Who: Veronica RothWhat: Divergent
Where: Harperteen
When: May 3rd, 2011
Why: Hype
How: For Review; ARC
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.
If you like kickass characters, amazing writing, world-building, swoon-worthy romance, and flipping epic dystopian? You should be reading Divergent right now.
I had heard so much hype about Divergent by the time it came in the mail, so I can totally admit I dived into it. It's about a girl named Beatrice who lives in a society where you are separated into 5 different groups based on the personality traits you are--Amity (Peaceful), Candor (Honesty), Abnegation (Selflessness), Erudite (Knowledge) , and finally, Dauntless (badass-ness. Courage!). She's been pressured to choose Abnegation her whole life but when the choice comes, she picks Dauntless instead! The world-building in the story was fantastic and I especially loved all the tests they had to do to pass or fail, plus the general stereotypically of the government that she lives in.
Beatrice was my kind of character. Flawed to the point where she felt absolutely real to me, but not so much that I couldn't stand her. She made mistakes, she was selfish at times, but I'm all for sometimes doing what makes you happy even if it'll break someone else's heart. She's brave as hell, because I wouldn't have enough courage to do all the things she does (I honestly wouldn't even have passed that first test about jumping off the roof!) but she knew what she wanted and knew what she had to do to get it.
I think it's the characters that really do it. Four will make you absolutely swoon, and I loved reading about him and Tris. He was an amazing mentor and teacher, and pushed her when at times, she felt like just giving up. Also, the secondary characters? Get ready to not see any betrayals coming. Some of the people are just downright cruel, and some people you love, will just go breaking your heart. Also, the way she writes? Is just downright amazing. You'll have yourself choosing which faction you are the minute you start reading!
Happy Reading
-Harmony
