Review: Divergent

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication Date: May 3, 2011

Reviewer: Annie

Summary:  (From Amazon) 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.

Review: In a world where most chose to stay within the faction they were raised, Beatrice surprises everyone and chooses a different faction.  This starts her on a competitive initiation process and she starts to learn disturbing things about her new and old factions and the world they live in.

I really enjoyed this book; it was definitely a page turner that kept me very interested.  I love that a lot of these new young adult books have strong female characters (some adult books should take note) and Tris is a very easy character to relate to.  I do have one complaint about it though and I’ll try to keep it as un-spoilery as possible.  Towards the end of the book things take a big turn and this happened suddenly in a frustrating way.  I wish there had been a bit more buildup to it or maybe just have the events take more time, it was like suddenly everyone was an enemy and I really didn’t enjoy that.  I guess the ending as a whole left me a bit disappointed. 

If you liked the Hunger Games this would be another good young adult book to read.  It’s not quite as well written as the Hunger Games (or even Delirium), the writing is more straight forward and a bit younger feeling.  But the story is great; the world that Roth created is intriguing and makes me want to know what else she has in store for us in the next 2 books!

~ Annie