Divergent by Veronica Roth
Published by Katherine Tegan Books, an imprint of HarperCollins
In the not-too-distant future in Chicago, the city is divided into five factions, each focusing on a particular human virtue. There is Candor (honesty), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (bravery), Amity (peacefulness), and Erudite (intelligence). Tris, born into Abnegation, must make a choice at the age of sixteen as to which faction she truly belongs in. She chooses Dauntless, and subsequently is pulled into a grueling initiation that causes her to question everything she thought she knew about herself, her family, and her society.
Divergent is one of those books that I just knew I would love, long before I began reading it. Set in Chicago (my hometown)? Yes, please. Kick-ass female main character? Yes, please. A book that’s been compared to The Hunger Games? YES. I’m happy to say that Divergent lived up to the very high expectations I had for it. I absolutely loved this book.
Tris is a fantastic character and I was drawn to her immediately. She is physically tough and very smart but also has a realistic vulnerability to her that makes her very believable. I empathized with her struggles to come into her own in the Dauntless faction, and with the internal conflicts she had as she left her Abnegation family and friends behind.
The non-romance romance between Tris and Four definitely captured my interest. I rooted for them from the start and hoped that they would figure out how great they would be together. The friendship that developed between the two of them was realistic to me and I believed in them as a couple.
I have to admit that the world-building in Divergent wasn’t as perfect as I would have liked. I feel that I have a good idea of what this society is really about, but what’s missing is how did they get to this point? But since this is the first book in a series (of course) I am confident Roth will give the reader more details in the following books.
I feel that I haven’t said very much about what made Divergent such a hit with me, but I enjoyed it so much that I don’t know how else to explain my feelings! I know this book has been compared to The Hunger Games, and I can see why, but they really are two very different novels. Pick up Divergent and let me know what you think!
Book Addiction 
I guess I’m going to have to read this. Everyone has been talking about it as one of the best YA dystopias of the year. I don’t want to miss out!
Yes you definitely need to read it!
I bought this one for my Kindle a few months ago, and can’t wait to get the time to read it. The reviews have been fabulous, and even if it’s only the first part in a trilogy, I am excited about it. I am planning on reading more of my own reads in the coming year, and this one is at the top of the list. I am so glad to hear that you loved it and that it was such a great read for you… I will have to let you know what I think!
Looking forward to hearing what you think. 🙂
I have to admit I started this on and haven’t finished it yet. I’ll give it another go though, bc I never hear anything negative about it!
Oh wow Amy I think you would like it a lot. Let me know what you think!
You’ve made this sound very exciting! I’m adding it to my wish list.
Exciting it is. 🙂
I quite enjoyed this one! Probably my 2nd fav YA dystopian series after The Hunger Games. I really like Unwind by Neal Shusterman too but it’s not a series. Haven’t read Legend by Marie Lu yet but heard good things about it.
I will have to wait to read the rest of this series to decide whether I like it better than Hunger Games or not. 😉 I’ve also heard good things about Legend but haven’t read it yet.
I enjoyed it. thanks
Now I should seriously drop by the bookstore soon!
I have been hearing a lot of good reviews about this book and am looking forward to reading it sometime soon! Thanks for the review!
Good gracious, I still can’t believe I haven’t picked this one up! Have dutifully added it to my Goodreads list. 🙂
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