Don't judge a book by its past - "The Sixth Faction"

Madie's Margins

To my knowledge, there is no stronger bond than that of a girl and the mediocre thing she loved when she was 13. The “Divergent” series was my favorite book series when I was in middle school, before my discovery of “Keeper of the Lost Cities,” which was eventually trumped when I returned to my first love, “The Hunger Games,” which is still my favorite series to this day. If that doesn’t explain my personality, I don’t know what will.

To my book lovers out there, don’t lie to my face and tell me you didn’t like these books in middle school. I know we’re ‘adults’ now, and we scoff at Veronica Roth, but I need you guys to rewind your brains and be 13 with me for a second.

OH MY FIVE FACTIONS, VERONICA ROTH RELEASED A NEW DIVERGENT BOOK LAST WEEK!

This calls for celebration! This calls for jumping with joy in the Walmart, hugging “The Sixth Faction” like your life depends on it!

This review will not contain any spoilers for “The Sixth Faction,” but it will contain spoilers for the original books.

The premise of this book is very similar to the original series, but this story takes place in an alternate universe that functions independently from the original. In this version, there is a disaster at the choosing ceremony that ultimately results in Beatrice making an entirely different choice. The book comprises six parts and three POV:, first person Tris, the most used, first person Four, used just a bit less, and the occasional second person Caleb to fill in some gaps. In the original book, you blink and Caleb bought the Erudite way hook, line and sinker. In this universe, we get to watch Caleb’s morality decay.

I don’t want to give anything away, but this book was good. I had pretty high expectations of “The Sixth Faction” from reading the story behind it–which you should definitely check out; I found it really powerful–and I was still absolutely blown away. Even without the firm foundation of nostalgia, you could just tell that Roth knew what she was doing. It feels like she understood her characters so much more. There’s this feeling of agency in the characters that was absent before, even when they’re playing right into someone’s hand.

Leading up to this book’s release, I expected so much more hype, but I severely underestimated the resentment from the original Divergent fandom. A lot of people saw this as Roth trying to make up for killing off Tris, coming back for a cash-grab or just writing fanfiction of her own book. I feel like I’ve seen more people (who haven’t even read the book yet) complaining about “The Sixth Faction” being fanfiction than I’ve seen about “Life and Death” by Stephenie Meyer, which is by all accounts a sloppy work that just switches up some pronouns and names before throwing in a dramatic but nonsensical ending.

After having devoured this book, I can confidently tell you that this book does not belong on Ao3. Let’s hit some of the highlights:

The pacing was perfect. It didn’t drag on and on, but it also didn’t slam from conflict to conflict. There was space to breathe, and everything wove together so well in a gradual buildup to the big climax. Once you start reading, it’s hard to stop!

The writing style is also good; there’s a distinct difference between all three points of view that I really appreciate, as it boosts characterization.

I want to talk a bit more about the POV swaps. They were done very well, with natural timing, although it is mildly annoying to read an insane cliffhanger and then see Caleb all, “Woe is me, will I be enough of a smart boy to impress Jeanine Matthews?” While Caleb is constantly licking Jeanine’s stilettos, I did enjoy his perspective. It gave Caleb a defined character arc, which made the ending of the book so much better.

One of my favorite aspects of “The Sixth Faction” is the dynamic between Tris and her authority figures. When Tris makes a decision, is she acting to please someone, or oppose them, or does she think she’s making her own choice? And if it’s the latter, is that really true?

Tris has two ‘leaders,’ who I won’t be naming here. They occasionally exchange favors but ultimately oppose each other. Tris has an immediate bias towards one but ultimately wonders if she’s being manipulated. Another she already knows is manipulative, but she slowly begins to see more eye-to-eye with them. This dynamic is so complex and interesting because you can’t neatly organize them into “good” or “bad.” One gray is lighter than the other, but it still isn’t white.

But can “The Sixth Faction” be forgiven for all it’s done to get here? Does this book change my feelings about the original story?

No! They each stand alone, and I know this is a bit of an unpopular opinion these days, but the original series wasn’t bad. Only a year ago, I reread this series, and the ONLY bad book in the original universe is “We Can Be Mended,” which I choose to ignore. In fact, I even agree with Roth killing off Tris, and I will come back to defend my position if I need to.

So, if you were a Divergent lover in your youth, even if you aren’t anymore, you should come back and read “The Sixth Faction.” This book stirred up so many feelings, and I cannot wait for the second book to drop in February!

Do you guys think it’s too early for a reread?