I don't often do little reviews like this on the blog (at least, not since the beginning of my blog years ago), but Ryan and I sat down and actually watched the Divergent movie yesterday for the first time, and I felt the need to actually write down my thoughts on it. It's rare that I actually feel passionate enough - good or bad - to write a review, but I have to be honest…I can't help it with this one.

Part of the great power and charm of Divergent, the novel, is the fact that this passive, conformist society had such a sociopathic underbelly just teeming with dissatisfaction, resentment and power struggles. I found it to be a searing and scathing portrayal of what society could actually become someday, so reading the novel was extremely profound. Likewise, watching Tris grow into her own, find herself in a militant and powerful faction was a real treat - not to mention empowering to women everywhere.

Unfortunately, when we watched Divergent, the movie, both my husband and I felt a little bit cheated by the adaptation. Yes, we realize that cinematic portrayals will always take certain liberties for dramatic effect, but we felt as though the movie lost the actual power of the novel altogether. Rather than focus on this broken society, we get a brief interlude here and there about why society is split into factions, and then we focus on Tris's relationship with Four from there on in. Frankly, I feel as though Tris's character didn't resonate nearly as much as she did in the novel either.

Four was, and is, quiet and brooding, and I could definitely appreciate the fact that he fit the bill for me in the movie. However, I feel as though part of his tortured past that defined him so clearly in the novel was also simply glossed over. Whereas I wanted to see Tris and Four connect on a deeper level than just their Divergent connection, I felt as though we were left to settle for a cinematic, teeny-bopper romance that didn't capture a fraction of the power within the novel. Furthermore, both my husband and I remarked that the introduction of Dauntless in the movie was vaguely reminiscent of West Side Story, and I half expected these "hooligans" to break into song and start snapping.

Yes, I'm being extremely harsh about this movie, but when I see an adaption like The Hunger Games soar despite my expectations, I begin to understand that it actually is possible. Yet, I want more than just a pretty onscreen romance. I want power, and depth, and backstory, and it can be done. Sadly though, the Divergent movie just didn't do it for us, and we were sorely disappointed.

Did any of you watch the Divergent movie? If so, what did you think about it?

Title: Four
Author: Veronica Roth (Twitter)
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publish Date: July 8, 2014
Genre: YA, Dystopian
Pages: 208
Source: Publisher

Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation’s faction leader did the same. Tobias’s transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child.

Newly christened “Four,” he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future—and the future of the entire faction system.

Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

Fans of the Divergent trilogy know, love and appreciate what a fantastic hero Four, or Tobias, is throughout the series. However, we also know that Divergent is Tris's story, and it's her path to her destiny. While we're privy to plenty of Four's story, there were countless times through the series that I wanted more from his perspective. I wanted to know, to feel and to fully comprehend what he had to face to become the person he is today. Finally, Veronica Roth has given us what I'm sure many others hope for, as well; a deeper glimpse inside the mind of our hero, Four.

The beauty and curse of Four is a bit of a double-edged sword. Reading the story through his eyes made me wish that we could see the entire series all over again through the same perspective. There is something wholeheartedly refreshing about his journey to personal freedom and integrity that speaks to my soul, and reading the novel really clarified exactly why he because such a beloved character for many. His strength of person, his crisp, clear and passionate point of view shine through these four installments, and it's something I wish I could have read much more of.

It's always a bit difficult to analyze novellas, simply because they're such small snippets of the larger overall picture. Four is no exception to the rule and, in fact, pretty much epitomizes why I want so much more from novellas and tend to steer clear of them. All of that said though, Ms. Roth does a beautiful job of painting four of the main parts of the Divergent story from Four's point of view. While I worried it might feel a bit too familiar and commonplace after having read the full series, the beauty of this collection is that it feels so separate and singular - meaning that Four shines, while when we see Tris, she's clearly a secondary character.

The true talent of this collection, however, is how beautifully Ms. Roth has managed to string avid fans like myself into her incredible world, yet again. Through the eyes of Four, I got to see how he truly because a member of Dauntless, how he met and fell for Tris and how he coped with the incredible changes and challenges that dominated his life. And, while these four novellas definitely tied whatever those missing elements from the series might have been back together, Four stands alone in its raw power and insight into our beloved character's heart.

It's rare for me to read a novella and come away feeling satisfied, but while I wasn't entirely fulfilled (because hey, who doesn't want more), I loved reading every bit of these novellas from Four's eyes. Fans of the series will fall hard for Four all over again, I'm sure. I give this collection a 4.5 out of 5, and I highly recommend it to all fans of YA, especially those who are fans of the Divergent series and love dystopian novels.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists over at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week they will post a new top ten list that one of our bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a great way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

The Top Ten Character Names That I Love

1. Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter - Umm...Dumbledore? This one doesn't need an explanation, really. There's something about it that just rolls off the tongue, and it fits his persona perfectly. As an aside, I once had a fish named Dumbledore.

2. Finnick Odair from The Hunger Games - Honestly, it sounds like a cocky name, and as he's quite the cocky fellow, it works. Plus, it's just different enough to capture my attention, but it's not to weird to leave me wondering where the heck his name came from.

3. Jace from The Mortal Instruments - Doesn't  his name just scream bad boy? Well, it did before everyone and their aunt started naming their babies Jace. But he'll always be the first.

4. Adelice from the Crewel World Series - It seems like a fitting name for a fairytale-esque type of story, but it's not too strange that I wouldn't see it in, say, Utah. But really, I just love it.

5. Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars - I don't know why, but I just love this name. It's so different from teen heartthrob names, and it really just sound utterly genuine...just like his character.

6. Spencer from Pretty Little Liars - I've been swearing up and down for years that when I have a daughter, I'll name her Spencer (sorry, Ryan, it will happen). There's something about girls with boys' names.

7. Glenn from Magisterium - Like I said...girls with boys' names. I think it makes them a little quirkier, plus, they're not quite so frou-frou, so I don't immediately expect them to fall into the pitiful YA girl trap.

8. Delaney from Fracture - It's quirky and it's off-beat, which really embodies her character. Plus, I think I know a grand total of one person named Delaney, and she's great.

9. Rhine from the Chemical Garden Series - I love, love, love this name. It's feminine, it's sweet and it's not too different that it makes me want to pull my hair out and wonder why? It embodies her character.

10. Tobias/Four from Divergent - Frankly, you could call him just about anything, and I would still think he's hot. That's just honest. I'd totally call him Four though. It has a nice ring to it.

Today's Top Ten Tuesday post is actually one I did back in 2011 (go figure...clearly I've been blogging too long), so I decided to feature a little something else today. Guys, in case you didn't know, other things happened at Sunday's MTV VMA awards than Miley Cyrus killing the image of Hannah Montana forever.

What could possibly have topped that, you ask? Well, they released the first official Divergent trailer, of course! I, for one, have been terrified to see what Hollywood is doing with one of my favourite series, so I watched it with baited breath. If you've yet to see it, please feel free to check it out below:

But here's the thing, my friends. I really liked it. I was so, so, so skeptical of seeing Shailene Woodley in the role of Tris because, let's be honest, all I know her in is The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and that didn't really have any emotion in it at all. I'm not yet sure how I feel about the casting of Theo James as Four, but I really think there might be hope for Divergent yet.
I certainly have no expectations for this film to be better with the book because I really don't think that's possible. However, I think it's important to separate the two, to an extent. And, by thinking of the trailer as such, I have a lot of hope! 
Have you guys had some time to digest the trailer yet? What do you think about it?