Recent Reads - Divergent

Divergent, by Veronica Roth

  4 of 5 Stars

Genre:   Young Adult SciFi Dystopian

Pages:   299

Published:   5/3/2011, Harper Collins

Why I Chose It:   It came highly recommended by friends who'd read and loved the story. I was definitely attracted to the cover. It's strong, powerful, and dark. It screams SciFi & Dystopia, two things I love.

Synopsis (from Good Reads):    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.

My Review:  I had a hard time connecting with Tris in the beginning. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the book, because I did. It's just that there's only so much self-doubt I can take and Tris is riddled with it. One redeeming factor was that she didn't whine about it.

Overall, I found the plot predictable. I knew where we were going and all the plot twists and character revelations that would follow from about page 46. This means I spent a lot of time waiting for Tris to catch up with me.

Of course now some of you may be wondering how I can give 4 stars to a book where I didn't instantly fall in love with the main character or where I'd figured out the plot so early on.

Well, since you asked:

1) I love the world Veronica Roth created. I love its texture, its history, its layers, and its message. I love all the secondary characters, from her friend and fellow initiate Christina to the conniving, cruel Eric.

2) I love where this story seems to be heading. The book actually ends, unlike some others I've read in recent history. It can stand on its own, but it left room for the sequel that is coming. A sequel that I am now anticipating.

3) Just because I couldn't relate to Tris' character doesn't mean that she's not an interesting character. At the very least, I understood her motivation. Tris' self-doubt and her sometimes infuriating behavior stemmed from her background and, to be honest, there's not an Abnegation bone in my body, so it was hard for me to  understand her actions and reactions. But she was conflicted and I can appreciate that. And she was always honest about it.

Tris grew on me. The more she came into her own -- realizing that her so-called flaws were actually part of her strength -- and the more she embraced the whole person she was meant to be, the more I liked her. By the end I was rooting for her.

4) Four -- If the book had been about Four standing in a cardboard box, I would have read it cover to cover and begged for more. To me, Four was the most compelling character in the story, even though I had him figured out from the start.

He's strong, loyal, brave, selfless, and kind & loving wrapped up in a hard exterior. He's bruised by his past, but far from broken. Just how I like my heroes. He reminded me of a Dean Winchester or a Wolverine type. And anyone who knows me, knows how much I love those guys.


I'd recommend this book, especialy to anyone who likes Dystopia. And to those who may have trouble connecting with Tris like I did, stick around. It's worth it.


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