Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent

Written by Veronica Roth

Release Date: May 3, 2011

Published by Katherine Tegen Books 

*Arc copy provided by Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review*

Summary 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.

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. "

My Thoughts:

I really don't even know where to start with this book!  It is THAT GOOD!  It was one of those books that you have to read fast because you want to know what is going to happen next, but you hate reading fast because you do not want to finish it!  I already miss the characters in the book and I have to wait an entire year to see what happens with them next!  Veronica Roth hit one out of the park with this one.  It is one of my top three favorite books I have EVER read.  Ok, Ok.... now that I've done a little gushing let me get on with the review!  I love dystopian novels and this one is pretty much perfect!  The vision of Roth's dystopian society is a little scary, but plausable considering the state of our world these days.  The plan entailed dividing society into seperate factions based on the type of person you are and then cultivating these traits in the faction to perform a specific function needed in order for the new society to succed.  It may not sound so bad to hear it that way, but unfortunately nothing is as it seems in this world!  Corruption, betrayal, and impossible choices make this novel unputtdownable!!  I feel that the strongest aspects of Divergent lie in Roth's use of characters and in the seamless, explosive, and riveting plot.  The characters in the book really came alive on the page and I found myself experiencing the same feelings toward the characters that Tris (the main female protagonist) felt towards them.  The villians were positively ruthless and I rooted for the good guys through the whole book.  Tris undergoes a serious transformation in the book.  She makes some difficult decisions that throw her life into utter chaos, yet they allow her to explore who she really is underneath everything she has been forced to adhere to during her youth.  Throughout the book she seems to teeter on the edge of who she thought she was and who she was truly meant to be.  I admired her 'no fear' attitude even if it wasn't always true on the inside and her ability to stand up for what was right regardless of the consequences.  Another character I fell in love with was 4.  He very hard to figure out.  So much lay under the surface that it was hard to tell what was really going on with him.  As he and Tris got to know each other better the reader was given glimpses of who he really was and what made him tick and that only made me love him more!  The ending of Divergent was as action-packed as the rest of the book and had me biting my nails and flipping pages like a crazy woman!  The final scene set the stage for the next book and left me begging for more!  I cannot wait to see where Veronica Roth takes our characters next.  I recommend this book to EVERYONE!  Seriously!!  It was such a beautiful mixture of triumph and loss and heartbreak and hope.  I imagine that I will be thinking about this book for some time.