Divergent Was A Cash Grab, Change My Mind.

[@AlizeeYeezy]

Thanks to Jackpot World for sponsoring today's video! Download Jackpot World using my special link and use the gift code: "Alizee" to claim $100 worth of free coins - bit.ly/3RCLb4x Also plz follow my new insta lol - instagram.com/bigalizeeyeezy/

[@leoa9474]

Stop promoting gambling lol

[@sophiaako7663]

@@leoa9474 fr

[@Phoritus]

I understand that youtubers have to have sponsors but promoting child like gambling site seems wrong. I cant tell you what to do but gambling is form of addiction so please try to avoid them. Thank you

[@hiropon2985]

@@Phoritus kids ain't smart enough for this channel tho innit

[@hiropon2985]

daddy zizek in this commentary

[@jamesrule1338]

I just want one book to start with "I looked into the mirror. No image met my gaze. Yup, I was still a vampire."

[@brakattack3824]

I bet there is one lol

[@andrewjenkins9965]

So write it. 👍

[@TheEldritchGod]

I'm going to steal this.

[@zakkfromskellten]

Don’t tempt me. I’ll fuckin do it

[@Tareltonlives]

I want one to go "I looked into the mirror. I combed my hair before going out the door. " Nothing about the appearance.

[@beckscarroll6580]

Divergent was the YA novel equivalent of "suddenly I woke up and it was all a dream"

[@AlizeeYeezy]

ngl when i was little (like 10) i used to love ending my stories with "and then they woke up the end."

[@happyjellycatsquid]

@@AlizeeYeezy wow it’s almost as if you evolved as a author since then… maybe some people could take a leaf out of your book, idk

[@stingerjohnny9951]

@@AlizeeYeezy I can feel my blood begin to boil…I can see them Alizee…the endless Creepypasta writers. They all think they are SOOOOOO smart and subversive by having Ash be in a coma, or Finn is delusional, or Angelica is Schizophrenic. …I hate them Alizee…I hate them…

[@stewartann816]

@@stingerjohnny9951 ah yes the simps for Jeff the Killer and Slenderman

[@plutonium2]

@@AlizeeYeezy hello ex educational psych here. Kids do that tend to have anxiety and use resolving endings to retain personal safety. They aren't comfortable leaving stories without resolution so this is a sign of an anxious kid. UR WELCOME

[@ZBelles]

As a teenager I loved this book, but never understood why, because it wasn’t very good. As an adult, I was diagnosed with autism. The book is literally called ‘Divergent.’ Hindsight is 20/20

[@NotAnotherKuromi]

Lol I never read the books but liked the film's & was disappointed they didn't finish them. People forcing others to conform, erasing nuance, others doing selfish & cruel acts, the people in charge making stupid decisions & generally confused by others & the world, autisticly relatable.

[@eilir_adron]

lol same

[@shotototoroki1118]

SAME

[@gh0stpunk]

same, i never even thought of that lmao

[@ayajade6683]

I'm glad you enjoyed it as a teen I tried so hard

[@MeaganwithanA]

Veronica Roth wrote this in 3 weeks. Like literally she said she wrote the whole thing during winter break in college… Just shows how little care went into writing these books

[@petloverspy]

I still can’t believe this is thrown around like something to be proud of. Like … speed does not equate quality, ma’am.

[@TuesdaysArt]

I wish I could write that much as a college student. All of the essays drained me of energy.

[@little_flitter]

I think something that annoys me is that it wouldn't really take much to make this a great story. Like write it in 3 weeks okay sure, but then leave it alone for minimum 3 weeks and then re-read and spend a year editing. It would be enough time to clean it up, tighten the plot and add some more world building - even time to think over some different endings and plots as foundation for other ones. It had all the bones for a good story, but the detail and muscle just weren't there.

[@TuesdaysArt]

@@little_flitter there's probably nanowrimo books that are better than this

[@little_flitter]

@@TuesdaysArt true, but this could still have been a lot better with not too many changes. It would drastically change later books, but this is the first and the one we are talkng about.

[@shaylenwayne9284]

As I'm listening to chapter 1 now, I wonder if it would have been better if they could've shown that triss wasn't ever a fan of abnegation and was always pushing the rules a little. Like catching glances of herself in puddles and windows. Not really liking dedicating her time to others, not really being as nice as the others, always wanting to style her hair different... Would make sense why dauntless seemed cool to her. Would make the twist with her mom make sense

[@sorcererinasweater7670]

But that would actually require some writing skill. Also, that would actually require the author to actually use show don't tell which doesn't seem like her strong suit

[@shaylenwayne9284]

@@sorcererinasweater7670 the author said she wrote it over a break in college. That's at least halfway an admission that this is a cash grab

[@emackenzie]

I think the author tried that with the haircut scene and Tris trying to see her reflection in her spoon but she definitely could have pushed it a bit more. Even like a hidden metal plate or something else mildly reflective hidden under her bed as a makeshift mirror. Or a secret stash of something she hid from her family

[@TobiasFangorIsntCis]

That would’ve made her whole “I do blame selfishness, but I have never been selfless enough for Abnegation” moment during the choice ceremony so much more impactful.

[@TisPopRock]

Yeah the choice for her to go to dauntless felt out of nowhere for me. It felt like she didn’t mind abnegation

[@lay5395]

I never realised how little time Tris spends "training" with the dauntless. In my mind it was always like... a few months or so, and I never questioned how she had gotten so physically fit. Now I learn it has only been TWO WEEKS?? 😂

[@kebrinab13]

Hold up....she wasnt training for months?? Wtf

[@thatsmyOPINION]

@@kebrinab13 right 😭 I thought she trained for at least a good 6 months-

[@TisPopRock]

I thought she was training for ten weeks 😭

[@SaMira-gb6vg]

The same with The Hunger Games. They train like 4 days to prepare themselves to live in whatever environment and k*ll people ?!?!🙈

[@Ykibmh]

Wait WHAT?!?!

[@saniwa655]

From that little info we get, the protagonist's mother has a much more interesting backstory than the protagonist herself.

[@cigaretteparfum]

the stephenie meyer problem.

[@violetlavi2207]

NO TRULY I was always more intrigued by Tris's mom and HER story

[@averyfields8183]

​@@violetlavi2207Tris' mom has got it going on

[@space_pollution]

The Hunger Games had a level of coldness to Katniss's narration, but there was still some semblance of emotion and life there. Triss's narration is just completely lifeless, it's too cold for the dystopian setting it's in. Hunger Games was also dystopic, but there was an element of hope woven into the story. Divergent is just too dead for the world it takes place in. I feel like its tone would be better suited for something that starts after a nuclear bomb or a post-apocalyptic world where there really is nothing left, there is no hope, there is no real future. Edit: detached is the word I was looking for! Triss is just too detached and aloof for the world she lives in.

[@hellothere2464]

the thing is that katniss has a much more fleshed out backstory and it makes sense that her narration was so cold, because it was the person she became. but there were those moments like when she talked about her sister, or her memory of peeta helping her, or even the kindness of the other people she’s gotten to know where her narration also starts becoming lighter and more hopeful. it was those moments of levity that made the darker, colder moments work so well imo

[@annabeinglazy5580]

@rae jayne yes, Katniss is Not a "nice" Person, she is a rather selfish and cold character shaped by her environment. She doesnt know how to Show affection because to her, it's a weakness and pretty much reserved to her sister. She genuinely does Not understand peeta's compassion for a good chunk of the books. Even her two Love interests are aware of that. I almost cracked Up during the third boom when gale straight up says "girl is gonna choose the guy who will keep her alive", which makes her angry.... And in the end thats exactly what she does. It was gutsy to have a character that flawed, especially after all the self-Insert characters from the Twilight era

[@MediumDSpeaks]

@@hellothere2464, m, , e, , mm m mm mmm?÷, m,mm .

[@rainierday8155]

i loved Katniss's characterisation. she was even unlikeable in the beginning for me, and i felt empathetic towards her slowly as details about her world emerged. she felt real somehow because of how atypical it is for a female character to be characterised in this way. triss is just written like someone who is a genuinely unpleasant, self-righteous judgmental person with huge lack of self-awareness.

[@charissethorpe2774]

Ytstw😢😮

[@caffeineandmemes]

The thing that I never understood, even the first time I read Divergent as a teen after devouring the Hunger Games and Harry Potter series whole, was why anyone would even choose Abnegation. Here's your faction, love: we all wear boring, gray clothes, we don't celebrate birthdays, gaze at ourselves on any reflective surfaces, and can't be any more beautiful or cooler than our neighbors to the point where it's like that Fairly Odd Parents episode on conformity. Your consequences for choosing against the faction you grew up in like a Disney Princess who wants 'more' are to have everyone mad at you? Yeah, Abnegation is either a cult where parents are indoctrinating their kids to continue the tradition or the people in this universe are hella boring, because if this was real, abnegation would be comprised of like 4 families with weird brainwashed kids. They would be the ultra-fundies of the Divergent universe. I never understood why anyone would choose anything other than Amity tbh. It's just a peaceful farming community where everyone wears gingham and plays those little hand games like patty cake.

[@ocinidolegna]

i was definitely an amity lover when i was younger lol. seemed fun

[@cinnapurrin]

i always wanted to be in amity, seems amazing

[@salem-01]

When I read the books like, last year? (I never finished it) the only faction I liked was Amity. Like you can chill, if you want to read and be smart you can. If you want to be buff and strong, you’re going to be that anyway. Farming is hard work. You want to give back and be kind? You’re literally farming. You’re probably helping to feed everybody in the whole city. And you have free time to do more of that too. You want to… I don’t know, tell the truth? Babe, nobody is saying you can’t do that. Just be honest.

[@alim.9801]

Amity is truly a vibe. Buzzfeed told me as a 14 year old I'd be in there and now as a fully grown adult I still think it's accurate 😂 gimme some plants and that chillout bread lmao

[@jamesongillen1608]

I thought the same til I realized they were drugging their entire populace through the food and water.

[@joseffrhys7277]

As an aspiring author, I dont like being too harsh to other writers styles. BUT ALSO as an aspiring author I can't believe shit like this got such a huge publishing deal

[@TheEldritchGod]

I have a series I am working on. The last one is going to be called K-A. The name of the main character. Pronouced Kaydasha. She is going to be a normal 32 YO woman who gets isekai's into a YA Dystopian Novel called Twilight of the Divergent Games. It is a world where (Augmented Reality) games have become very popular, but part of these AR games involve 'virtual damage' being translated into physical pain that knocks the player out. This augmented Reality technology combined with pain feed back is called Divergent Reality instead of VR or AR. The story is about the ONE TRUE SAVIOR who stops the barbaric practice of DR games. K-A has a neurological condition where she is in constant pain from diabetes damaging her nerves and causing her skin to feel like it is on fire 24/7. However, she is allergic to any pain medication that might actually relieve her suffering. She is so used to being in agony, that by some strange quirk of fate, the ''pain damage' in the game actually makes her neurological pain go away when she is injured. That's right! Her super power is BEING IN CONSTANT AGONY and MASOCHISM! And then a normal person gets Isekai'd into this character's body.

[@little_flitter]

It wouldn't take much to make this a good book, but it feels like she wrote it, got excited, sent it to a publisher and then it got pushed through because it was pretty zeitgeisty instead of being cleaned up. Whoch is a shame, it could've been a lot better.

[@osuosu117]

Twilight's first draft got a 750k three book publishing deal. There weren't even drafts for the other two books done yet.

[@annas.5972]

@@TheEldritchGod please I want to read that XD

[@screamingopossum7809]

This is fanfiction levels of bad, and it's bad fanfiction levels. Good Fanfiction is written better than this.

[@innocenthedgehog8367]

Another plot hole I only just realised: in Tris's fear landscape, why wasn't one of her fears her Divergence being found out? Come to think of it, anyone who is Divergent should have that same fear. Can't exactly hide it when it comes to the final exam.

[@acesquare30]

interestingly enough I’ve seen this resolved in a Divergent fanfiction piece involving Four and Uriah - in one of the chapters, Uriah’s fear is being found out as Divergent and Four deletes the simulation recording, then takes him back to his apartment and has him practise on inventing and projecting a new fear for the system to pick up on (since Divergents are aware of and able to manipulate the fear simulation in stage 2). just one of the many reasons I love fanfics, they resolve plot holes sometimes even better than the original authors

[@berniceboshoff1503]

Iirc this was a plot point where a previous divergent was killed for this. It's why Four supposedly stepped in to train her more in case she had that fear. Instead she was just so super special she knew it was a dream, but was dumb enough to treat it as a dream in front of people. The real story always opens up more plot holes.

[@ocinidolegna]

@@acesquare30 oh my, could you tell me the name of the fanfic or link it? i would love to read that!

[@alim.9801]

​@@acesquare30 now see that makes a lot of sense. I wish that happened in the actual series. Also Uriah is one of the only characters I remember from the books that I think is genuinely a good dude worth caring about lol

[@prophetess.cassandra]

I wish all audiobooks were like this. The voice actor provides snarky commentary as they read.

[@anthonyparker2674]

Yep. This channels been a wonderful discovery.

[@alim.9801]

And it also strikes a good balance. Like I still get read the story and get good commentary, but not SO much commentary I don't get to hear the story past the snark. And the moments dedicated to snark are all perfectly used lol

[@laurenr5446]

Triss’ sudden fervent hatred of weakness seems like overcompensation since she came from a faction that’s seen as weak. It reminds me of how people who become Born Again Christians tend to be super zealous to make up for their previous “life of sin”.

[@mollymarie2]

That’s an incredibly accurate analogy.

[@creed8712]

Alternatively Triss being divergent is like a meta version of trying to overcompensate that she has a lack of any definable character traits by saying she has all the character traits

[@mausilw]

@@creed8712 Yeah that’s pretty much exactly it lol.

[@nataliyanabakova7419]

That's what I thought. It doesn't seem completely unreasonable that she would want to be viewed as the strongest person there, seeing as everyone has a preconceived notion that she is the weakest of them and will be easy to walk all over. She only knows life as an outline of a person, and her idea of what Dauntless is, is that they have absolutely no fear or weakness.

[@fernthaisetthawatkul5569]

it wasn't just that she came from one of the "weakest" factions, she also pointed out how she "still looks like a little girl" even at sixteen, and that influenced how pretty much everyone treated her. she mentioned that her brother caleb liked talking down to her, in a patronizing manner, and that was probably b/c of her appearance. her character in the movies would've made so much more sense if they'd casted someone who looks younger than she actually is, and is short for her age. instead they casted someone who actually looks sixteen, which makes her strong opposition to weakness seem less reasonable.

[@Bonklyboi]

I love how... no matter how subtly sarcastic Alizee is about some of these ads, they just... keep paying her. I'm fucking dead

[@salem-01]

Sameeee. Like “oh look… more free coins” DYING.

[@easternlights3155]

Triss describing her muscles sounds like she just found a bunch of tumors that grew on her legs overnight.

[@spOOkytimes]

I love how every character is constantly calling the character ugly or plain yet, in the movie, she is played by Shailene Woodley, a very conventionally attractive person. Did they not look at the source material?

[@KC-kl6qc]

Because ugly girls don't sell. It's the same with the Mortal Engines film: Hester Shaw, a girl known for being hideous due to a big, disfiguring scar across her face, is played by the very attractive and distinctly unscarred Hera Hilmar.

[@spOOkytimes]

@@KC-kl6qc This needs to change. They can't continue to virtue signal this sentiment in books and then do the complete opposite since you have to look at character in the movies rather than read about them. The people casting the characters are the very same that are being looked down upon in the books.

[@Alresu]

@@spOOkytimes It's not virtue signalling in the books, I'd say. It's another kind of selling point. The average reader can more easily relate to average looking, nondescriptive protagonists. They can substitute the protagonist with themselves. Not all that easy in a movie anyways, since the character has a face already, so they can just put in someone attractive to draw people with that.

[@spOOkytimes]

@@Alresu I completely agree with this, but it adds insult to injury to people who do feel like they are ugly. Having the protagonist be Shailene Woodley be a girl that was supposed to be unattractive or "unconventionally" attractive is kind of another layer of insulting to people who resonated with being called or feeling ugly. I understand that beautiful people sell but there are many "unconventionally" attractive actresses that are in movies and can add more depth by staying closer to the source material.

[@im_azraelle]

@@KC-kl6qc it's like Emma Watson being cast as Hermione. in the books, she's described as "unattractive" - having buck teeth and wild bushy hair and a plain face. they ditched Hermione's bushy hair after the second film and didn't even try with the buck teeth (albeit in one scene at the end of Sorcerer's Stone). sure they couldn't have predicted what Emma would look like as she grew up but still, she was a cute kid. unfortunately this comment even sometimes applies to child characters ://

[@Mousy677]

"everybody has to choose a single word to revolve their entire personality around" ah, so it's Terminally Online Simulator

[@Mousy677]

also sorry you're having a rough time with adhd medication. hope it levels out for you quickly.

[@thesoup6530]

I remember in 8th grade our teacher had us read this book "instead of The Hunger Games because THG is boring." She is one of my least respected teachers to date. I've spent the last few years in a blind rage that no one else saw what a shallow, 1 dimensional, boring, edgy, 12 year old fanfiction disaster this book truly was. My existential crisis has finally ended on this day. It wasn't just me after all. I can now die happy. I remember I couldn't even finish the book it was so bad. I was put off of reading for years afterwards and I could barely stay awake every time I picked up this thing. I just guessed on the quizzes and tests and still managed to come out with a B. I'm pretty sure this is the only book I've ever DNF'D besides Eldest, and that was only because I didn't realize the book was a series at first and had no clue what was going on (I was quite young) I have never read a first person present tense book that is so boring in my entire life. The prose is about as exciting as a yearly workplace safety training, and the comebacks and one liners were pulled straight from an early 2000s after school special on the impact of bullying. The biggest crime I have committed as a reader is allowing this dumpster fire of teenage angst and dreary dystopian drudgery to put me off of The Hunger Games for many years because I assumed the books must be the same, since that's what everyone was claiming. I'll throw myself from the nearest train and do a superhero landing as a penance in honor of the Dauntless, who wouldn't last 5 minutes, let alone 200 years in a dystopian society because they would have driven themselves to extinction long ago. It felt good to get that off my chest. I'll pour one out to you and my almost KZbin channel I nearly made just to rid myself of the bitterness I've held onto about this book after all these years. Cheers

[@nikkydalby7126]

Did you ever end up rereading and finishing the Inheritance Cycle AKA Eragon?

[@thesoup6530]

@@nikkydalby7126 It is currently in my TBR pile because I really wanted to give it a real chance. I'm reading the King of Scars series by Leigh Bardugo right now and really enjoying that series, and I'm an aspiring high fantasy author, so Eragon is definitely on my list since it's such a widely respected high fantasy series.

[@nikkydalby7126]

@@thesoup6530 I would definitely give it another chance and start with the first book this time! The author (Christopher Paolini) has officially announced a 5th book which will hopefully come out next year & Eragon finally got a show through Disney so I’m very excited for it to come out!

[@khesieverlynn]

We actually ended up reading the hunger games in my school for English. Still is to date, a really great book. Sorry you had to go through that

[@thesoup6530]

@@nikkydalby7126 Oh I always admired Paolini!! He was so young when he published and I remember in 7th grade he was an author I looked up to. I never had time to do much reading in school (go figure) but he was one of the ones I idolized. I am 23 now and still hope to be published someday 😊 I won't be as young as him but hopefully by the time I'm 25! Maybe I'll go ahead and move it to the front of my TBR list per your suggestion 😁

[@madim7240]

Apparently she wrote this in college on a break in two weeks or something like that, it was originally written for fun and that makes the story's flaws make so much more sense

[@madim7240]

I did love this series in middle school so don't get me wrong, but I couldn't read it now

[@helen.faunway]

I remember reading the first novel while waiting for Mockingjay to release back in high school--mildly enjoyed it until the shitshow of a climax and never went on to any of the other books. Somehow, I just know that the author must have favored Gale from the HG series and just decided to make 4 an even more toxic version of him, completely missing the fact that Suzanne Collins was clearly trying to critique those tropes LOL Divergent is an excellent example of how shitty the love story would have been without Peeta's kinder, softer version of masculinity to set it apart. And by the time I read Divergent, I was old enough to recognize how much I hated the trope of the brooding, dominating, manipulative love interest. Anyway stan Peeta Mellark

[@elizabethratcliffe3859]

absolutley stan peeta mellark

[@northstarjakobs]

You're so right, I hate "team gale" for that reason, they get all upset about his heel turn in the final book and call it "character assassination", ignoring all the ways that his previous character traits and choices led him to that fate. Gale was far too similar to Katniss for them to be able to have a happy life together, and it was Peeta's kindness that balanced out Katniss's cynicism and see the good in the world.

[@elizabethratcliffe3859]

@@northstarjakobs Yes!

[@saixenophase]

So glad you didn't continue the series because I tried reading the second book and 😀 I wished I banged my head against concrete instead of even attempting it

[@FreeTempest]

I think Peter being slightly divergent is probably true. He would act as an interesting counter to Triss, and demonstrates what harm can be done with divergence.

[@Nathi98]

I think Peter would've been an interesting main character Can you imagine the cultural shock: This is the saviour of the world? This asshole? Who hit a girl until she was unconcious? And stabbed someone? SERIOUSLY?

[@FreeTempest]

@@Nathi98 at least the main character will make me feel an emotion then haha

[@Nathi98]

@@FreeTempest Constant anger but you'd get insight to why he does certain things lmao

[@Jen-uk6ly]

Which is why I think I like Peter in the movies more 😭

[@ocinidolegna]

i kind of liked peter when i was a kid. idk why

[@taylorbaldwin2095]

I remember those “train like dauntless” t-shirts that like everyone in my middle school wore to gym class. Now I realize that there is literally no real training in dauntless.

[@justabee9692]

Divergent as a US military industrial complex critique?? The military faction is represented as bullies who think non-violence is weakness, and the ones who 'fail' either die or become the factionless/homeless. Honestly, I feel like if this book had gone past the first draft, there could have been a lot to say about the issues with the US military. Of course, not all military people/veterans lol

[@Tareltonlives]

That would require actual introspection and social commentary

[@Moony1568]

@@Tareltonlives Aka too much effort.

[@sandrae2398]

That's a good point. We were robbed

[@mrsleovaldez6474]

I see your "Eragon was written by a 15 year old" I raise you " The Outsiders was written by a 17 year old" and The Outsiders is amazing

[@-alovelygaycat-]

OH GOD THE OUTSIDERS MADE ME CRY SO MUCH IT WAS SUCH A GOOD BOOK

[@-alovelygaycat-]

OH GOD THE OUTSIDERS MADE ME CRY SO MUCH IT WAS SUCH A GOOD BOOK

[@balisongbunny]

it's still one of my favorite books, i memorized the robert frost poem 😭

[@WhimsicalTankTop]

Everything tris thinks is basically just the author sprinting toward us, holding us down, and screaming in our faces "SHE'S DIVERGENT REMEMBER?!?! SHE'S NOT LIKE THE OTHER GIRLS!!! DO YOU GET IT"

[@grenalien]

My friends in middle school were kinda nasty to me and this brings back memories from that era. My friend group had all read this series and done a quiz thingy to be sorted into their houses or whatever. they all got a different result, and there were 5 of us in total, but 4 "official" test results. they asked me to do it and they all were making their guesses and trying to put me down as they did it (because SHE can't be the cool one, she's the loser of the group), and when I came out even on all categories I was like "well idk what that means" and one of them said "it would make her divergent" with a look of disgust on their face, and then they all walked away pretending to be busy. I still laugh at that to this day.

[@northstarjakobs]

I remember in 6th grade I read this book and a group of kids were sorting themselves into factions and I couldn't decide (I think it was between Erudite and dauntless) and I think I ended up crying because the kids were forcing me to choose. It ended up being my mom (who had read the book as well) telling me "wouldn't that make you divergent?" and how that was maybe a good thing. And if that doesn't show how the "message" of the book went completely over the heads of the target audience I don't know what does. Glad to see that someone else had a similar experience with this series.

[@grenalien]

@@northstarjakobs thank you for sharing this memory with me. makes me feel validated 🤣😅

[@eldritchabomination9726]

It's actually kind of cool that you were even in all categories That's arguably better than being all one or whatever

[@ScarletGlitch]

No arguments here. I can't wait to watch this! I can't believe there are so few book reviews on KZbin critiquing this series considering it's just a poorly made copy of The Hunger Games written in a few weeks. Reading the books it becomes very obvious that she had no idea of where the series was going. I think this is most obvious in the third book where she kind of retcons the ending of the second book and there is absolutely nothing hinting to the reveal in the third book in either the first or the second book. I found the first book tolerable if you didn't take it too seriously (and isn't bothered by the fact that the third act comes out of nowhere), but the second and third books were a real chore to get through in my opinion.

[@rachel89075]

i forget which video i saw but i saw something that said the writer of divergent wrote the first book over christmas break 😭

[@rachel89075]

@Ks me too ngl

[@ScarletGlitch]

@@rachel89075 That was Dylan Is In Trouble´s video :) It's one of the only long good critique videos of the movies/books so I've watched quite a lot. He brings up so many good points in his review! And yeah she pretty much wrote the entire book during her winter break which means she wrote it in about 3-6 weeks. Which is why the brainwashing plot comes out of nowhere in the first book. It would have been so much more interesting if there was actual conflict between Tris and her friends and that some of them were actually convinced that getting rid of Abnegation was the right thing to do. It also kind of annoys me that the book doesn't follow the rule of three. It feels weird that there are only two tests to get into Dauntless. I think that's why I feel kind of caught off guard by the third act because it feels like the second act hasn't quite gotten the time to finish.

[@rachel89075]

@@ScarletGlitch yes that was it!! sorry it was a hot minute since i watched the video so i wasn’t sure !! but i also agree with everything that you’re saying! i only read the first two books and it was so boring i didn’t pick up the 3rd, so 💀. which i read all the hunger games books so @ that time i surprised that Divergent, didn’t hold up.

[@solarmoth4628]

I tried borrowing a friends copy to read when I was around 14 but didn’t get past the first couple of pages. It was just so poorly written, I couldn’t understand why so many people were reading the series. I had no problem reading Hunger Games clones to pass the time but Divergent was just so un engaging.

[@Eloraurora]

Abnegation feels like a word chosen for novelty points. If it's all just a dystopian mechanism for slotting people into social roles, something like Service would be a better fit. Abnegation seems more likely to create a slow, inefficient workforce, because doing a better job than your coworkers (or conversely, asking for help with something you don't understand) is acknowledging your own individuality, calling _attention_ to yourself. And you would never want to do that if your whole ethos is self-erasure.

[@TobiasFangorIsntCis]

+

[@premoniticn]

dauntless is the only faction that any 16-year-old would want to join. Imagine being like "I need to be in a group so i can be honest all the time" like okay then...

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

ANY 16-year old? I wouldn't. It's sports and parkour nerds. I can't vibe with that.

[@cigaretteparfum]

...........i picked candor. 💀💀💀💀💀💀 admined on the biggest divergent fanpage in my country, too. 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

[@leilanyx]

eh, dauntless is too sporty for my taste. i wouldn't last a day there. amity is just vibing quietly in their hippy-ish farming village, i'd totally choose them.

[@Noah60]

she doesnt seem divergent to me, she seems like a dauntless bully that sees herself as having the higher grounds bc she is not like the other girls, she been told she is special because she is divergent, legit harry wasnt that annoying and he was the og divergent (could have been in any chamber). she isnt selfless or caring at all ._.

[@Alresu]

Don't know if I'd call Harry Potter the "og divergent". I mean, sure, the hat said it was difficult, but it also takes some time with multiple people (Neville Longbottom was explicitely mentioned) and we don't really hear it talk to other people. And it had clear tendencies for Griffindor and Slytherin for Harry.

[@Noah60]

@@Alresu nevil is the true hero of harry potter x)

[@Noah60]

@@Alresu i guess nevil is the og divergent, but i meant like, the concept of divergence seem to come from the sorting hat in harry potter

[@Alresu]

@@Noah60 Oh, yeah, that for pretty sure.^^

[@sxatcychan1988]

@@Alresu Agreed, I thought it was confirmed that almost all of the students in Hogwarts had a secondary choice in which house to join. You already mentioned Neville, so I'll just mention Ron's loyalty and Hermione's pursuit of knowledge.

[@CommissarMitch]

The biggest irony with Rowling is that Harry Potter decided which house he was gonna be. The hat said Slytherin. He picked Griffindor.

[@AK-rx8gp]

She set up so much potential and then at the end Slytherin is still just the bad house

[@cigaretteparfum]

​@@AK-rx8gpthere's been at least two youtubers concluding that in jkr's universe there isn't a bad act and a good act; only bad groups and good groups. so yea, that tracks lol.

[@nalon__]

I read the trilogy years ago under a chemotherapy haze, and now I can't remember what the heck happened, and how I managed to finish them. The words went in through my eyeballs then left through my ears. By watching this video, I can gain my memory back, while not having to actually reread the book. All while enjoying your commentary, thanks Alizee :)

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

Chemo is the ultimate brainfog creator. Hope you're cured now.

[@nalon__]

@@TheDanishGuyReviews 8 years in remission :) thanks for the well wishes

[@rebecca3647]

Maybe I'm misremembering, but wasn't Four/Tobias like 20 while Tris was 16? Also Four was her teacher, so there's a weird power dynamic there?

[@giuliaferrucci6662]

He was 18 if I'm not mistaken, the power imbalance is still there tho lol

[@wondrousinquiry]

the actor they casted in the movie was like 26 so i dont blame you for remembering it this way 😆

[@ettaetta439]

Wait, Four was her teacher?? I read that book series a long time ago and I swear I don't remember that. I thought he was another student because the world building was somehow so bad I didn't even understand that one aspect of their relationship 💀💀

[@honeystrawberrybelle]

@@ettaetta439 four was one of the higher ups in the hierarchy so he was technically her teacher so yeahhhhhhh 💀

[@ettaetta439]

@@honeystrawberrybelle 😭😭😭😭

[@tiagocosmos]

I almost bought these books once but they seemed like a poor man's Hunger Games to me, and i didn't like the look of the movie. Come to find out being "divergent' is just you know, being a regular person, i couldn't take them seriously.

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

My friend got me the first book as a gift and I bought the second before i read the first. I hated the first one so much that I didn't bother to continue lol

[@arianamcvey9779]

Was able to read the first book and the one from Tobias' POV because everyone was telling me how GrEaT oF a SeRiEs it was but couldn't get through the 2nd because I realized not even halfway through how stupid the whole idea of this world was and wanted to smash my head in

[@TheseVioletDelites]

I read this when it first came out in 2011 when I was like 13 so it was right in my age range. I was sooo into the series at the start but that goodness as I got older and less angsty, I could barely stand to read them. The last one was a SLOG 😅 excited to see this ripped apart.

[@yikesyourchunkyhostilityha2321]

I loved these stories. I read it in, like, 2015. I was like "Wow! What a great series! The last book was weird, but still good!" Returned the book to the library. And I forgot EVERYTHING I read until the movies came out. I thought the movies looked like such a cash grab, that I knew the books were more crap than I thought

[@juliah653]

I’ve tried and failed to finish the third one twice now 😅

[@lucaleone4331]

You know I would like to have a YA novel, for once, represent being able to go home or not be ousted by your parents. Like you fuck up, or make bad decisions and your family is still there to help you through until you get back on your feet. What a concept.

[@elderly_gentleman9489]

This is the only series where I liked the movies better than the books. The story was actually able to be fun when not bogged down by Tris’s boring and Four-obsessed commentary. I got SO sick of hearing about his eyebrows Andy shoulders etc. I did manage to get through all of the books and the messaging of the third one was so weird? Idk. I never understood why people would genuinely like the books. My siblings read them aloud in the same self-serious tone the books take, and it’s actually a great goofin’ series.

[@jlust6660]

I didn't think the movie was any better. It struggeled from the same severely lacking world building and quite bad story as the books.

[@Rumhaaaaaaaam]

this! i actually found the first book relatively interesting but by the third one it was like wtaf is going on. it didn't feel like the author had planned out each book from the beginning, felt bad-fanfiction-esque in that it suddenly went off the rails in a random direction lol

[@juliegeorge3808]

@@Rumhaaaaaaaam There's an anti lgbtq theme . The twists are so unexpected as to be implausible.

[@Nathi98]

@@juliegeorge3808 What theme was? I watched all movies 3 years ago cuz it was on the telly but it must've gone over my head

[@juliegeorge3808]

@@Nathi98 In the books there was an anti gay theme. I think it was explored/mentioned more in the 3rd book. Veronica Roth is a Christian writer,which may explain, but doesn't excuse, that. Spoiler, but Tori (I think her name is) has a brother who is gay. It may not have made it into any of the movies, but I only saw the first one.

[@SallySueSaywhatagain]

As a wise lion king once said, being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble. Shame that Roth didn't internalize that lesson...

[@xRaiofSunshine]

What I always hated about these books was the constant needle stabbing going on. Like, how the hell are peoples arms still functioning with all the poking going on? 🤢

[@TheScaredLittleScholar]

Now it’s time for the most important phase of your training, initiatives… A CLASS IN PROPER HANDLING AND USE OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT

[@kacpikachu5951]

For real. One kid with Hepatitis at any point in this story and everyone’s going down

[@stabadaisy2]

@@kacpikachu5951screen junkies

[@bsmith7]

PSA because idk if anyone else commented this yet: ALWAYS do research before breaking your pills when you take them. Slow release pills are coated with something that allows the medication to be absorbed slowly throughout the day so when you break them, the medication is released at once and you absorb more at one time than you should

[@sophiaisabelle027]

Alizee is the epitome of eloquence and brilliance. The way she delivers, it really captivates you.

[@d0minican0milan0]

The story behind this series is pretty funny. The author wrote the 1st book fairly quickly over college break, they wanted to basically write a story about choice and factions. They never really expected it to blow up the way it did, and never really had an actual plan for the plot beyond that 1st book. Because of the success they were offered a deal to continue and thus we got the sort of train wreck of a series this ended up becoming.

[@Phaedramatics]

I can't believe I spent my teen years in a divergent roleplay group 💀💀💀

[@batturiebunnie6460]

that’s so funny, was it over discord or something

[@Phaedramatics]

@@batturiebunnie6460 it was a FB group 💀💀💀💀

[@eulyc.959]

Lmao 🤣

[@te-ter]

the world of divergent was just a way to create a teenage fight club without raising suspicion

[@MELLMAO]

Alizee addressing class inequalities as the most important aspect of society and quoting slavoj zizek memes is giving me hope in this world once again

[@SallySueSaywhatagain]

I'm not pretty. My eyes are too big and blue, my lips are too full, my hair is too blonde, my waist is too narrow, my legs are too long. I'm such a gargoyle!

[@sxatcychan1988]

It's possible for someone with all of the listed attributes to look like a gargoyle Just imagine them like Hyerin from the story "My friend is a plastic surgery monster."

[@StevieMosh]

These longform book reviews are the absolute best when my workday gets boring. I’d rather watch these than read the books you’re covering, so thank you for your service 😂.

[@gregjayonnaise8314]

I’ve never read the books, but one thing that always confused me; if you get sorted into a faction because you have a single innate trait, then why are there a million tests to “train” you into emulating that trait? For example, the dauntless are naturally brave. So why then do they need to do a bunch of tests to “prove” that bravery, and test new Dauntless to see how brave they are? Is there a spectrum of how strong your trait is? Wouldn’t that mean that everyone is Divergent to an extent?

[@totallywireddd]

“Tori calls her a detergent” 😂😂

[@endlessaaabatteries9827]

These books are very bad, poorly thought out, and definitely a cash grab. I've gone on my own rants about how bad the world building, factions especially, are. However, I read them as a repressed queer teen living in a very religious house hold. Not as controlling as Tris's upbringing, but that shoping scene where she picks out clothes and things she actually felt good in really resonated with me. Her getting a tattoo that ment a lot to her after a lifetime of being told that people who get tattoos are shallow and showing off was the first time I saw tattoos in a positive light. The books aren't good, I only read them the one time years ago and likely will never read them again, but the effort, clumsily writen as it may be, of Tris's journey of self discovery in the first book was helpful to me at the time.

[@ImaginaryAlchemist]

I never read the books, but I did see the first movie. It was okay, nothing special, and was obviously trying to capitalize on the Hunger Games craze. Hunger Games did have its issues and plotholes, but I do feel like it's a better written series. The plotholes and horrible world-building in Divergent are just... wow. How did this get past a publisher?

[@EclipseDoesArt]

The hilarious thing about her calling Tris waking up in Four’s bedroom a fanfiction trope is that I’m literally writing a fic where something very similar happens (although in my defense, it’s explicitly because one of the characters panicked and couldn’t think of what else to do and he realizes exactly how stupid it was) XDD

[@_vexilee]

I love Alii - "sleep paralysis spider keeps haunting me, SUCH an irritation" 🤣 iconic, girl No matter how many times I saw that I would be PETRIFIED

[@danferrusquia2819]

(1:07:48) I’m glad you pointed this out. As someone who grew up in the Chicago area, I didn’t even notice the lack of world building (other than the absurdity of the Lake Michigan thing). I just subconsciously filled in the gaps with my own knowledge of the city. Hearing from someone who’s not at all familiar with the area will be super helpful with my own fiction writing in the future

[@trapadvisor]

Ya know I read this book at a pretty young age, maybe all that shit about weakness had an effect on my self image. The more I think about it and how she talks about herself the more I realize this definitely had some negative impact.

[@stormbringer223]

I stayed out late last night, and I dreaded waking up for work this morning. Imagine my delight when I saw that you uploaded a new video! Thank you for making my first 2.5 hours at work bearable. I’m living for these book videos! ❤️

[@stormbringer223]

As a side note, my best friend during high school was obsessed with this series and made me read them. I slogged through them but I was so uninterested that I retained nothing. I can tell you every single plot line, unimportant dialogue lines, world description of almost any book I’ve ever read besides this series.

[@sir-dame-sander]

only two things from divergent ever really stuck with me . the first was the awkward scene where it’s revealed that one of triss’ six big fears is banging four. the second was the third book’s plot twist being so fucking stupid that I put down the book, lost it, and didn’t think to even try and finish the series for another two years. the author has admitted to writing the first book in two weeks over winter break btw, and no hate to her hustle but it sure fucking reads like it

[@maddielee4217]

Tbh the only interesting thing I remember from Divergent is in the beginning of the second book (( I think? Don’t quote me on it )) Tris talks about how she struggles to handle guns after having to shoot someone, and I really enjoy when dystopian novels touch on things like PTSD caused by what’s happening. Though Hunger Games did it 1000000% better. Tris ‘gets over’ her PTSD waaaaay to fast, Katniss continues to be traumatized throughout the books, and it isn’t dismissed.

[@lauraslibrary3668]

Chicagoan here with fun Chicago facts, our Ferris wheel is actually less than half the height of the London Eye, but the first ever Ferris wheel was displayed in Chicago in the 1893 world's fair. Also, the Great lakes system encompasses 20% of all the fresh water on earth....so yeah, they are massive lakes! It really does look like the ocean here. You can't see another coast across it.

[@Pandachu123]

It's called an inland sea for a reason! Also, hello, Wisconsinite here. 👋

[@emem6626]

I fall asleep every night listening to you readings, it’s the point where I literally cannot sleep to anything else, so you’re kind of my mommy

[@lurking__lurker]

I used to think these books were groundbreaking and amazing when I was a teen, but now I'm watching this and going "how is this real" every few minutes. I did have fun reading them back then, so I'll give them that.

[@katherinerinck3722]

I completely agree with you about the Eragon series. Derivative af, but it's written so well that I don't mind one bit. He did a wonderful job with world building.

[@violetlavi2207]

19:49 that's meant to lean towards Amity or Abnegation, because when the dog appears, the people who pick the cheese give it to the dog. But arguably the person could just choose the cheese and immediately eat it

[@eleniefthimoglou]

I remember watching the movies as they were coming out in middle school and I really liked the whole post-apocalyptic society idea. I really hoped the books explored more of it but I was pretty disappointed by the lack of world building. This review took me back a few years

[@santeri3900]

I feel like her whole thing about hating weakness as effectively overcompensation for growing up in abnegation could’ve worked really well IF the third book had actually subverted that with the ending. if the finale involved her understanding that reacting emotionally to situations that one should reasonably react emotionally to and refraining from doing pointlessly reckless things at all times aren’t signs of weakness, or if she’d realized that dauntless wasn’t right about dying (including suicide and needless self sacrifice) being the epitome of bravery, I think that could’ve been a really interesting choice for her character development. admittedly I haven’t read the third book since shortly after it came out, but I don’t remember it ever feeling like she learned to balance the strengths and weaknesses of the teachings from other factions in a way that examined these character flaws. maybe she does on a surface level, I honestly don’t remember, but I think the ending counteracts it anyway when she does exactly what book 1 tris would have done. it’s honestly really depressing that she’s just always ready to die and thinks that’s strength.

[@sirfurbingtonthe23rd4]

I remember hearing about Divergent when I was younger and being like, "Sounds interesting, I should read it," and then I read like, part of the first book, set it down and was like, "How about no?" I'm glad I found better books to read.

[@spicoli_1117]

I remember reading Divergent when I was I middle school and YA revolution movies were at their peak. I actually enjoyed it, but then I read Insurgent and the series completely lost me because of how boring that book is. I was meant to read it for my school's summer reading but ended up reading Mockingjay (despite never reading the first two Hunger Games books) instead because I just couldnt finish it.

[@16Craft82]

Honestly, as a huge divergent fan, I totally agree, but I still love it so much. I don’t even know why. It just struck me when I first read it and I’ve been obsessed ever since. It’s def a comfort read for me.

[@aslan7232]

“Reading about sports is boring” *cries in Twilight baseball scene*

[@dani.5087]

I've absolutely *loved* to hate divergent for years, and I feel so vindicated that the last movie was never made.

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

Still think it's wild that that's allowed in the first place. I've never seen an expected trilogy being a duology anywhere before.

[@Ykibmh]

​@@TheDanishGuyReviews not a duology, a 2.5-logy since the last movie was half of the third book

[@frogginaround]

Best part about listening to the audio book was the reader's pronunciation of Tobias as Toe-bias. I envisioned a toe with large eyes the entire time.

[@raicrush]

The first movie was fun, so I decided to read the book for my English class. For silent reading time we would need to write a small summary about what we read during the class, and I have never been so furious and Enraged at a book character in my life. Tris was so miserable and poorly written. In the SAME SENTENCE she would go from hating herself to saying she was the only true Dauntless/a girlboss. It was MISERABLE!

[@zoeb3573]

What did your teacher think of the summary?

[@Jen-uk6ly]

I want to see the summaries 😭

[@pa-pa-plasma]

1:08:00 I would like to say as someone who lives nearish to the Great Lakes (on the Canada side though) that the lakes are absolutely small freshwater seas. They are ginormous and by all means act more like seas than they do lakes because of this. Like, you can't fathom their enormity until you're standing there looking at it. So Lake Michigan drying up would be an absolutely insane thing to happen & honestly I'm more interested in *that* than anything else happening in this series. I don't even remember anything else happening, just one of the Great Lakes drying up. Like, are the other Great Lakes dried up too? Where did the water go? Were they purposely destroyed? What is going on I'm dying here this could've been such an interesting plot point but it's just a side fact about this universe EDIT: I completely forgot to even mention that a LOT of snowmelt comes down from up North & goes down the rivers to the Great Lakes, so this is also implying that the ice caps are completely gone? There's no snow up North anymore? The water level rises considerably in the springtime, like several feet, & that's only where I'm at. Sorry for the rant I'm just a nature nerd & this is bothering me so much

[@violetlavi2207]

the video she linked about the worldbuilding goes into this! It truly is such an insane plot point to just...drop in and then move past

[@VeronicaWarlock]

Aren’t all the lakes linked together? So they would all have to at least be affected.

[@pa-pa-plasma]

@@VeronicaWarlock by rivers, yeah, but that doesn't mean the others are the same. I think you underestimate how far away they are from each other. the rivers could have even been blocked or directed away from one to the others. anyways, a giant lake drying up isn't unrealistic (it's happened at least twice in North America alone) the problem is it being underexplained.

[@midgematic]

I read the divergent series three times over and even I forgot they had an “aptitude test” in the first place 🤣🤣. I remembered it as the test itself was choosing what class you wanted to be in. Why the hell would they have an test if you could choose whatever you wanted anyways? That amount of free will is disjointing in a post-apocalyptic story. Sure you’re expected to stay in your class but the social repercussions and “shame” you bring on your family wouldn’t matter anyways if you switch to a different class. Bad book series cant believe such a non-important feature is unrealistic to my dictactorship/hive mind society expectations 😡😡😡😡😡

[@MinaBlak]

Your YA book reviews are among my favourite KZbin videos & I often replay them before I go to sleep lol. Please keep them coming - there's this whole "The Mortal Instruments" saga waiting to be roasted, for example. I also must add, I laugh out loud whenever you get "possessed by the spirit of Russell Brand" as I'm a fan of his too! 💕

[@anastasiashockey5694]

i’m embarrassed to say that the cash grab worked on younger me lol. i read these books growing up and i know i definitely enjoyed them but after revisiting recently, i realized just how forgettable this series was. i know i read through the second book in one sitting after receiving it in the mail but i can’t tell you a single thing that happened. i’ve read a lot of bad books in my time but this series stands out as truly unremarkable as i can’t even remember a single moment of it unless reminded

[@robinmitchells]

That sleep paralysis spider tangent was fucking hilarious ngl especially when it turned out to have nothing to do with that part of the book

[@TenderNoodle]

I feel like the complete lack of need to sort people out based one of their traits, and Triss being “different” despite literally just having more than one personality trait could’ve been fixed by some form of genetic experimentation that causes everyone to only have one personality trait (this could be a side effect of a larger plan, or the plan itself) and triss is different bc she’s immune to the medication/mutation/whatever. It’s not an amazing explanation, but it makes the faction system more understandable and leaves room for world-building and another actual reason as to why the government is big bad.

[@Saibellus]

i thought that WAS the plot...? the entire world is fucked up in part due to some kind of genetic experimentation trying to enhance and make heritable certain personality traits but it only works at the expense of others. am i cracked i stg thats in the story

[@afckingegg7585]

This is literally the plot of the series.

[@rainierday8155]

after reading the hunger games, i went on a dystopian/fantasy ya series binge, and this was one of the biggest series back then. i remember reading this and having the same irritation and amusement that twilight and bella as the narrator of the book made me feel. at least i can see how twilight appeals to teens with unhealthy and overdramatic perception of romance, but divergent was just plain bad. even as a self-insert, triss doesn't work because i don't think a lot of people see themselves as nasty and shallow, so it was and still is a mystery to me.

[@victoriat5103]

These book reviews give me joy. It's nice to hear someone around my age rag on things none of my friends care about. It's downright cathartic.

[@mayak8694]

i get so ecstatic when i see alizee post reviews/rants like this

[@agreeableWitch]

I really enjoyed the first book as a young teen, but it wasn't because it was good. I was a really anxious neurodivergent child, and the idea of a girl a lot like me coming into her own personality, and finding a kind of everyday bravery to explore and have fun made me feel happy. Awful book. But her arc was uplifting to 13 year old me :)

[@omniarexsum]

I'm pretty spacially challenged so there's some grains of salt to take with this, but when I had to read this for school during grade 10, me, living an hour from Chicago and having to some of the places mentioned in the book, truly could not figure out the geography of the city at all. I was always like “wtf is going on???” while reading it.

[@petloverspy]

I am legitimately wondering if Triss is supposed to be a good person? If not, whatever, but YA protagonists are USUALLY supposed to be the good guys, but I’m an hour into this and jfc she’s just an asshole and, amusingly enough, a coward 😂 This cold judgment worked well for Katniss who was a well-written flawed and selfish character and I loved being in her mind, but for Triss I’ve got this sneaking suspicion it’ll be like Bella Swann - even though she’s often mean-spirited and very self centered, people are still gonna be praising her goodness. I hope I’m wrong, but that’s the vibe I’m getting so far. Seriously, how can you think the “is it worse to let someone die or to become factionless” and not acknowledge you’re a coward for thinking the latter is worse?

[@Isobethia]

I’ve never read the Divergent series (I’ve also never read the Hunger Games-dystopians don’t really appeal to me), but I remember being told by my friends that Divergent was basically a knock off of the Hunger Games and not to bother with it. So, this video was really fun to listen to. I thank you for your sacrifice and perseverance, Alizee!

[@wamothy]

WAIT GIRL WHAT you get the anxiety sleep paralysis spider thingy too?! it’s happened to me twice and I hate it SO MUCH, the first time I screamed so loud my roommates woke up and ran downstairs to square up but I was like half asleep mumbling about a spider so they went back to bed 😶

[@edithholloway3912]

Read this as a teenager at the peak of it's popularity and hated it then. I basically "Hate Read" the other two books. I purged then from my mind and forgot how much stupidity is truly embedded into this trilogy.

[@alexaheure560]

I remember enjoying this book back when I was like 13 but I hated the 2nd one (most boring shit I’ve ever read; literally like nothing happened plot wise) so I never read the 3rd. Listening to this video now that I’m in my 20s is hilarious. I was def deep into my fanfiction phase back then so it makes sense why I liked it so much

[@Kaiheart]

I tried reading this book several times, but I got so bored partway through that I always stopped. Thank you for doing this Alizee!

[@ceinwenchandler4716]

25:30 I'd have written that line about "some might find it gloomy, but for me, the simplicity is comforting" as "some might find it gloomy, but as for me, LOOKING AT IT MAKES ME WANT TO SCREAM. SOMEBODY GET ME OUT OF HERE." LOL

[@delreydaddy5810]

couldn't have gotten a better birthday gift than Alizee the Chad, slandering a book for over 2 hours

[@gwenchase97]

Soo, a while ago, I finally gave a go to The Hunger Games, and I absolutely loved it. So I said to myself, why not, let's give a chance to Divergent. Mind you, I had the audiobook as background for cleaning to mindlessly listen to. It was so dull, that I made it to maybe, chapter 3, before I gave up. So I know basically nothing of the series, I just wanted to know what's up, cause a friend of mine back in the day used to love it. The back and forth discussion of the plot, like the cctv scans plot hole is hella confusing, but I much rather get this than going through this torture myself. Thanks, as always, for your wonderfully sarcastic commentary.

[@kaydwessie296]

I'm amazed they didn't get mad for how hilariously sarcastic the ad read is. I love it!

[@nerdydivanikki]

One of my friends has a tattoo that says dauntless, but she got it before these books came out. And I don't think she regrets it, but now that tattoo has certain unintended connotations 😅

[@wh0aheavy]

The Nutty Putty Cave incident still haunts my soul! Poor guy.

[@taylorsommmers4148]

I read the first book in middle school after my class’ Hunger Games craze, my dad even took me to see the first movie in theaters, and now I have all three books and haven’t touched them at all. I can’t be bothered to read them again so I’m very excited to hear your thoughts about it thank you Lord Alizee

[@loadbearingskull]

ah yes, another video of alizee dunking on the books my teenage self created her whole personality around

[@stormbringer223]

Ah yes, the “pick me”, “not like other girls” era. I can relate so much that it makes me cringe to remember my high school self.

[@mollymarie2]

This is very accurate 😂😂😂

[@ElektraHart]

My job is I sort books for a thrift store to see if they're in sellable condition or not. I get a full set of these books every week, and they never sell. One thing that always amused me was the author never came up with a title for the fourth book. It's just called 'Four' 👁👄👁

[@mariamne333]

Not defending the series but it’s called that because that’s the name of the main character

[@aubreeyost6904]

I go on like a lot of cross country road trips doing animal rescue and also going to dog shows with my own dog. And let me just tell you that your reviews of ya novels are what keep me going lmao

[@Jadeeee2323]

Srsly if u ever wonder if you should keep posting these, just know at least one person (me) will watch them all like 80 times each🤣🤣🤣 something about your book review vids are the perfect thing to listen to while i do literally any task