Book Recommendations: Divergent

Picture from Goodreads, Buy here: Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior's world consists of a society divided. There are five factions: her own, Abnegation (the selfless), Candor (the honest), Amity (the peaceful), Erudite (the intelligent) and Dauntless (the brave).  Now that Beatrice is sixteen, she and other teens her age must make a choice: to stay with the faction that raised them or to transfer factions. The choice cannot be undone, once it is made, Beatrice will have to spend the rest of her life devoted to one faction. For her, the choice is difficult: she wants to stay with her family, but she needs to be true to herself. Her choice will surprise everyone, including herself. 

After making her choice, Beatrice must go through a competitive initiation to prove she belongs in her faction of choice. After taking on the nickname of Tris, she and the other initiates must undergo very intense and difficult physical and psychological tests. Initiation is transforming them all, and Tris must figure out who she can trust in her new faction, including a romance with an intriguing yet infuriating boy. 

On top of all of this, Tris has a secret: one that could mean her death if anyone were to find out. But her secret may just be the key to saving her family and friends. 

Will it save them? Or destroy her?

My Review: I found this book as a post-Hunger-Games-Hangover-cure, and boy, am I happy that I did. The book started off a little bit slow, but hey, it was a 500-page book, so that is almost expected. It really turned around in the second half and there was a ton of action. Tris was not your average dystopian protagonist, (well, not entirely, she is a small, pretty girl, buuuut) she is also selfish, guarded, protective, and vindictive. Like, really vindictive! At one point in the book, she refuses to forgive someone who asks for forgiveness. That doesn't exactly show that she came from a faction of selfless people, now does it? But she also has her moments of selflessness, despite all of her selfishness. I like that she is multi-dimensional. She contradicts herself constantly. And for a sixteen-year-old in a world where you are forced to leave your family and pick a faction based on a character trait, I think that makes a lot of sense. The love-story is a little bit gag-worthy; I mean, they fall for each other really quickly and are really devoted, which did not seem realistic to me at all. But I do like them together, I think that they balance each other out well. And then in the second half, when the action truly gets started, I really couldn't put the book down. I finished the second half in one sitting. It was great.

My rating: 4/5

I'm currently re-reading Insurgent, the second book in the trilogy, and I cannot wait for Allegiant to come out on October 22nd!

xoxo