Review: Divergent

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Genre: Dystopian/YA

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

Holy.. wow. Possibly my favorite book of the year (so far anyway!). Possibly even better than The Hunger Games? Maybe! But I'm waiting to read the entire Divergent series before making that final call.

Here's what I loved:


1. No love triangles. FINALLY! You know.. I was getting really sick of picking up what seemed like almost every YA book as of recent to find a love triangle tossed in. Back in the beginning of this "craze", it was alright. I loved the premise of the love triangle in The Vampire Academy series, but other than that.. I really loathe it most of the time. So, I was quite thrilled that Divergent didn't have it!


2. Gripping. I don't think I ever stopped thinking about it. When I wasn't reading this, I was thinking of the book. It was a major page turner. I was practically tearing at the pages to find out what happened next.


3. Tris was REAL. She had emotions, three-dimensional, and overall a character that I will remember and continue to love. She lost sometimes and I liked that. It was sad seeing her lose, but at the same time, I really have to say that this was an added bonus because it gave the character weak spots. A true character. Can't win ALL the time, you know, and that's what I liked.


4. Action-packed. It kept me on the edge of my seat and the details were compelling. Violent at times, but wow, it really hit the senses.


5. The romance was realistic. No "Hello" one day, and then two days later, "Oh my gosh, I'm in love." It was slow-moving romance that sent shivers up my spine. For once, in quite some time, the romance found in this novel was a romance that could be encountered in the real world. The characters got to know each other. We got to know the characters. Loved, loved, loved. And I loooovee Four. He was a character that really hit a soft spot with me, albeit I did kind of predict what was going on with him/who he was ahead of time, but it didn't ruin anything at all for me when I realized my assumption was right.


Normally, I'm not one to jump so quickly along with the hype and go out to buy a brand new, hardcover, just released book by a new author. I'll usually wait a while, or until the book comes out on paperback before I read it. This time, though, something just kept nagging at me to get it shortly after release day and I'm SO glad that I did now. Believe the hype. Every good thing that you hear about this book is true. Trust me.

Divergent will live long in my brain. I finished it a few days ago and still can't stop thinking about it. Now I'm likely going to go insane waiting for the second installment! :(


If I could rate this more than 5 stars, I would.

“You won,” Four mutters. “Stop.”

I wipe the sweat from my forehead. He stares at me. His eyes are too wide; they look alarmed.

“I think you should leave,” he says. “Take a walk.”

“I’m fine,” I say. “I’m fine now,” I say again, this time for myself.

I wish I could say I felt guilty for what I did.

I don’t.

~The Bookaholic