Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (May 3, 2011)

Goodreads Description:

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.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

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This dystopian simply blew me away. In the very beginning I thought maybe I wasn't going to care for it too much but that quickly changed and I was simply unable to put the book down. I was so engrossed in it that I managed to read it in a matter of hours (and it is definitely not a tiny book). I think that for anyone who loves dystopian this story is a must-read, and for those who have never read one before this is a great place to start.

In the story the city is fenced in and patrolled. All the residents of the city are divided up into factions based on what characteristic they value most and believe would have prevented war in the past. Here is a breakdown of the factions and their characteristic:

Abegnation: selfless
Candor: honest
Dauntless: brave
Amity: peaceful
Erudite: intelligent

There are also Factionless people who fail to make it into a faction. They are very poor and rely on much of the charity by Abegnation.

These traits are taken to the extreme in the factions. Abegnation always put others before them, Candor are always bluntly honest, etc. Because of this, government and other jobs are doled out to specific factions like the Dauntless are like police/guards, Abegnation head up the government because they are uncorrectable due to their selflessness.

Up to the age of 16 student of all factions attend the same school. In their 16th year they are tested privately to see what faction they have an aptitude for. After that occurs there is a ceremony in which they choose what faction they will belong to the rest of their life. They do not have to choose the faction for which they have the aptitude and also if they switch from the faction they were born into they often become shunned by their family as they often see it as a betrayal. It is almost like a competition between all the factions.

The main character is Beatrice who come from Abegnation. When it is time for her to pick factions she chooses Dauntless. The training begins. If she fails her training she will become Factionless. She has to learn to fight and be fearless despite her small size and upbringing which taught her to put others first. The transformation she goes through is an intense and inspiring thing to read. There is a little romance and a lot of corruption in the story, but I don't want to give anything away. I highly recommend this book and I hope that many of you will pick it up and enjoy it as much as I did.

5/5