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.
Review:
Divergent is set in a dystopian world where you are split into different factions when you turn 16. These factions all have a trait that they value above the rest, honesty, selflessness, bravery, kindness and intelligence. Beatrice was born into Abnegation, the faction that values selflessness, her parents and brother all seem to have this down to pat without even thinking about it. However Beatrice is different, she understands why they do this, however she doesn't seem to have natural urges as the rest of her family do. However something goes 'wrong' in her test and she is told to keep it a secret, at all costs. On the day she chooses her faction, surprise is met and she enters a whole new world. With initiation pushing her to her limits, how much more can she take?
When you download or buy this Divergent kindle ebook, it is easy to forget how young the characters are, the story deeper than hunger games, the characters were perhaps more real or better fleshed out. Sure its a dystopian society and the heroine, Tris, is a fighter, and she does have a romantic interest in Four but there's no other similarities to hunger games otherwise.
Veronica Roth has done an outstanding job in developing a main character that is well balanced, believable and relatable. Tris lives in a world in which the government dictates how she should act and think... yet she doesn't seem to fit with just one of the five factions, like she is supposed to. She is Divergent, something that could get her into serious trouble if the wrong persons get to know about it. Tris is a brave, but not without fear. She is strong minded but has, like every other teenage girl, her own doubts and questions about who she is and where she belongs.
The world-building in this book is refreshingly original. Each faction has its own flaws and virtues, some more obvious than others. Dauntless is brave to the point of recklessness, but they know how to persevere in times of trouble. The trials Tris has to go through in order to become Dauntless are intimidating and absolutely perfect for the initiation of a group trying to be courageous no matter what situation.
Beatrice seems weak in the very beginning of the book, but she has the strongest backbone out of any heroine I've ever read. Sure she is still afraid before tests, but it doesn't faze her. She keeps going, even if the future seems impossible. Fleeing isn't even an option to her; her bravery is refreshing and her aptitude for other factions keep her level headed while the rest of Dauntless becomes careless. She also has loyalties to her family (going against "faction over blood") that she doesn't want to change even if it means problems being accepted into Dauntless. Yet she still has flaws. Tris has trust issues because of her secret of being Divergent and her determination not to show Abnegation traits among the Dauntless. Of course dating her instructor doesn't fit into that plan.
Four is Tris's instructor with bucket-loads of secrets. Sometimes he seems uninterested. Sometimes he taunts her during training, and yet sometimes he seems like he cares for her. The whole thing has Tris confused with this unexpected and new type of affection (Abnegation didn't allow public affection -- it's selfish). Four is a broken hero that seems all tough on the outside, but he's really shielding himself from his past and the secrets he's keeping hidden away.
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.
Review:
Divergent is set in a dystopian world where you are split into different factions when you turn 16. These factions all have a trait that they value above the rest, honesty, selflessness, bravery, kindness and intelligence. Beatrice was born into Abnegation, the faction that values selflessness, her parents and brother all seem to have this down to pat without even thinking about it. However Beatrice is different, she understands why they do this, however she doesn't seem to have natural urges as the rest of her family do. However something goes 'wrong' in her test and she is told to keep it a secret, at all costs. On the day she chooses her faction, surprise is met and she enters a whole new world. With initiation pushing her to her limits, how much more can she take?
When you download or buy this Divergent kindle ebook, it is easy to forget how young the characters are, the story deeper than hunger games, the characters were perhaps more real or better fleshed out. Sure its a dystopian society and the heroine, Tris, is a fighter, and she does have a romantic interest in Four but there's no other similarities to hunger games otherwise.
Veronica Roth has done an outstanding job in developing a main character that is well balanced, believable and relatable. Tris lives in a world in which the government dictates how she should act and think... yet she doesn't seem to fit with just one of the five factions, like she is supposed to. She is Divergent, something that could get her into serious trouble if the wrong persons get to know about it. Tris is a brave, but not without fear. She is strong minded but has, like every other teenage girl, her own doubts and questions about who she is and where she belongs.
The world-building in this book is refreshingly original. Each faction has its own flaws and virtues, some more obvious than others. Dauntless is brave to the point of recklessness, but they know how to persevere in times of trouble. The trials Tris has to go through in order to become Dauntless are intimidating and absolutely perfect for the initiation of a group trying to be courageous no matter what situation.
Beatrice seems weak in the very beginning of the book, but she has the strongest backbone out of any heroine I've ever read. Sure she is still afraid before tests, but it doesn't faze her. She keeps going, even if the future seems impossible. Fleeing isn't even an option to her; her bravery is refreshing and her aptitude for other factions keep her level headed while the rest of Dauntless becomes careless. She also has loyalties to her family (going against "faction over blood") that she doesn't want to change even if it means problems being accepted into Dauntless. Yet she still has flaws. Tris has trust issues because of her secret of being Divergent and her determination not to show Abnegation traits among the Dauntless. Of course dating her instructor doesn't fit into that plan.
Four is Tris's instructor with bucket-loads of secrets. Sometimes he seems uninterested. Sometimes he taunts her during training, and yet sometimes he seems like he cares for her. The whole thing has Tris confused with this unexpected and new type of affection (Abnegation didn't allow public affection -- it's selfish). Four is a broken hero that seems all tough on the outside, but he's really shielding himself from his past and the secrets he's keeping hidden away.
