BOOK DESCRIPTION: In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.
MY OPINION: In a world of recent and mediocre dystopian novels, Divergent definitely stood out. It was a book with a lot of hype and buzz surrounding it, even before its release. I picked this one up on my birthday last year—and though it took me a while to get around to it, when I did, I was sort of blown away. I didn't completely fall over, I just kind of stumbled. It was really good.
I enjoyed this one a lot. It was unlike anything I've read. Although it did have a similar feel to The Hunger Games, the two books are completely different. There were so many instances that I felt my hands shaking like autumn leaves, my legs like tree branches in a windstorm. It had a lot of suspense, for sure. It was fantastic.
Tris (Beatrice) was a very strong character. I don't remember there being a single moment where I felt she was annoying, which is something that tends to happen when I'm reading from another teenage girl's perspective. I liked her. Her voice was new and refreshing and she was normal. She had thoughts and emotions that I could relate to, she felt the same things I would feel. Her character developed a lot throughout the novel and I can definitely say that she was a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful addition to the list of YA Butt Kicking Heroines. Four was also a great love interest. I loved the fact that he was older and he was the leader—I'm not sure why, there was just something about it that I really enjoyed reading. He was a little bit flat compared to Tris but I mean, you can't blame the guy. I'd be flat compared to her as well. Their romance was very well written. It was well paced and there was an undeniable chemistry between them, you could almost feel it seeping through the pages. Sigh.
I thought Roth did an amazing job at setting the different scenes, as well. Everything was very vivid and clear in my mind and I don't think I could have asked for anything more regarding her writing style and talent. You can tell that she's had some practice because her words seem to flow like water and you cannot help but to lose yourself in them.
I loved that sort of 'the government is our enemy' element that it had to it. That's one of my favorite things to see in books, and Roth executed it perfectly.
The secondary characters were brilliant, as well. Even the darker ones, like Peter and Edward. They all seemed like flesh and bone. None of them were flat. They were all real people with real thoughts and emotions and motives and that's one of the best things you can get out of a book, ever.
I suggest that you pick this one up. It was so good. And it gets better as you go along. You'll laugh and you'll cry and you'll sleep with one eye opened to make sure that you don't get stabbed. I am so excited for the sequel Insurgent. Roth set a pretty high bar for herself. Let's see if she can bring it one notch higher.
Note: I've read that Divergent is going to be made into a film by Summit Entertainment- the same Summit that brought Twilight to theaters worldwide. Although some may feel that too many YA novels are hitting the big screen, I think this one would make lovely company for The Hunger Games and Twilight. It would be lovely in the cinema. Not lovely as in pretty. Lovely as in horrifying.
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