AT THE CINEMA - OKAY WILL BE OUR ALWAYS: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS IN ITALY (COLPA DELLE STELLE)

“The world is not a wish-granting factory.” 

I was so proud of myself because I had read all through John Green's book smiling or laughing, getting sad or moved,   but never giving way to tears.   I read The Fault in Our Stars not long ago and in a very short time,  appreciating Mr Green's talent at creating a brilliant YA romance (my review). 

Now, it is not that I'm not proud of myself anymore for what happened, but, you know, it is not easy for me to get moved to tears in public and it is always quite embarassing when the lights in the theatre are switched on and you are in a flood of tears and blowing your nose, isn't it?

In this case there were many wet eyes and noses blown here and there at the end of  The Fault in Our Stars (Colpa delle Stelle) which opened on 4th September here in Italy, so I felt a bit less foolish.

Anyway, what I especially loved in this movie is that, just like the book, it is not whining or melodramatic. What prevails is teenage lightness and bitter irony,  which becomes harsh, if not paradoxical,  sarcasm some times.

Cancer and young love, death and life, hope and desperation: tough dichotomies to deal with without ending up with sappiness or melodrama. I couldn't find traces of either in this touching story, honestly.

THAT IS THE SORT OF BRAVERY I MUST HAVE NOW: INSURGENT AND ALLEGIANT BY VERONICA ROTH

I've been reading quite a lot this latest week. I have finished 3 books and that's something I'm really proud of after I had been reading very little in the previous months. Two of the 3 books are YA fiction novels.

After reading Divergent and watching the movie,  I was too curious to know what happened next, so I provided my iPad with the ebooks of the two sequels which completed the Divergent trilogy and was more than willing to take up the journey toward the epilogue of Tris and Four's story. Once started, I really couldn't stop.

Insurgent (book 2)

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so (from amazon.com)

I was so disappointed while reading this second book. I found it a bit boring and frankly totally useless. I actually think it is completely irrelevant to the whole story, and this impression was confirmed while I was reading the final novel, Allegiant, which I liked, instead. What I experienced while going through  Insurgent and its more than 500 pages was just boredome. Was it only me or did anybody else reading Veronica Roth's trilogy experience the same?  I just couldn't bear suicidal Tris and found her interaction with Four quite unbelievable and rather repetitive. I think Divergent was a creative and interesting YA debut novel,  but I'm also sure Insurgent is not a worthy follow-up. 

DIVERGENT: READING THE BOOK, WATCHING THE MOVIE

Divergent - the story

Having been hailed as “the next Hunger Games“ Divergent is the first book in a trilogy by Veronica Roth (Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiance) taking place in post-apocalyptic Chicago, where society is divided into five factions. Each of them represents  a different virtue: Erudite (the intelligent),  Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Abnegation (the selfless). At  16 teenagers  have to decide if they want to stay in their faction or switch to another - for the rest of their lives. Tris Prior makes a choice that surprises everyone. Then Tris and her fellow faction-members have to live through a highly competitive initiation process to live out the choice they have made. They must undergo extreme physical and intense psychological tests, that transform them all. But Tris has a secret,  she is divergent, she doesn't fit into any one of the factions. If anyone knew, it would mean certain death.

My Divergent Journal