Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Series: #1 - Divergent
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: May 3rd, 2011
My Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0
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.
My Review:
I first started this book, and well frankly I could NOT put this book down. I fell in love with the title, and I felt it fit the book completely. The raw curiosity that took over, made me want to keep reading. Not only to find out what happens to Tris, but the world around her. Yeah, this may not be the best dystopian novels out there, let alone a dystopian at all, but I felt like the society was unique, somewhat plausible.
The one nagging question I had throughout the book though, under the assumption that the society could happen, WHY did it happen? That was never answered and continues to plague my mind. There has to be some explanation, that's the main reason I hate most zombie novels/movies they tend to ignore the idea of why zombies or things are the way they are. To me it's an empty hole.
As well, the society around all the characters is a five faction system; Abengation, Dauntless, Erudite, Candor, Amity. All of these blame the downfall of humanity and the faults of everyone on different reasons. So in that sense they all stand for something, Selflessness, Bravery, Knowledge, Honesty, Peace respectively. All these factions seem nice,but the problem I had with these distinguishing factions and what they stand for; who can pick one reason, one faction and say THAT is why we failed.
Dauntless and Abegnation took the main stage in this book and gave a wide view into the how they function and what they do. Dauntless I admired. Yeah they may seem a bit confusing and dumb; jumping out of trains, beating each other up, proving they aren't afraid to die. But it was more than that, It was the fact that they wanted to beat the fear in themselves, by looking at the greatest fear in live, death, in the eyes and being able to say you weren't afraid that's the biggest source of courage and well self-stupidity at the same time.
As well in the Dauntless compound there is scenes that are pretty graphic and frankly intense. I loved them. The work of every detail, the fine tooth come that it took to make sure the scene was just right and made me believe that you were either going to make it in Dauntless or die. That's intensity, that source of graphic involvement kept me reading, made me want to know what happened to Tris, and just the next step of every trial and tribulation.
I would like to give my hats off to the romance in this book. Four and Tris are perfect and I'll say it over and over, there is no damn Love Triangle. I hate them, and even if there was one that started to come about, Tris isn't the type of character to play part in one. She's got the attitude to point and pick one and be done with it. I like that in a character, I love Tris and Four and how every time I thought about getting real work done, I just couldn't put the book down to do it. I wanted to know what happened to them, and get to know all the characters.
