Review: DIVERGENT

TITLE: DIVERGENT
BY: VERONICA ROTH
SYNOPSIS: 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.

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

REVIEW This book blew me away. There is something so beautiful about the writing, and the story telling, even the questions of morality—what is brave versus what is self-serving, and what’s going too far in the name of peace and for the better good of mankind. Then, of course, is the mind-blowing, heart-racing action. Probably more than a handful of times, I forgot to breathe, and didn’t even notice until the conflict was resolved and I had to gulp in air, or let out a slow, shaky breath. No joke, the things Tris goes through to pass/survive initiation—and everything after and outside of that—get’s uber intense, y’all.



So hardcore, in fact, I had a nightmare last night after I finished this book where I dreamt I had to face MY Fear Landscape(s). It was NOT pretty. Yet, despite the nightmare, and my frustration with certain events (Roth, how could you?!), when I think back to the book I get all giddy and excited, like a teen girl in love. When your adrenaline isn’t pumping, and you’re not questioning people’s motives and capability of unimaginable acts of evil, there are plenty of light-hearted, funny, swoon-worthy moments that manage to balance out the heavier parts.

DIVERGENT is most definitely deserving of all the hype that follows in the majority of its readers’ wake. It’s a fabulous read, and I will be impatiently waiting for the release of the next installment, INSURGENT.