Divergent Giveaway: Win a Copy of Divergent Signed by the Author and Cast!

Happy Divergent Release Day!

I hope you all are going to the theaters today (and ALL WEEKEND) to go see this movie. Remember guys: movie sequels are only made if the first one is successful so let’s go out, visit this see Divergent and get Insurgent made!

So I hope by now that you all have watched my vlog recap of my time at the Divergent Black Carpet Premiere in Los Angeles. It was an absolute blast and I had such a great time. I am so glad I was able to meet people like Theo and Miles and Ansel. SO much fun.

Check out my full collection of pictures from the premiere on Facebook here.

Check out my vlog about the premiere here.

Luckily for all you who were unable to attend, my friend Abby got an extra book signed and by a TON of the cast and it looks like its time for me to have a giveaway!

Make sure you read this whole post! Its VERY important!

Here is the Prize: 

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One Copy of Divergent Signed By: 

Author Veronica Roth
Kate Winslet (Jeanine Matthews)
Tony Goldwyn (Andrew Prior)
Ansel Elgort (Caleb Prior)
Theo James (Four)
Miles Teller (Peter)
Ashley Judd (Natalie Prior)
Zoe Kravitz (Christina)
Maggie Q (Tori)
Amy Newbold (Molly)
Christian Madsen (Al)

The Rules (Yes, there has to be Rules): 

The contest will run from today, March 21st to April 4th!

The winner will be contacted within 12 hours of contest end, and if the winner does NOT respond within 24 hours, a new winner will be chosen.

The contest IS International :)

Make sure to come back every day to tweet about the giveaway and earn extra entries!

Share with your friends!

This contest is in no way endorsed by Veronica Roth, Neil Burger, Lionsgate Company, Summit Entertainment, Katherine Tegen Books, etc. WhatANerdGirlSays is not responsible for any lost or damaged prizes.

The Catch (Yes, There’s a Catch)

Now, that’s a ridiculously amazing prize. Look up above at that list. That’s incredible and it took some hard work to get those signatures. Which means I expect some hard work to be done to earn this prize.

There are a TON of ways to enter, so enter a LOT. Do all of those entries! Show me that you want this. Every person who does every single thing on the rafflecopter list will be entered into a special secret giveaway. Please email a snapshot of your completed rafflecopter to whatanerdgirlsays at gmail dot com.

There are also options to show off your Divergence. Show me you are Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudite, Amity, and Candor. More details in the rafflecopter. Those who do those entries will also be entered in the secret giveaway!

Are you ready to enter already? Here you go!

Enter Now!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Divergent Black Carpet Los Angeles Premiere Vlog Recap!

Hey guys! How’s it going? I hope you’re having a wonderful week and I hope that you’re planning on going out to see Divergent tomorrow. You all know how important that first weekend is for a movie, viagra in order to get a sequel so go out there and watch it guys!

As you guys might have seen on my Twitter and Instagram and Tumblr and Facebook, I went to the premiere on Monday. It was an absolute blast, and I just…I had so much fun.

Now instead of writing up a recap of the premiere, I decided to do a vlog instead. I know, right? I’m becoming more and more determined to do more vlogs.

So here we are, check it out on YouTube, my vlog of the Divergent premiere!

If you’d like to see all the pictures that I took from the premiere, you can check them out at this link on the official What A Nerd Girl Says facebook page. 

If you’re curious about the song that’s playing in the video, its a song called “Small Talk” by a band that I just discovered last week, Green Light Theory. You can check them out on Facebook. They are trying to get on Warped Tour so what little I can do, I’m trying to do!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow to check out my epic Divergent giveaway! You’ll be sorry you missed it!

Thanks for watching guys! Happy Fangirling :)

A Divergent Review…Is Coming!

I know, more about that’s a super weird title.

Forgive me for that.

On Saturday, check I was able to do something that I’ve been looking forward to for a few weeks now, treatment something that made me so extremely happy, something that literally has had a hold on my emotions all weekend long.

I got to see a pre-screening of Divergent.

AGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Me, before the screening.

My dear friend, Maggie, works for Lionsgate and asked me a few weeks ago if I’d like to go to a press junket screening and I immediately said yes. You guys know that I love Divergent. I don’t have tattoos on my collarbone for no reason ;)

Divergent Tattoo

I was able to bring a friend along with me and I immediately thought of my fangirl BFF, Sylvia from FangirlFeeels.

Now, if you’re looking for a review of the movie, you’ve come to the wrong place. I’m going to be reviewing it but not quite yet. I’m writing it up but I don’t want to post it too early. The movie is still two weeks away and I want to post it closer to that. Look for it around the Los Angeles Premiere day (the 18th).

But I will say a few things:

One, Sylvia and I had an awesome time, and we probably were some of the most enthusiastic people in the audience.

Two, the casting of this movie is absolutely phenomenal.

Three, Theo James. Seriously. I can’t…I can’t even handle him as Four. The level of attractiveness of that man is just off the charts. I seriously, I can’t even handle it right now.

Four, you’re seriously missing out if you do not go see this movie on the 21st.

I had a great time, I seriously enjoyed the movie, and I can’t wait to see it again. I’m waiting just as anxiously as those who haven’t seen it for release day because it was just that good. I’m so proud of the team behind this movie. Its going to be so great, and I’m going to see this in the theater so many times.

Thanks to Maggie for being such a doll and getting me into this amazing early screening. I appreciate it more than you know!

Stay tuned for the full review coming soon :)

For now, enjoy the trailer!

http://youtu.be/Aw7Eln_xuWc

Allegiant-A Spoiler Filled Discussion

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Now that I’ve written my spoiler free review, website I’ve decided to jump into the books and discuss the moments that have been discussed all over the internet, doctor and discuss why I loved this book.

This is your last warning! I will be discussing spoilers from this point on, search so if you haven’t read it yet, I’d suggest you stop reading this and go over to my spoiler FREE review here. 

All right. Moving on.

There has been a TON of hate and extremely negative reviews for Veronica Roth’s last installment of her Divergent Trilogy.

And her’s the thing: I was insanely surprised at the ending that she presents to us. She kills Tris Prior. Tris Prior who is the MAIN character of her novel. That’s almost unheard of. Almost.

This caused tears galore for me. I couldn’t stop crying, some of it was shock and some of it was just pure heartbreak at the thought of this character that I’ve grown to love and admire as dead. It was incredible. I never thought that she would do that but I honestly felt like it was the most logical solution to the situation that was happening in the book.

So I expected people to be surprised, upset, heartbroken. I thought that there would be a little anger but this outpouring of heartbreak and that all the Divergent fans would come swooping together to mourn together.

Yeah, that’s not what happened. People are PISSED, they are angry. They are saying its the worst ending to a series ever, they’re threatening Veronica on Twitter and Instagram. The reviews all over the interwebs are just awful, AND people are going up to Veronica at her Allegiant events, and telling her straight to her face, how much they disliked the book.

And I think so much of it boils down to the fact that she killed off Tris Prior.

I understand. I do. I almost wanted to throw the book when it happened too. I was in so much shock. There’s a small chunk of book left after her death, so there’s some processing time. I knew I liked the book immediately, but in the aftermath and recovery process of the book, I discovered more and more why I liked the book and why I agree with the choices that Veronica makes.

She kills off four characters that have been with us since the very first book: Edward, Tori, Uriah and Tris. And each of their deaths were hard to bear, the last two especially for me. But I think that Veronica recognizes what other authors have recognized: that in a war, a rebellion, a battle, a fight…people die. You can’t be picky and choosy on who dies in something like that. I think she took a page out of JKR’s strategy and definitely George R.R. Martin’s strategy, and realized that important people were going to die.

I mean, have read Game of Thrones? The main character dies in the VERY FIRST BOOK. Yeah. All these people insulting this book and Veronica Roth? Don’t read the first Game of Thrones book…or any of them really.

Tris’s death, to me, makes a lot of sense. The way it plays out is a bit awkward but I don’t think her actual death is unexpected. I mean it is because she’s the main character and I don’t think people expect the main character to die. But Tris, as a character, sacrificing herself for her friends and her family, the people that she loves? That is incredibly expected of her. When everyone accepts that Caleb will be the one to die, to sacrifice himself for the good of everyone else, I was surprised. I wasn’t surprised that Christina or Matthew or Peter or Four or anyone else would be okay with that, but I was incredibly surprised that Tris was okay with that. Despite his betrayal, Tris loves her brother, unconditionally, and she’s the reason they saved him from his execution at the hands of Evelyn. I couldn’t imagine her letting Caleb die, I just couldn’t.

So it made sense to me that Tris decided to task the risk and she died, in the hopes that the people she loved would be safe. She offers herself up in Insurgent to die to keep others safe, why would it be such a surprise that she does it in this novel? It was a VERY Tris-like action, and I think that her dying is more plausible than Four, who I think a lot of people believed would die.

Besides, we need to look at Veronica Roth as an author and as a person. She’s a Christian and a born-again Christian and she has some strong religious views that we do see peeking out of her story at times. She has not hesitated to thank God in every single one of her novels. I think that she used the sort of allusion as a sacrificing Christ figure in her book, and it honestly makes sense. Sure, Tris doesn’t resurrect like Jesus does but I think that Veronica was going with the more realistic approach, and I think its beautiful. Its a beautiful sacrifice. It reminds me of the sacrifice that Harry Potter makes in going into his death. Again, Harry lives but I think Veronica took more of a risk and I personally thought it was absolutely beautiful.

I think also we need to think of Veronica herself. She is my age, only 25, and even though she’s incredibly popular and has been reviewed so highly, she is still a person with feelings and emotions. She has expressed her concern over things like this, and has sought out help due to anxiety and stress. Whether or not you agree with the ending, to attack an author, and to say the things that have been said to her…its just ridiculous and absolutely immature. A book is an author’s baby, the same way a painting is to an artist or a song is to a musician. Whether you like a book or not, you should never attack it or the author.

Which brings me to this point: who are you to say that you know better than the author, the creator of the world and the characters? My friend Paulina said something, like, people get confused on the differences between a bad book and a book that simply does not end the way you wish it to. I think that happened a lot with this. People expected it to end a certain way…they wanted to be surprised, shocked, they knew it would break their hearts, but I’m sure everyone expected Fourtris (Four and Tris, for those not in the know) to live together happily ever after. Don’t they always? But they don’t, and I think a lot of anger comes from that.

Look, these are Veronica’s characters and she can tell the story, and treat them as she sees fit. And you don’t have to agree with that. One of my contributors is not a fan of the ending, but the way in which she handled her disappointment and dislike was done in an incredibly mature way. You may not like what Veronica has done with her characters and that’s okay! I’m not saying you’re wrong. I disagree with that, but we are allowed to disagree.

What I do disagree with is the disrespect being shown to Veronica Roth and her books, the amount of hate mail she is getting, the threats and the all around immaturity that I’m seeing from readers. I have seen one person on Twitter, tweeting Veronica incessantly, offering payment for a better ending to the book. That’s just ridiculous. Handle this like a mature adult, accept that this is the ending of the series whether you enjoy it or not, and move on.

I could go on and on about this. Its not necessarily my job to convince you that I’m right and that the ending is a good one, even though it is in my own opinion. I was heartbroken, I cried, and I definitely will be reading the book again, eventually, after I get through my insane stack of books waiting for me to read.

My job is to convince you that we all need to be respectful when in regards to someone else’s work. We may not always like what we see or what we read or what we hear but this is someone’s hard work. Someone poured their soul and hard work and their heart into something like this and we cannot sit here and presume to know better than them. Veronica Roth wrote the book that she set out to write, and she obviously took the time to make sure that it was the right book and the right story, because quite a bit of time has passed since the release of Insurgent.

And here’s my last thing: if you don’t like the ending of Allegiant, write yourself some fan fiction and move on.

Book of the Week-Allegiant

I wanted to write this as soon as I finished the book but it was nearly impossible to do so. I felt the same as I did when I read City of Glass and Deathly Hallows and The Crimson Crown and The Last Olympian, thumb that sort of knocked out feeling you get when you read the last book of a beautiful and addicting and heartbreaking series.

I was having a hard time last night recovering from the things that Veronica Roth did to my emotions. Now I’m finally ready to share my review with you.

Of course, this entire review is spoiler free. I would never want to ruin a book that has just recently released. So I apologize if this review is incredibly vague but I wanted to highlight the things I loved and disliked about this book, but in a way that doesn’t ruin your own reading experience of the book.

I might, in the next few days, post a spoiler review for those of you who have read the book. If you’d like to discuss the book with me, which includes spoilers, then come on over to the official blog forums, and I’d be happy to talk about the book, and other books with you!

For now, enjoy the review!

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

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GoodReads / Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Book Depository 

Genre:

young adult, dystopian, romance

Part of a Series?:

The final book of the Divergent trilogy

You May Like if You Liked:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Legend by Marie Lu, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Age Recommendation:

Keep in mind this is MY personal recommendation and it varies on the maturity of the reader. 

14+

Plot Summary:

From GoodReads:

One choice will define you. 

What if your whole world was a lie? What if a single revelation-like a single choice-changed everything? What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected? 

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature-and of herself-while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love. 

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author, Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

The Bad:

The pacing of the novel is really weird. Sometimes it seems like its going really slow, and that you’re learning a lot about what is going on, but nothing is really happening. Then all of a sudden, things seriously sped up and ended. So the pacing of the novel was incredibly awkward. I thought maybe the book could have been longer, or that the slower parts could be shorter and the action part longer. It seemed sort of weirdly balanced. Once the action started, it was so easy to finish the book, but the build up took a very long time.

The Good:

That all being said though, I really loved this book. I don’t want to spoil anything because the book just came out a few days ago, and I don’t want to ruin it for anyone. I want to tell everyone what I think without ruining it for those who have not been able to read it yet, or who are catching up on the other books.

I loved the direction that Veronica Roth took it in. The end of Insurgent leaves hanging with the idea of an outside world, that needs the Divergent. Which is so different than the city that Tris lives in, where the Divergent are hunted down. But when we finally see the outside world, its so different than what I had ever expected. What we learn and find out is incredible. Confusing, but incredible and it really explains so many plot holes that exist in the previous two books.

I really liked the back and forth between Tris and Four. I feel like, its kind of become a habit for authors to do this dual point of view thing, especially for final books. It would normally kind of make me mad because of the repetitiveness but I really liked it. The only thing we’ve gotten of Four in the previous books is Tris’s own vision of him. Getting into his head, seeing his motives, his love for Tris, his fears, his hopes, all of that, really helps to carry the story. They clash all the time, and they both have such different fears and different backgrounds and it motivates their actions in different ways, and its also the way they come together.

Some people had an issue with the end, and what happens there, and I’m going to try and say my thing without spoiling anything. I was immensely heartbroken by what happened at the end. It was incredibly unexpected and it ripped me to pieces. I spent a lot of time crying, which clouded up my glasses quite nicely. I think it makes the most sense, and that the way in which the events unfold seem so likely to me. In fact, before they unfolded, I was surprised at the direction that Veronica was taking the characters in. When things changed, and ended the way they did, it just made sense to me. The decisions that were made by the different characters just seemed to fit for each of them, and the ending was a full circle for the story. I think that Veronica took leaps and risks that some authors don’t do but I think it played out nicely for her.

I’ve also not cried this hard with a book since I read the epilogue of Clockwork Princess.

I don’t want to spoil much, because there is too much in this book to spoil for anyone but I loved it. I didn’t think it was perfect, because the pacing is just so weird, but I thought it was a beautiful, unexpected ending. People die, lives change, and I cried like crazy. Somehow my favorite character (I hope I never told you who that is…) survives but other characters that I love die. I think that there’s so much to learn and to still contemplate about their world and what could and will happen to everything and everyone. Its a beautiful book and I think Veronica leaves us with the same sort of bittersweet ending that JK Rowling leaves us with in Deathly Hallows.

Rating:

4 out of 5 Stars

Recommended or Not?:

Definitely, if you’ve read the rest of the series and you’ve loved it the way I have, it is necessary to read this one. You won’t be able to live with yourself with that Insurgent cliffhanger without finishing this novel.

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I hope you all are able to enjoy Allegiant, whether you already have or are currently working at it, or patiently waiting for your book to come in the mail.

Please, remember, not everyone reads fast, or has the ability to get the book right away. No spoilers posted in the comments. They’ll just be deleted.

If you wish to discuss the book, I’ve created a discussion on the forums, and would be happy to discuss all the spoilers with you there! Just follow this link!

Happy Reading everyone!

Fandom Friday-Divergent Trilogy

The Fandom Friday is a weekly feature, page with each blog post written by a new contributor.

This is the weekly post where either myself, approved or a guest blogger, talks about a new fandom. See, I’ve had the experience in my life where I’ve been made fun or put down about my particular fandoms. And that has made me feel pretty crappy. But I’ve also put down other fandoms as well.

So I’ve decided to change that. I’m opening my world up to new fandoms, and the best way to do that is to bring people in to write about various fandoms. I’m very excited about this segment.

If you guys are interested in becoming a guest blogger for the Fandom Friday, feel free to email me at whatanerdgirlsays at gmail.com or contact me HERE

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Today’s guest blogger is…not a guest blogger because it is ME.

This week I’ll be talking about a book series that you all may have heard of:

The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth

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The Divergent trilogy has been in the “news” a lot lately. In about two months, the third and final installment of the series, Allegiant, will hit book stores. Not much has been said about the book and we’re all waiting in barely concealed anticipation for this book. It’s also in the news a lot as the movie, which doesn’t even release until March, is already garnering big hype, and being compared to the YA blockbuster, The Hunger Games.

A big reason why I decided to write about Divergent is because I wanted to share two things. For those who haven’t heard of it, I can enlighten you on this seriously amazing book series. For those of you who have heard of it, and have heard The Hunger Games comparisons, I want to show you that NOT all YA books are the same, even if they are in the same genre, like dystopian.

About the Trilogy

So let me tell you a little bit about the series. It is a young adult dystopian series that is a trilogy. The first book is Divergent, followed by Insurgent, and ending with the soon to be released Allegiant. The books are written by the beautiful and talented, Veronica Roth, who is the same age as me, and for that alone, I admire her. The book series follows the main character of Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior. Tris lives in our world, but in the future, when wars have torn apart the country. As a solution, a new society is created and everyone is split into five factions that represent the virtues they feel is necessary to have a functioning society. The five factions are Erudite (valuing intelligence), Abnegation (valuing selflessness), Dauntless (valuing courage and bravery), Candor (valuing honesty) and Amity (valuing peace).

Beatrice lives with her family in Abnegation, but she is sixteen years old, and it is time to take the tests that show what faction she is most fitted for. However, when she takes her aptitude test, it is revealed that she has shown connections to three different factions (Abnegation, Erudite and Dauntless), that she is a forbidden word: Divergent. Her test taker fixes her results, and sends her home, telling her to never tell anyone what was really said. When it comes time to make a choice, Beatrice sheds her gray clothing and her name, and joins the Dauntless, and she is Tris Prior.

Tris discovers that being Dauntless isn’t easy, and requires more bravery and courage than she anticipated. And being Divergent, and hiding it, causes more problems than she knew as well. The books follow Tris as she attempts to be accepted into the Dauntless family and she unfolds the mysteries that surrounded her society, and the secrets of being Divergent, and why the society is so afraid of them. As she delves deeper into the underbelly of the society, she learns more and more of what is being portrayed and what is really going on.

The first book in the series, Divergent, directed by Nick Burger and produced by Summit Entertainment, has already been filmed and is slated to hit theaters on March 20, 2014. The film stars Shailene Woodley as Tris, Theo James as Four, and includes many well known actors and actresses such as  Miles Tellers, Ashley Judd, Kate Winslet, Zoe Kravitz, Mekhi Phifer and more.

Where I Found It

Honestly, it was all sort of word of mouth for me. I had enjoyed The Hunger Games trilogy immensely and several people kept telling me to read Divergent, that I would enjoy it a lot. I finally caved in and bought it on my Kindle, and stayed up all night reading it. I remember feeling pretty surprised at the cliffhanger and wanting to immediately read the sequel.

As luck would have it, the sequel, Insurgent, had literally been released that day. I immediately purchased it on my Kindle and started reading it at about 3 am. I had to convince myself that staying up all night was a terrible idea, but I read it the next day and finished it, and I was easily hooked.

Why You Should Be Reading It

I know what you’re thinking: another dystopian novel series? Isn’t that getting a bit old? And I can see where you are coming from. There are a ton of various dystopian novels on the shelves these days and its hard to pick ones that are good, because there are just so many to choose from. This is one that you definitely have to pick up, especially if you are a fan of The Hunger Games.

I think that Veronica Roth has this ability to appeal to both a male and female audience, even though the main character is female. She really presents a great story, with fully fleshed out characters and characters that are so important and easy to love, besides just Tris and Four. It is NOT a love story, though a love story is woven in there. This is the story of two people, who team up with so many others, to find out the truth of a country. The politics, and the psychology of this system that has been created as a solution to the problems of the past are SO interesting and they keep you racing through the pages as you watch Tris and Four try to figure it out.

I also think that Tris is an amazing character, a strong female character that remains strong. I find often times that a female character can start off really strong but then sort of loses that strength over time to whininess. I admire that Tris loses some of her strength at times, because she has gone through so much but she never loses her resolve and she never resorts to whining or any of that. She stays strong, even when she’s at her weakest, and I think that’s very important and will play an important part in the last and final book. I also think the character of Tobias “Four” Eaton is also important and fantastic as well. He is a strong character, whether you’re a boy or a girl reading this novel. He grew up in an incredibly abusive situation, both physically and emotionally, with his father, and escapes to the faction of Dauntless to get away from him. Learning this about Four, and seeing the strength that he has had to earn over time, and seeing his relationship with his father, is incredible. T

hese two characters alone are enough to read this book, and neither of them are my favorite character of the series! The series is filled with so many different, unique, believable characters that you can connect and relate to. Even though this is set in a world that is both recognizable and yet so utterly different, it is not hard to connect with these people and some of the things that are happening with them.

Plus there is all the action. From the moment Tris decides to switch from Abnegation to Dauntless, you are on an action packed roller coaster, as she fights her way through initiation and learns to fight, handle a gun, and learns what it really means to be courageous and fearless.

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I hope you all enjoyed learning about the Divergent trilogy today. I know that there are many of you who have already read it, but I hope that those of you who haven’t will be encouraged to do so. There is so much awesome in this book, and there is also SO much to discuss as well!

Come back soon for a new Fandom Friday, and check out previous ones here!

Have you read Divergent? What did you think of it? How did you get into the books, and what would you say to someone that you were trying to convince to read it? As always, share in the comments!