I’ve been AWOL for about two weeks from blogging. I went “Divergent” so to speak. I traveled to the Washington, D.C. and the Northern Virginia area for my adult “spring break,” visiting old friends from when I once lived there and seeing some sights. It was a really fun trip. To the left is a photo of the National Gallery of Art, where I saw an interesting exhibit, a portrait of American life, from the photos Garry Winogrand took from the 1950s to his death in 1984. Check out the exhibit if you get a chance.
Then after getting back home our dog Stella became ill and had to go to the emergency vet hospital, which turned our world upside down. After 3 1/2 days of care there, it appears luckily she’s going to be okay to our great relief. She had tested positive for exposure to an antifreeze-type of toxin, which we don’t know exactly where she was exposed to, but we are taking all precautions and have taken our car to get checked for any leaks. We are so fortunate to have her back from what was a life-threatening situation. I think my anxiety went through the roof, but we were very lucky and now she’s back home being her regular Lab self. Oh thank goodness!
I did read “Divergent” while flying back and forth from D.C. Surely, Veronica Roth’s 2011 dystopian young-adult novel made for a good airplane/spring-break-kind-of read, even though I’m typically not a frequent YA reader. It’s got action, suspense, a little love story and an easy reading level. (Maybe too easy?) Am I the last one to have read this bestseller? Probably. I plan to see the movie of it soon, but I haven’t seen it just yet. The movie took in $56 million on its opening weekend, which isn’t too shabby but is nowhere near “The Hunger Games” box-office haul.
If I were to compare the “Divergent” book to “The Hunger Games,” I’d have to say that I found Suzanne Collins’s book better written, but I still enjoyed “Divergent” and found it somewhat similar; they both have 16-year-old protagonists who must undergo enormous physical challenges in a post-apocalyptic world. “Divergent’s” premise though seemed rather hokey to me that people were divided into factions based on their predispositions to Candor, Erudite, Dauntless, Abnegation and Amity. On their way to building a utopia it seems the survivors must have forgotten their heads, believing that by separating people by character would solve society’s problems. (Good luck with that.) But what the heck, I was going to go with it.
The book gets good though when Tris goes off to undergo the initiation process for the Dauntless (brave) faction. The dueling cliques that form between the initiates and the training scenes are some of the best, as Tris jumps in and out of trains, hurls down a wire from the top of the old Sears Tower, and goes through exposure therapy and simulations to try to eradicate fears. The training reminded me a bit of the book “Ender’s Game.” Though along the way Tris falls for her trainer, which isn’t in that one.
And of course, she has a secret and isn’t solely Dauntless. The ending is an action page-turner as the Erudite faction tries to violently take control and Tris is one of the few who can stop them. I look forward to seeing how the movie handles the book. One movie critic I read said the movie is “more satisfying than the bestseller that inspired it.” Could it be true? Have you seen it and what did you think?
On top of “Divergent,” I just finished “The Rosie Project,” which is a romantic comedy that I read for my book club. We are going to discuss it on Tuesday, so I will gather my thoughts about it and write more later. I did mostly enjoy “The Rosie Project” and thought it was clever. It’s about a socially-challenged man’s search for the perfect wife. By the time Rosie comes along she’s so wrong according to his criteria but so right for him regardless. The story’s both funny and charming.
What did you think? Have you read this one?
I am actually going to start reading The Rosie Project this coming week.
Cool. I’ll check out to see what you think about it.
I am so glad Stella is okay! I can just imagine how nerve-wracking that must have been for you.
It sounds like you had a pleasant spring break! I would love a vacation right about now. Alas, I’ll be lucky if I can get away this summer at all. I just have to be content with my weekends for now. 🙂
I really enjoyed Divergent, both the book and the movie. I hadn’t expected to like them so much, which may be part of the reason why–low expectations. There was a lot that was hard to believe, but in the midst of reading, I didn’t notice–I was enjoying the story so much.
I haven’t read The Rosie Project, but it’s getting lots of good reviews from fellow bloggers. I am not sure yet if I want to read it.
Thanks that’s so nice of you to say about Stella. She’s all right luckily. I’m glad to hear you liked the Divergent movie. I’ll have to check it out.
I really want to see Divergent on screen. I enjoyed the first book, but unfortunately, the series went downhill for me. And I have heard so many good things about The Rosie Project – it is on my to-read list.
thanks Carrie. Yeah from your reviews I’m not sure about continuing with the Divergent series. Besides, I have too much else to read right now. So for now, I’ll leave it with Divergent book 1.
I am so glad your pup is okay! I wonder how she got into the antifreeze?? I’ve noticed with my pup, that when I give her certain treats, her stomach does not do well on them and she almost always takes a nosedive very quickly. I make sure the treats are not from China but I was told by a vet to give her real stuff, like pig ears or bully sticks but when I do, she does not tolerate them at all. I end up having to give her organic pumpkin to clean her up. So now, no more of that stuff even though it’s supposed to be natural. Did your dog have any treats like that?
Divergent. I thought it was an okay read. Not great enough to get me to read the other books in the trilogy but good for what it was.
My dog enjoys pumpkin kind of dog cookies which her stomach seems to do well with. How she became ill is quite a mystery, but I feel good we fixed a small leak on the car.
Yeah I’m not sure if I will continue with the Divergent trilogy, maybe later in the future.
I’m so glad your dog is okay! What a nightmare to have to go through all that. As my dogs get older and older, I’m becoming an absolute mess every time I think something’s wrong with them.
I read Divergent a couple of years ago and thought it was okay. I haven’t had the desire to pick up the second book and felt no real need to go see the film. The guy cast as Four bothers me – which is a shallow reason not to see a movie, I know. But I have a hard time looking at his face with anything other than a grimace, lol.
The Rosie Project sounds like the ideal book for my bean bag chair outside in the summer sun.
Thanks Brooke. Yeah my dog is okay luckily, so glad! Whew. I hope you enjoy your bean bag reading, sounds like a perfect spot. At this rate, I wont see Divergent till it comes on TV. hmm