Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth (no spoilers) (Divergent #1)

Book: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent Trilogy
Publication: February 28th, 2012
Source: Local Library
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

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My Thoughts:
I have to admit that Divergent is a hard book to write a no spoiler review over. It is also a hard book to just not totally fangirl throughout the review. Words can not explain how much I loved this book. I initially put off reading Divergent because everybody loved this book so much. I didn't want to disappoint anybody or have to write a negative review over this book so I put off reading it. I also didn't want there to be another book that my sister loved and I didn't.

I'm glad I read this book because I fell in love with Tris and Veronica Roth's dystopian world. The beginning of the novel filled me with so many questions and excitement. I couldn't wait to find out which faction Tris would be in and what the ending of this novel will be. We also see many themes in Divergent such as growing up, finding yourself, self confidence, and choices. Tris has many choices to make and each choice will effect her life in a different way.

The rest of the book is very intense with just the right spark of a love story. It is hard for me to write this part without spoiling anything, but I loved every part of initiation. It put fear in my mind for Tris and the other characters. I loved that Tris was a strong and capable female character. She was fully capable of showing her worth in this faction through her fighting and defense skills. Tris was a complex character that I felt a connection to during this novel. I can't wait to read more about Tris in the upcoming novels. It made me think about myself and which faction I would choose. It also gave me the encouragement to continue reading even though I should have been doing something else.

Four was one of my favorite characters of this novel. He is the faction mentor of the faction Tris chooses. He is slowly developed as a character and we learn that he is quite complex. He has many similarities with Tris. He also is unique in this faction's statistics. I don't want to spoil anything so I won't continue, but I will say that Four is quite the character and I believe he will be important in the upcoming novels.

I found it very interesting also the relationships among the five factions and how they work or don't work together. I see this relating a lot to our world where some countries get along while others are constantly at war. As usual in dystopian books the government is corrupt creating another interesting dynamic for Divergent.

Divergent is the fastest book I have read during college so far which goes to show how amazing I thought this novel was. I fell in love with Veronica Roth's characters and her world. I immediately went and put myself on the hold list for Insurgent and Allegiant. I can't wait to continue the series. The ending of Divergent could have made this just one book, but I'm glad Veronica Roth decided to continue the series. I want to find out what choice Tris makes next.


Thanks for reading


Rachael