Title: Divergent (#1) Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books, Feb 2012
Number of Pages: Paperback, 487 pages
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance
Setting: Chicago, IL
Plot: (Goodreads.com) 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, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
Personal Thoughts: I was hooked onto this book from the very first sentence! It only took me about a day and a half to read through the whole thing! The character of Tris was someone that I could easily relate to! It seems like almost every dystopia book that comes out now has to be compared to The Hunger Games, and while I love the Hunger Games series... I love the Divergent series for so many OTHER reasons.
Tris (Beatrice) is born into a faction of Chicago called Abnegation - they are a selfless group and are supposed to be others before themselves. I found this hard to understand in some ways because I personally believe that we are all as humans just a tad selfish, and that's okay. While it's honorable to put others before yourself sometimes, I don't see the need to do it all the time. In this part of her history, I was able to relate to her. Tris never really bought into the whole selfless part of her family life.
At the age of 16 in this society, each teen is supposed to participate in the choosing ceremony - where you will choose which faction you are to remain a part of for the rest of your life. This ceremony comes right after the "aptitude test" they are required to take to help them decide which faction is right for them. (Belonging to more than one faction means you are Divergent.) She's of a small minority of people who are divergent, which eventually becomes a dangerous fact in her life. At the ceremony, Tris decides to join up with the Dauntless crowd - the military faction. They are a fearless and rowdy crowd. But it doesn't take long for her to fit in; to embrace and conquer her fears... she soon learns that her society is not all that she's been told to believe.
It's in Dauntless that she meets Four, who's name is a mere nickname based on the fears he has to overcome. It doesn't take long to realize that a slow-building romance begins between Tris and Four from the first day he meets her in the Pit!
This book has all that I love in a dystopian science fiction - strong heroine, lots of action, a good bit of romance, and an extremely flawed society.
Recommended Age Level: 15+
Rating: 5
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