Mini Review of “Divergent” & latest Empty Shelf Challenge Reads, including “Healer of Carthage”

My latest reads this week are Healer of Carthage by Lynne Gentry and Divergent by Veronica Roth. (They are books 13 and 14 in my Empty Shelf Challenge!) Two TOTALLY different books. I loved them both for different reasons.

Later next week, I’m excited to post a review of Healer of Carthage AND an interview with author Lynne Gentry. She’s just fabulous!

Here are my thoughts on Divergent, also posted on Goodreads.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Never a dull moment. That sentence best sums up my thoughts on “Divergent”.

It is a skillfully written, fast-paced adventure, exploring themes of bravery, selflessness, sacrifice, and the strength of love. From the beginning, the reader is plunged into the story of Beatrice and her world. Veronica used a proper combination of action and feeling to convey each scene. I loved getting to know the characters through the course of the book.

The only reason I did not give it 5 stars was my dislike of some of the content. Mild profanity, depictions of drinking, and some of the suggestive content cause me to hesitate. I would give it a “PG-13” rating. The violence I expected, but some of the other content I did not, considering its popularity among young teens.

Despite the reasons above, I still thoroughly enjoyed “Divergent” and would recommend it to YA, Dystopian, and Sci-Fi fans alike. Because I typically read Christian or Inspirational fiction, I would caution someone reading “Divergent” to keep in mind that it IS secular fiction.

I definitely plan to finish this series – I can’t wait to see what predicaments Tris gets into next!

View all my reviews on Goodreads

 

Have you read either of these books? What are your thoughts, from a Christian perspective, on Divergent? Have you seen the movie?