Book Review - Divergent
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What's that about?
Blurb from Goodreads:
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.That's awesome. How is it?
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.
Please see my letter to Veronica Roth below*.
Dear Veronica Roth,
This is to let you know that I'll be blaming you and Divergent for not being awake at the day job today. How dare you make me stay up until 1 reading when I planned on stopping for the night after page 100?
Of course, I was supposed to stop reading after 30 minutes, but that stopped me at a pretty crucial place. I knew what choice was going to happen, but I had to see how it played out. Very sneaky.
At first, I admit, I wasn't sure if Divergent was going to live up to all the hype I've seen on the Twitters and internets because to me the beginning was slow and there were too many terms that I didn't know. That lasted for about 10 minutes before I got enough to go through.
Your version of Chicago, by the way? Scary as hell. (Not to mention I'm super-curious what happened there.)
Beatrice is likeable and is so well drawn that those instances where she feels disgust over certain people and things, I totally understand and, most of the time, felt the same. Four is terrific and also well drawn. Even though I wasn't surprised by some** of the events in his timelime, it didn't ruin my enjoyment of Divergent.
I should also let you know that I haven't been head-over-heels impressed with many of my literary choices as of late. In the last three months, only three books impressed me as much as yours: Kiersten White's Paranormalcy and Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series and Clockwork Angel.
If your follow up is anything like Divergent, I'll be expecting a Dunkin Donuts card so I can stay caffeinated the day after.
Yawnily yours,
Alicia
PS: The Stripey and White Ones also approved as they both cuddled with Divergent the few times I put it down.
Divergent will be available for purchase May 3, 2011. If you can't wait that long, you can enter our Race to 150 contest to win an ARC.
* No, I didn't send it. I just thought this might be a fun way to write a review.
** The bigger ones did take me by surprise and that's what counts.
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Last.fm hit of the day: She Was a Teenage Zombie by Murderdolls