Review for Divergent

Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Pages: 487

Source: Library

(Summery from Goodreads)

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.

The Good

I have been hearing nothing but praise for this book and it’s pretty well deserved. Veronica Roth created this amazing world where everyone is separated by their dominant feature (selfless, brave, peaceful, or intelligent) into different factions. They all have their own job to do and for many years this has kept this dystopian city of Chicago running. I must admit I was a bit skeptical about how it could be pulled off but Roth did it very well.

I’m a big action girl so I absolutely loved this book. All the initiation tests were krazy and heart pumping, and the last half of the book had me staying up late into the night (or early into the morning) just so I could find out what was going to happen next. I felt the plot was the driving force behind this story and it always had something new for the reader around the corner.

I really liked Beatrice/Tris’ character. She went from being a “Stiff” to a black wearing, tattoo bearing, gun toting power girl. I love strong female characters and the development of Tris was very fascinating to watch. And I’m going to add my voice to the crowd when I say that Four is HOT! I love the dark, mysterious characters and I love the control he has over his emotions. He knows the game and knows how to play. The only question is will Tris figure out how the game is played before it’s too late?

The Bad

To be perfectly honest, when I first started reading this book (about this first hundred pages) I wasn’t overly thrilled with it. The 1^st person POV felt very distant, the characters seemed a little flat (this could have to do with the fact that they were only supposed to have one personality trait) and I had a hard time getting into a world where people were separated in the ways that they were. I talked to my sister about it and she felt completely opposite so I kept reading hoping things would get better and they did. So I guess what I’m saying is, I found the first part to be a bit slow and a little dull but it really opened up later and gave me the story I’ve been hearing about everywhere.

The Krazyness

Q: If you got had to pick a faction what would it be?

A: As much as I would love to say Dauntless (cause seriously, jumping off buildings sounds fun) I would probably be better in Amity.

Moral of the Story

Jumping off trains can be detrimental to your health.

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