Divergent by Veronica Roth

Publisher's Summary: 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 Take: WOW! That was an amazing, awesome, compelling, mind boggling and intense book! Divergent is by far one of the best books I have read this year! I had finished this book a couple weeks ago and right away I knew it would be difficult to review because I absolutely did not want to give any part of the story away. So this little issue left me with some MAJOR pondering. I have been struggling with the thought of how little detail or even emotion that I could express! Grrrr…. So I had to find a way to write my review with very little detail because I think each reader needs to begin this book as completely blind about the story as possible. That’s the way "I" approached Divergent and I am happy I stuck to this philosophy because it kept every moment in the book a mystery. Well, accept that everyone I know who read it talked about how much they loved Four and I have now joined the bandwagon with my infatuation.

When I first picked up Divergent I was immediately sucked into the story and I was really intrigued by the bizarre standard of living that the people in this dystopia novel endured. The beginning of the book is what really set the tone for me when Beatrice’ (who later changes her name to Tris) mother is cutting her hair and it is the first time in 6 weeks since she has been able to see herself in a mirror; otherwise the mirror is always kept covered! This is because her family is in the Abnegation (selfless) faction (a faction is a specific lifestyle you must live out to the fullest!) so she can’t look at herself too long or that would be considered vain. Weird! Right?

Each year, all 16 year olds are put through a simulation and the results of the simulation may ultimately help them decide the faction they end up choosing. After the simulation they have one day to decide the faction they will live in for the rest of their lives. Tris and her brother happened to turn 16 in the same year, so they are going in this together. Tris hasn’t done very well at being selfless…unlike her brother, so she is certain that her brother will be staying to live with their parents and she will be moving on to one of the other 4 factions.

This is when the story starts to get really good!

Tris meets a whole set of new kids her age and through this bunch of kids she makes several new friends that I grew to love. But then she also has to deal with some really evil kids and a horrible betrayal (one I least suspected!) I am still shocked by this betrayal; this is something I did not foresee coming at all! And then there is Four! How could you not fall in love with Four! I need to start taking notes of all the fictional characters I’m in love with.

While reading Divergent I knew there would be much more to the story than just reading about Tris and her new faction. I knew there was something big that was going to go down, but I was still completely caught off guard by what happens in the end. It was totally crazy! There are things that happen in the end that didn’t sit well with me…well, actually, I was really upset. But it was still a phenomenal ending and I can’t wait to see what will happen next!

This book was purchased with my own money.