Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Publication Date: April 28th, 2011

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Genre: Dystopian/YA

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Synopsis:

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 Thoughts: I can finally say I have read this book!  I feel like everyone else in the world has read this and I hadn't. I've heard so many great things about this book, and unending amounts of praise. It did not fall short of my expectations.

Beatrice was a young woman we can all really admire. She has incredible integrity, loyalty, determination, strength, intelligence, bravery and so much more. She was a really amazing female character, and I wish there were more like her in books. As far as kick butt female characters go, she's got to be near the top of the list. If you're looking for a strong female lead, you will definitely find it here.

Although Beatrice is all those things she does have hear fears, her fears are real and scary, and something I think we can all identify with in one way or another. Which is another thing that makes this book so great. While we might not relate directly to her problems, I think we definitely can develop a correlation between our own issues and hers. Trying to discover herself, trying to find where she belongs, where she fits in, who her real friends are, how scary being in love can be. All of these are things that she, and we, have to discover on our own. No one can tell you the answers or get them for you. So reading about Beatrice experiencing this conflicts and how she handles them is definitely one of the major things that draws us in. Because we get it, we understand, and we admire her ability to handle herself, and I think a few of us are wishing we could be a lot more like her.

Another great thing about this book is the romance aspect. It wasn't full on head over heels right away. It wasn't a constant description of how hot this guy was, and how much she wanted to jump him. It was a development over time. For both the parties involved, it was about so much more than looks. It was about the person within, real reasons to love someone instead of how nice their cheek bones are or how great their butt is, haha sorry. While I do enjoy reading stuff like that from time to time, this was a nice change. Also, as their feelings progress, the sexual aspects are kept to a minimum, again Beatrice shows more reasons for admiring her when she straight out says that wants to take her time and if that is all he is interested in, he better take a hike. Go Beatrice! I really think she is just an awesome role model for girls of all ages, but especially those in their adolescent years.

So yeah, I definitely love Beatrice.  Aside from that, this was a really riveting story, very character driven, and really gripping. I would read massive chunks of this book at a time, it was really hard to put down. It kept me up at night turning the pages ceaselessly. If you liked the Hunger Games I'm pretty sure you will like this one! While they're not really the same, to me they kinda carried the same vibe.

I'm glad I finally cracked this one open, it was a really amazing read and I can't wait to read Insurgent. You can be sure I won't be waiting forever to read that one now that I know for myself just how great Divergent is.  If you just so happen to be one of those people like me who still hasn't read it. I suggest you change that, as soon as possible. I really think everyone should read this book, it's just awesome :).