Thursday, August 18, 2011

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Veronica Roth has given us a future Chicago where people have been divided into five factions.  They are Abnegation (the selfless),  Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite ( the intelligent).  Each year the 16 year-olds are given aptitudes tests and then attend a choosing ceremony where they either stay in their home faction or choose to join another.  Beatrice was born Abnegation but chooses Dauntless.  She also learns that she is divergent and later struggles to figure out exactly what that means.  Meanwhile in Dauntless she and the new initiates are put through three stages of training in which survival is not the only outcome needed.  You also need to be in the top ten otherwise you are kicked out and become factionless.

Beatrice, now Tris in Dauntless is small but due to the training becomes strong.  Physically and mentally.  She also becomes close with one of the trainers and their relationship slowly becomes romantic.  The story twists and turns.

Staying up late to finish this book was not a smart thing for me to do.  I thought about it all night whether I was dreaming or awake.  I even woke up thinking about it.  Divergent will be compared to many books.  It starts off like The Giver by Lois Lowry and parts of it are similar to The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (receiving jobs in the former and survival in the latter) but Divergent is so much more.  It is a little more violent than I expected but I stuck with with it and loved it and of course I am now anxiously awaiting book 2.  Recommended for science fiction fans and those who enjoy dystopia books.

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