Review: Divergent - Veronica Roth

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (May 3, 2011)

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.

My Thoughts...

WOW...OMG...WOW! I guess that won't cut it as a review huh? Okay, lets see if I can gather my thoughts and write something decent. I LOVED this book.  I was afraid of being let down since there was some major hype for this book, but let me tell you I was not disappointed at all.  From start to finish it was great. I really liked the world building and the Faction, it seems with the dystopia books I've been reading that I am left with world/government type questions at the end and can only hope that they get answered in the next book, but I left Divergent with a pretty good handle on things. I do hope we get a more detailed look at Amity and Candor though.  Now characters...Tris I really really liked.  I loved how all she really wanted was to belong...and as the story went she learns that maybe she wasn't as different as she thought.  While I wasn't sure what to make of Caleb in the beginning as things moved on I wouldn't say I liked him, but I did respect him, I guess really the same goes for her father too.  Now Tris's mom, she seemed different from the start and towards the end I really liked her.  Tris's friends were pretty awesome and reading about what they endured as iniates pained me I felt for all of them.  Now we come to Four...OMG *swoon* Dark, Mysterious, Brave, and Hott, Where do I sign up to get one?!?  Watching Tris come into her own while getting to know Four and watch the relationship between them grow and morph was great. Now the most important part, the plot...this story was so well told and had a great pace and voice to it that it came alive in my head. Not all of it was sweetness and light but even the bad was good. The only complaint I have is that I have to wait so long for the next book.  I give this one 5 stars!