Well, the chips have fallen and Divergent has been released to an impressive opening weekend, and if somehow haven’t seen it yet, you’re probably planning to soon. While reception of the film has been mixed (one loyal fan and reader of the books was disappointed by how different the film felt, while others were pleased with the adaptation), production is already all but underway on the sequel film Insurgent. And readers got an intense conclusion to the trilogy with the publication of Allegiant earlier this year. All in all, the series has sold over 11 million copies.
The question is, what does Divergent mean for the continuation of the dystopian YA book-to-film phenomenon, with films like The Maze Runner and The Giver coming soon to a theater near us? What about all the comparisons between The Hunger Games and the Divergent series? Author Veronica Roth, herself still a member of the young adult community, sat down with the Associated Press and shared her thoughts on all of this and more:
Associated Press: The first time you saw the film adaptation of Divergent, did it look the way you’d envisioned it?
Veronica Roth: Not until I saw the shot of the Sears Tower (now Chicago’s Willis Tower) and the characters going into the choosing ceremony did I really go, ‘Oh that’s really it.’ I got really emotional. And I was happy because I didn’t want any sleek or super polished future and it does look kind of destroyed. You can’t micromanage the movie adaptation of your book. First of all, they won’t let you. Second of all, I didn’t want to.
AP: Your stories have been compared to writer Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games series. Both focus on heroines in dystopian societies. Feel any pressure to match the box-office numbers of those adaptations?
VR: I think it’s a double-edged sword. I try not to think about it, but I don’t succeed most of the time. “The Hunger Games” did something remarkable. So in that sense, it’s a flattering comparison. But you can’t hope to replicate that experience. It was unique.
AP: What are your thoughts on the casting choices of Shailene Woodley as the character Tris and Theo James as Four?
VR: (Shailene and Theo) transported me right away. They had great chemistry. That is what I was most concerned about because that has to carry the story.
AP: What was the inspiration for the story?
VR: My freshman year of college I learned about exposure therapy, which is a method of treating anxiety and phobia. Someone is repeatedly exposed to the thing that makes them afraid, so they become habituated to it. I wanted to use it in a sci-fi context.
AP: Writer Stephenie Meyer was 31 when her first book from the Twilight collection came out. Suzanne Collins was 46 when the first novel from her The Hunger Games trilogy released. How does it feel to be a young adult generating young adult material?
VR: I feel acutely aware of how young I am. In a way that is good. It’s productive. It makes me realize that I should be growing as a writer and a person.
AP: Does the pressure to produce a good follow-up weigh on you?
VR: It depends on the day. The only time I’m able to write is when I can let that go. It’s been helpful to have a series finished and think that whatever I do next just gets to exist between me and my screen for as long as I want it to. It’s a way of coaching myself into relaxing.
AP: Have you finished your next book?
VR: I wrote a collection of short stories that’s coming out in July. (The collection is told from Four’s perspective.) It’s kind of a prequel to Divergent. I’m just finishing them now.