2013 Book Review #2: Divergent

A few weeks ago, one of my teenaged voice students handed me a book after our lesson and said, "I remember you mentioned liking The Hunger Games. You might like this one, too." I thanked her and took the book home, putting it on my night stand to read when I finished River Town.

The book was Divergent by Veronica Roth. Set in Chicago in the future, it tells the story ofsixteen-year-old Tris Prior:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, 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. --Amazon

I'll start by mentioning that I read this book in about six hours, staying up until nearly three in the morning because I didn't want to put it down. The story is gripping and exciting--that said, it is not a perfect book. There could have been more background information about why the society is the way it is; instead, we are simply thrust into the story very quickly, with little understanding of why it is such a big deal when a child leaves the faction they grew up in.

As far as female heroines go, Tris is better than, say, Bella Swan from the Twilight series. However, she, too, has her flaws--at times her back-and-forth between loyalty to her friends and selfishness are almost enough to induce whiplash.

The negatives aside, I enjoyed Divergent for what it is--young adult literature, easy entertainment, and a story that's fun to lose yourself in. Of course it is part of a trilogy, and of course, a movie is in the works. I'm already reading the second book, Insurgent...so expect a review soon.