Divergent

                                      

Divergent                                                                                              
Author: Veronica Roth

Young Adult

Annette's Review

Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:

In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

I don’t know what it is about dystopian books, but I love them!  There are so many out now, but I just don’t get sick of them.  I recently read Divergent by Veronica Roth, and it didn’t disappoint!  It seems to me that more and more, authors are portraying very strong lead female characters, which I like.  In Divergent, Beatrice and her family are part of the Abnegation (selfless) faction.  When the young adults of the community turn 16, they have to choose which faction they will join—Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), Erudite (the intelligent) and Abnegation.  They must take an aptitude test which tells them the virtue they are most strong in.  When Beatrice takes her test, it is inconclusive this is when she first hears the term divergent—meaning she has an aptitude in multiple virtues.  She is warned to not let on that she is divergent as this is seen as a threat to the society.  When it comes time for Beatrice to choose the faction she wants to become a part of, she chooses Dauntless.  By doing so, she must leave her family behind.  She changes her name to Tris and takes on the many challenges that Dauntless throws her way.  Tris puts forth whatever effort is needed to succeed in Dauntless as there are only so many candidates who will be accepted, and she must also hide the fact that she is Divergent as it can mean her death.  There is a romance in the story, but what I like about Tris and Four’s romance is that there is no love triangle involved, and Tris does not let their relationship define who she is or the choices she makes.  Once I started, I couldn’t stop reading. Divergent has a great storyline, and there were some intriguing twists to the story.  I can’t wait to read the next book!