Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent (#1)
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
How Received: ARC
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, 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 alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating 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 unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves... or it might destroy her
I know, I'm a little behind on the bandwagon. Divergent has been on my bookshelf since before it's publication, and yet I'm just now getting to it. You can thank my sister for that. I'd have forgotten to pick it up if she hadn't been raving about how amazing it was.
And Divergent is good. Very good.
For me, a dystopian book rests on two things: world and main character.
The world rocked it, big enough to seem amazing and small enough to get a good understanding of all the different elements. The factions were amazing to look at. The science with all the serum such was believable enough in a futuristic failure that I could believe it.
And Tris! Tris, Tris, Tris! I loved her. There's something to be said for a character who has weaknesses and knows she's weak and still manages to come off to everybody else as strong. Definitely a hard protagonist to follow, being my first book of the new calendar year.
I had a few little issues with it. A lot of scenes reminded me vaguely of The Hunger Games. No details because spoilers, but it's something I could easily look past -- The Hunger Games is still my default dystopian to compare to, and considering this came hot off its heels, it's to be expected.
The one thing I wished hadn't happened was the coupling of Four and Tris. Yes, I ship them. They will be awesome together. But seeing them kick ass and care for each other as just friends would have been amazing and made the last few scenes between the two of them infinitely more powerful. I'm also a sucker for couples who refuse to be together because of the world and power issues. (Hello, Rose and Dimitri.)
However, Divergent does win points for making me hate characters in less time than any other books. You should be dead, Peter. Eric should have been shot in the face. But at least Molly is factionless...
Overall Rating & Final Comments: 9/10. A fast-paced, solid dystopian with an amazing protagonist and a cliche love plot.
Excited to dig my teeth into the sequel, which I hear is even better. What did you guys think?