Review - Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth


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Page Number: 487 Pages
Overall Rating: 5 Stars

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. 

   For some reason, I had it decided in my head that I wasn't going to enjoy this book. I don't know why. The summary was interesting. I love Dystopian. Nearly every review I saw was positive. I honestly have no clue why I thought I wouldn't like it. I just did.
   I bought this book the day after it came out. I've just finished it. Now, I regret taking so long to get around to reading it. I'm glad several people made suggested that I should read it. After seeing my friend rant about the awesomeness of the book, I promised her I'd read it next. I'm really, really, really glad she told me to, because I'm not sure when I would've gotten around to it, otherwise.
    It took me two days of reading to finish Divergent. I'm going to say this, though: Divergent is a beautifully compelling novel that refuses anything but your undivided attention. I read this after 11PM both nights, and read several hours on each. I finished Divergent at about 7AM this morning. Worth every minute.
    Something I highly enjoyed about this novel was how much it could send at you and still make sense. Normally, when I read a book with this much going on in the plot, it feels overdone. Divergent pulled it off and then some. Veronica Roth truly has talent for plotting. Each and every thing that happens is relevant, woven intricately into the plotline. It all matters. There's no fluffy nonsense in this story.
    Speaking of Veronica Roth's talent, can we please discuss how awesome she is at getting inside my head? Seriously. She's seemed to have crawled inside my mind and figured out how I tick - between how I think and how I tend to worry, Beatrice, or rather, Tris, and I have very similar minds. The thing I love? I can't tell if Tris and I are actually alike, or if that's just how awesome the book is.
    Divergent is full of emotion, action, and depth. There's a little of something for everyone. If you like coming of age struggles, there's that. If you like action, there's plenty of that. If you like emotion and internal struggle, there's that, as well. I promise, you'll be able to find a least one thing that you like.
    There's a lot of growth, as well. The overall amount of growth, both emotional and physical, is particularly stunning. I completely adore how much Tris grew and flourished throughout the novel. It's an interesting thing to oversee.
   Something that was interesting to me was how unique the feel of the writing is. Usually, when I read a book, I try to find a song that matches the feel of the book and I can usually find one about 5 chapters in. Divergent took a lot longer to match, but I kind of adore the song that I picked, so I'm happy with it.
    And, not only did this book make me cry, but it made me genuinely cry. Sometimes, in books, there are moments where you're just... supposed to cry and you do, but it's forced upon you and unnatural. This novel had been building up for a while, not forcing things on you, but simply telling the story, and it eventually got to me. And not in that hard, "I've got to stop to get a tissue" way, but the "this book is too good to stop, so I'm letting the tears roll" way.
    There are a few things I have mixed feelings about: the somewhat predictable plot turn (I've been told that I wasn't the only one to guess it.), the sometimes too gory events that make me cringe, the partially-annoying repeated things. None of those things bothered me enough to lower the rating, even by half a star. Those were things that I just noticed more than I did other things, to the point where it sometimes distracted me.

    I really adore this book. I can not wait for the sequel.

Songs I listened to while reading: