Drew's Review of Divergent by Veronica Roth

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Info

Pages: 576

Publishers: HarperCollins

Pub Date: Feb 28, 2012 

Divergent is definitely a new engaging tale that has me quickly leafing the pages in a reading hysteria! Once I bought it I knew that I would have to make time to read it in one sitting. At the beginning of the story we are introduced to Beatrice, a sixteen year old girl, in a dystopian, or controlled, world where there are five factions of people: Abnegation who put others before their own needs and where Beatrice is currently from; the Dauntless who are brave and fearless; the Erudite who are studious; the Amity who are peaceful; and the Candor who are honest. Before Choosing Day(where each sixteen year old will decide which faction they wish to devote their life to) is a simulated aptitude test that will tell Beatrice which faction she would fit in most with...but for her life will never be simple. Beatrice possesses at least three aptitudes, instead of having just one of these traits, which makes her a dangerous person for reasons she doesn't yet understand. She wants answers but answers are not forthcoming. She has to keep this information to herself or risk being killed.

After the Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice has to make her own impression to the world. She must, in the end, make the decision that will change the rest of her life. She can no longer look like a docile, silent girl with no spirit, but instead must force herself to rise up to all of the challenges that she must face in both the initiation after the ceremony and in her life. If she lets her guard down, she faces losing everything and not belonging to nothing and also loses her friends and family. What she doesn't anticipate is finding along her new course of action is what she longed for all along. To understand who she really is.

Divergent is the one novel that had me wanting to know what is going to happen next and turning the pages quickly, all-the-while biting my nails to the nub as I was drawn into Beatrice's world. I was cheering her on one moment and wanting to cry with her the next. She does have her moments where she seems a little frigid like when she wishes one boy would stop weeping, and you see why Abnegation didn't suit her. But then a few pages later she is putting herself in danger for someone else, and you realize why she has a bit of a dissociative disorder. She was born into a society that believes you can only have one quality, and she has to figure out on her own that being brave dosen't mean that she has to give up being altruistic as well. As she struggles to stay in the competition, since only ten initiates will be able to call their new faction family, I couldn't help but cheer for her. Beatrice has a lot to learn, but it's through obstacles and the friendships she makes that she ultimately finds herself. After I was done reading the last page, I wanted more so I immediately bought the next book. The idea of this kind of society as a way to avoid war is AWESOME!! I give this novel, and series so far, 5-out-of-5 stars. I would highly recommend it to anyone who also loves the Hunger Games Trilogy!!!