Divergent author Veronica Roth headed to Los Angeles earlier this month to see the completed version of the film adaptation.

As it would be for any author who was about to see their brainchild as a Hollywood movie, Roth admits on her blog that she was “nervous to see it.”

However… her nerves were calmed once the film started rolling. “I was completely absorbed by it. Even though I am so familiar with this story, I clearly remember grabbing the arms of my chair when Tris runs to catch the train after the Choosing Ceremony because I was nervous that she wouldn’t make it. (And then I thought to myself… YOU WROTE THE STORY, VERONICA.) It was beautifully shot — Chicago is such a gorgeous city, and to see it transformed into this futuristic wasteland was incredibly cool — and suspenseful, and the cast did a wonderful job.”

Roth credits director Neil Burger’s work for the excellent adaptation. “And we were so lucky to have Neil Burger driving this — his vision of the world, the amazing details and subtleties of it, his understanding of the story, and how seriously he took every part of it… I mean, you can tell. You can see it everywhere.”

Finally, the author notes that the hard work she saw on set clearly paid off. “I was nervous to see it, as I think any author whose book is being adapted for the screen would be, but I remember remarking when I first went to set that everyone involved with the movie seemed so thoughtful about the story they were helping to build, and I feel like the final product reflects that.”

Divergent opens in theaters March 21, and studio tracking indicates that the dystopian film is going to make around $50 million at the opening weekend box office in the United States – a winning number to launch this film series.