“Divergent,” many of us have read it and even more have watched the movie. But which is better? This has been an ongoing argument since the movie came out in 2014.

The very popular book “Divergent” by Veronica Roth published on April 26th 2011, takes place in Chicago in the far future. The city has been divided into 5 factions: Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the kind), Erudite (the intelligent), Abnegation (the selfless), and Candor (the honest). Everyone is supposed to fit into one group so the city can survive. However, there is a group of people who don’t fit into any one group: the Divergent. The story is about a divergent who makes a dangerous choice.

I think that in some ways the book is better because in the movie the Dauntless is set up the way Eric (the main antagonist) wants Dauntless. There are no weaknesses anymore, and almost all structure in initiation is thrown out the window. Instead of the initiates being trained in three forms of fighting before getting pitted against each other; the initiates were taught a few punches and kicks and then told to fight. Additionally, when they play capture the flag, they use stem darts, that simulate the pain of a bullet wound, instead of paintballs. I think that these changes make the book seem better, because it is not as gruesome as the movie was made out to be.  

One of the ways the movie is better, however, is that there is no fight between the initiates where Edward ends up getting stabbed in the eye. Which takes away the rivalry between Peter (The secondary antagonist) and Edward (A sweet boy who made a mistake choosing Dauntless), but it is better for people like me who hated that part anyway and are glad that they took it out for the movie. Another quality I love from the movie is that Tobias (The Dauntless initiate instructor) who is also known as Four is more protective of Tris (The protagonist) than he was in the book. He is always giving her pointers and protects her at all costs. The movie gives us a better look at their relationship. I think these aspects make the movie better.

Although they both have their good and bad qualities, I overall prefer the book.

Until the next book!