first read that victors were safe for the rest of their lives, I saw a flaw for this dystopian society. The games demonstrate the authority's power over its subjects. Tributes are suppose to be examples of that power enforced, but the victors are actually examples of the districts' strength by beating the authority's obstacles and surviving. Allowing the victor such freedom and rewards in a dystopian society is illogical without a catch or at least behind-the-scenes punishment. Punishment is exactly what I expected and waited to read for Katniss and Peeta. Because the continued love story seemed to be the main punishment, I smiled from satisfaction and excitement when victors were re-entered into the games. I nodded my head to author Suzanne Collins for seeing that victors were a threat to the Capitol. I was also impressed with the game arena and that the cover of the book reflected it.

Wow. I am glad I decided to include spoilers because I had a lot to say for just those topics. I changed my blog title to the book's title and bumped off discussing other books.

Here are three problems I had with Catching Fire:

• Who is Katniss? After surviving the game, but no longer fighting to survive in the district, Katniss does not know herself in this book. Therefore, the reader does not get to know Katniss better other than circumstances and history. Readers may still sympathize for her because she feels trapped and confused. I realized that I missed Katniss when she re-entered the game. Her attitude may not be as strong as in the first game, but her will returned. In CF, Katniss' cluelessness expands to more than love so readers may get annoyed. If you caught on more than she did, then the ending will not be a confusing turn in events.
• Slow Burn (major spoilers!): I had expected enforced law, but the oppression felt too long for me to endure from Katniss' position and perspective. The plot starts to build once a certain character gets whipped, but then it draws on a bit. At this point, I took a break from the book because I was overwhelmed. When the new tributes were announced, I was thankful for the humor and thrill that was needed to balance the oppression, helplessness, and panic. The character Finnick contributed to this balance. He became one of my favorite characters. 
• CF Feels Like a Bridge: The second book felt mainly transitional. Without reading Mockingjay, I can tell that CF is the bridge between the first and last books. Therefore, I do not see CF as a book itself. The direction changes numerous times, but overall the plot is about transition as well. The Capitol returns to stronger enforcements and people figure out if they are rebels or not.  The rest is confusion and fear.

Family and friends have told me that Catching Fire was the long, boring book of the series. So you have to finish the second book in order to get to Mockingjay and decide if the first or last book is your favorite.

My family warned me before I started the series that it got harsh with each book. I read Catching Fire sooner than I planned to do so; therefore, I will not jumped to Mockingjay yet. I also heard that Mocking is brutal so I am encouraged more to take a break from the series.

I am still looking forward to The Hunger Games movie and still hoping that the social commentary is kept. =)

If Catching Fire is actually your favorite of the three books, please tell me what you thought of it.

Pausing One Dystopia For Another

My younger sister talks about the movie adaptation for The Hunger Games by Susan Collins in March 2011. Even my mom has read the series already. Haha. Thus, I bumped the first book higher on my reading list and have even stopped reading  Nineteen Eighty-Four  by George Orwell.  (I may have spoilers in this post!)

 Nineteen Eighty-Four has been a slow read for me, especially because I note elements of dystopic societies such as systems and rules. Here is my book with color-coded sticky notes (I barely passed the half-point):

I wrote on only a few sticky notes. The rest just mark passages.


The Hunger Games has been a faster read, which makes this book better than Nineteen Eighty-Four  for young adults. Sometimes Nineteen Eighty-Four  has long passages about regulations that are close to a manual.

I'm glad I read past chapter 2 before I wrote this post. I'm on Chapter 6, and I have placed 4 sticky notes (I limit myself because the book is my younger sister's).

At first I noticed how the main character, Katniss, is not as blind as many dystopic protagonists. She disagrees with her society and knows how little the government cares for people in her district. Winston in Nineteen Eighty-Four is the same way, but Katniss' attitude is stronger. Then I felt that she knew too much, especially for an adolescent.  Also twice already a moment was explained instantly instead of letting the read figure it out.

However, when Katniss changes her mind about Peeta's motives, I saw that she is confident in her view of things (The reader gets to interpret!)  This quality makes her seem more dystopic and adolescent to me. She may be blind about some facts after all.

The Hunger Games does differ from other dystopias by starting the story after a rebellion. Society has already stood against the government, and the people now face the consequences of their failure. The oppressed life has become more harsh for all common folk.

In addition, Katniss is in the same position as Julia in Nineteen Eighty-Four but the attitude and situation differ.  Julia represents the generation born into the dystopic world. She has grown up oppressed and cannot imagine a world without the current government. She breaks rules for fun. However, she is shown through Winston's eyes who has memories prior to the dystopic world.

As for Katniss' world, the adults who remember the failed rebellion seem to have broken spirits. The generation of Katniss may be broken as well from the consequences and conditions. However, survival is more at stake. Thee will to survive and refusal to accept imposed ways show potential and hope.

Suzanne Collins does a terrific job of keeping her readers in anticipation. I long for answers to my questions such as, "Once tributes enter the game, are they stuck in there until the game's over?" (I think I know the answer already but I have to see the answer. Haha). I try to read whole chapters at a time to pass the suspense of just that moment.

Who has read or is reading The Hunger Games? Please do not say anything pass the training center though. I long to see my questions answered.

Do you mark passages outside of school?