Divergent by Veronica Roth – Review

Divergent
by Veronica Roth
Publisher:  Katharine Tegen Books
Publication Date: May 3, 2011
ISBN: 9780062024022
496 Pages
Fiction: Young Adult

Publisher’s 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.

My Opinion:

Divergent was such a fantastic book! The drama in this story appeals to me on so many levels. It’s got action, suspense, betrayal, romance and that special kind of storyline that I can’t resist – one where the heroine digs deep and finds out that she has more courage than she could have ever imagined.

Beatrice is turning sixteen and must choose which of the five factions she wants to belong to (Abnegation, Candor, Dauntless, Amity, or Erudite). The factions do not all get along well, and there is a strong sense of loyalty involved in belonging to one over the other. If Beatrice decides to leave her faction (the one she grew up in) she will be leaving her family permanently.

Within each faction the teens are inducted and face exciting challenges and trials, some of which are quite dangerous. In a way it’s like a big hazing, but the tone and the danger all depends on which group you have joined.

There is a lot of nail-biting action as the new faction members try to prove themselves worthy. There are also some secret goings-on that have to do with the testing procedures that each teen must undergo prior to choosing a faction. Beatrice wonders if this secrecy has anything to do with those who are classified as “divergent” and wants to find out why being divergent is such a taboo.

Everything comes to a head in an action-packed conclusion filled with violent battles, betrayals and dangerous revelations. This is one of those exciting reads that starts off with innocence and naive hope and ends with a noble fight against evil – bringing a sizable death toll in the process.

Divergent is one of my top dystopian reads of the year so far.  It’s vying for the top spot on my list with Across the Universe by Beth Revis – I just haven’t been able to make my mind up yet because they are both so good.

If you have been searching for a book with both the intensity and loss of innocence of The Hunger Games then look no further than Divergent!

Rating: 5/5

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