Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Review: Divergent by Veroinca Roth

Divergent by Veronia Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (May 3, 2011)
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages (Hardcover): 487
Series: Divergent Trilogy Book 1
Source: Gifted to own
ISBN-13: 9780062024022
Genre: Dystopian

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. 

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A lot of times, the excellence that is Divergent, is compared to its 2008 predecessor The Hunger Games. Having never read The Hunger Games, I was able to give Divergent its ability to wow me own its own, with no competition and it set an amazing standard. This book was artfully crafted to give you a fully created Dystopian Chicago setting in a world where true human nature is always prevalent.

In Divergent, Roth has created an immense set of sound and solid characters including the main heroine Tris, the male protagonist Four, and a slew of other support characters. The depth and connection that Roth provides to these characters is miraculous and fine tuned to include a beautiful array of personal and familial details. 

The concept of the Divergent is unique and one that helps round out the idea of the factions that she has created for the founding of the society. The society forces each person to look deep within themselves to fit into a model, a cookie cutter, of their personality and be manipulated into world peace but this book clearly and intelligently illustrates that that is not always possible and adds a realistic feel with the play on humanity.

The plot of this book was riveting; there was actually a point when I could not put it down. I understand a lot of people say that quite often but I say it with the utmost honesty. Once I was thrown into the whole plot of the book and the excitement built towards the climax, my heart was racing for Tris and I could not physically put it down because I had to know what was coming and by the end of the book I was exhausted. I felt like I had been on a nail-biting roller coaster for the thrill this book gave me.


Rating out of 5:

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