May 3rd, 2011"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." -goodreads
Divergent was epic! Another thrilling dystopia (you must think I'm getting out of hand with this, but I promise, no more dystopia reviews for... a week or so!). It was exciting, surprising, suspenseful, filled with action and adventure and even romantic. Sounds cool, right? Not only was the story itself cool (and told EXTREMELY WELL), the characters were great. Triss (Beatrice) was awesome, a strong heroine to lead the story, kind of like Katniss in The Hunger Games (except I found Triss a lot more likable) or Max in Maximum Ride. Four was great too, quite the complex character. Divergent ended with a rather good cliffhanger.
The part of the story I found most fascinating was probably the factions. Not only were they rather unique and thus interesting, they were also really cool because I kept wondering to myself, which one would I choose? I think that question comes up with most readers though. And then the whole Divergent thing... That was the best. This book was filled with twists and turns that will make you want to do nothing but read it until it ends. If you want an exciting YA read that helps you cope with your Hunger Games deficiency and get more great dystopias, Divergent is a must-read! Yay Divergent!
If you'd like to learn more about Divergent, check out author Veronica Roth's blog.
Note: Thank you HarperCollins/Katherine Tegan Books for sending me a copy to review.
Reader's Notice: This does not in any way effect my review, it is unbiased! (As always!)
