Book Review: Divergent

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

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In a Nutshell: Divergent is a fast-paced dystopian novel that is sure to please any Hunger Games fan.

Putdownability Factor: Practically non-existent. Definitely one of those "read late into the night" kinds of books.

Cover Love: Its pretty freaking awesome! Very eye catching and also a fair representation of what the book is about.

Why did I pick up this book? Well its a dystopian and people were hyping it as "the next Hunger Games". How could I not pick it up?

My Thoughts

If you guys follow my Twitter then you probably know how stinking obsessed I was with getting to read this book. Everyone else was reading it, and raving about it, and I was just thinking "My stupid Library needs to hurry up and ORDER THIS BOOK!!!" (as you guys might know, I tend to not buy books unless I've read them.) Well my Library finally got a copy and let me tell you I was just about the happiest person alive! I tore through this book lightning fast. There are some books where the hype hurts it. People expect to much, and then the story ends up falling flat. Well not so with Divergent. It was everything that people said it was and more.

Veronica Roth's world building is amazing. I've never been to Chicago, but even so I could clearly picture it in my minds eye. She also did a brilliant job at creating each faction and making them all feel real and tangible. The only faction that I was a little lost on was the Amity faction, but I have a feeling we will be learning a lot more about them in Divergent's sequel!

I LOVED TRIS. She definitely measures up with Katniss as far as "Kick butt female heroines" go. Tris drive and courage were awesome. She is the definition of small but mighty!

My favorite part of Divergent was its sheer ability to pull me into the story as if I was living it right alongside Tris. It was like I was experiencing everything she was experiencing, feeling everything she was feeling, and seeing everything she was seeing. Veronica Roth definitely has a gift! I haven't been quite so sucked into a book since reading The Hunger Games.

While Divergent is an AMAZING book there was one major thing that didn't sit well with me. And that was the romance. I know a lot of people LOVED the romance in this book, but for me it just seemed so out of place amongst the heart racing initiation techniques and brewing revolution. And I know that Four is only 18 while Tris is 16, but the fact that he was her instructor just made it feel extra weird and awkward. Like she was crushing on a way older teacher or something.... But that could be just me.

Another small gripe was the last 70 pages or so. The whole ending felt a little rushed and contrived, especially in contrast to the rest of the book. Also there were a lot of deaths that just felt so senseless to me. They were almost glossed over and while reading I wanted to feel sad but honestly I just felt... nothing. :(

Divergent is definitely one of the best dystopian books I've ever read even with its flaws. Whats a book without a few flaws right? 5 out of 5 ice cream cones!

Who would I recommend this book to? Any teenager who loves dystopians! Especially fans of The Hunger Games. I would say the best ages would be 13 and up because there is definitely some mature and violent content that might scare younger readers.

So if you lived in the Divergent world which faction would you choose? Amity (the Peaceful), Dauntless (the Brave), Erudite (the Intelligent), Abnegation (the Selfless), or Candor (the Honest)? I would definitely choose the Dauntless faction. I'm such a daredevil.

Julia :)