Author: Veronica Roth
Paperback: 487 pages (ARC version)
Publication date: May 3, 2011
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books/ Harper Collins
FTC: grabbed from work's freebie shelf
The short and easy:
Loved this book. Go read this and then eagerly await the next in the series. It may not be as good as The Hunger Games (my review) but it's definitely better than Catching Fire and Mockingjay.
The synopsis:
Set in dystopian Chicago, everyone must belong to a faction:
Candor - the honest
Abnegation - the selfless
Dauntless - the brave
Amity - the peaceful
Erudite - the intelligent
When a person turns sixteen, they can choose for themselves which faction they want to belong to. This is a huge deal because a person has to live and work with the chosen faction - basically cutting themselves off from everything and everyone they know if they choose a different faction from the one they were raised. Beatrice was raised int he Abnegation faction (think Amish and then go a few steps further). Knowing she may disappoint her family, she decides to choose Dauntless. Jumping (literally) into the faction of the brave, Beatrice re-names herself Tris and must prove to herself and her new faction that she belongs.
My thoughts:
Tris is awesome. She's what I wanted Katniss in The Hunger Games to be like, especially in the last book, Mockingjay. Tris chooses her faction and starts her new life at the beginning of the book and the main part of the book is the initiation of becoming Dauntless. I kept comparing it to The Hunger Games - except in Divergent, these kids choose to go through their trials. So yeah, it's pretty violent. People die and get maimed. Kids are forced to fight each other and get tattoos to prove their bravery.
What I loved is the growth Tris goes through. She must learn to become brave without sacrificing who she is. As she grows, she finds that the factions are not what they used to be. Something is wrong. You can see the set up for what the rest of the series is going to be - the breakdown and possible waring of the factions. Divergent also refers to something Tris is - something dangerous and secretive. I can't wait to see how that part plays out in the series. Of course, there is a love angle. It's not a huge love story but it's in there and I have to say it was perfectly done. Unlike some YA, there is no love triangle but the said guy is pretty cool.
If you like dystopian fiction, good YA books, or just an excuse to read close to 500 pages in a day or two, check out Divergent.
Check out Veronica Roth's blog
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