Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This review MAY be SLIGHTLY spoilery - I am going to try and keep it clean of spoilers but may fail. You have been forewarned! :)

"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.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance." - From the inside cover


I read this book right after it came out and it had taken me this long to finally write a review. First - I LOVED this book. I loved the world Veronica Roth had created. I love that it is set in a dystopian Chicago (a place I am familiar with, as my family is all from there so it was fun reading about landmarks i know well). I love the idea of factions and that they tried to make a Utopian society but instead have turned in to a true dystopian world. I also love that she has left us with many questions at the end of the first book.

I was able to see traits from each of the different factions in myself. The choice that the characters have to make about their lives made me evaluate what I hold to be more important. Honesty? Selflessness? Bravery? Peaceful? Or Intelligence? Which would you choose? I am not sure that I could.

Tris is a very confused young lady in the beginning. Should she stay in Abnegation with her family or chose a different path? She never feels "good" enough to be where she is now. I think that many readers can relate to that feeling of disappointing the world around us.

Once she makes her decision and moves on with her life we are shown a new world and experience it all through Tris's eyes. Everything she has been taught comes into question. What is "right" and what is "wrong". Each faction has their secrets and in the first book we are shown some from only 3 of the 5. It will interesting to see more of the world in the next book.

There is a love story thrown in but I don't feel it overwhelms the story as I have found in many young adult books. I enjoyed the mystery of Four and the resolution of the story and I feel they compliment each other very well. Neither is perfect and their flaws make them more real to me. I felt the truly needed each other.

There is some violence that may offend more sensitive readers but I truly felt it was needed in this story. Veronica Roth did a great job detailing the action without making it gruesome. If you have read the Hunger Games this is much more tame.

I have already reread this one at least 3 times and am waiting very impatiently for the next book - Insurgent.


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