Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent (Divergent trilogy, book 1) by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth, picture from Good Reads

Divergent is a YA novel about a girl named Tris Prior who lives in a dystopian Chicago. It is divided into five factions that each practice a different virtue: Abnegation = Selflessness, Dauntless = Bravery, Amity = Kindness, Erudite = Intelligence, Candor = Honesty. Tris lives with her family in Abnegation, the selfless faction. But on a given day of each year, every sixteen year old must take an aptitude test to determine which faction he/she would live best in. After Tris’s test, she learns that she is different. She is Divergent and Divergence is very dangerous in her society, but she doesn’t know why. The day after the test, they attend a Choosing Ceremony where they choose the faction they will stay in for the rest of their lives. If they can pass initiation. Tris’s life grows a whole lot harder for her in her new faction, where she makes friends and enemies, and also falls for her intimidating instructor, Four, who has a mysterious past. Getting through initiation is hard enough, but not nearly as complicated as what’s to come.

I love this book. It is very well written and I can tell that Veronica Roth put a lot of thought into it. She adds some romance to it, which I like, but it doesn’t completely take over the whole story. And it isn’t inappropriate for a girl my age. And it also doesn’t swear. That is one of my favorite things about it. I’m the kind of gal who loves funny novels. If it makes me laugh, and it’s well written, it is on my list. Though Divergent isn’t particularly funny, it does have some parts in there where I find myself chuckling. Also, it’s so beautifully written that I can completely overlook the fact that it doesn’t make me laugh every other page.

I received this book as a Christmas gift from my next-door neighbors (so sweet!) and it completely opened my eyes to a whole new genre of books: Dystopian. I’d never heard of dystopian books before reading Divergent. Now I’ve read several and loved almost every one of them, but Divergent is still at the top of my list.

Of course, my mom pre-reads every “questionable” book before letting me read it. We do this thing we call “piggy-back reading.” My mom reads several chapters, and when she’s busy (cleaning, cooking, writing her own blog, etc.”), I read up to where she stopped. It’s actually a pretty effective system, except I’m always thrusting the book into her face when she’s watching TV or something, saying, “READ!! I want to know what happens next!” It kind of annoys my dad. Oh, well.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on Divergent. Awesome book. I read a lot, and I mean A LOT. So you’ll probably be hearing from me soon. Until then . . . Reader out.

P.S. The second book in this trilogy is called Insurgent. The third comes out October 22, 2013 and is called Allegiant.