Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent, #1)
Genre: YA, dystopian
Format: hardcover from Steph @ Paper Cut Reviews
Read: 10/24/2011 for Bout of Books 2.0
In Six Words: I ate crow after this one.
Links
Vernoica Roth — Website | Facebook | Twitter
Amazon — Hardcover | Kindle
Book Depository — Hardcover
Add it to Goodreads
Book Order
1. Divergent
2. Insurgent (May 28, 2012)
3. Untitled (2013)
Summary
Beatrice “Tris” Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth’s dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth’s young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.
-from Goodreads
Why I Started Reading This Book
I have been book bullied all over the place with Divergent. It is one of Tara‘s 5 star books, and of course Smash has attempted to force me to read it. Steph @ Paper Cut Reviews gifted me Divergent as a combination RAK and thanks for showing her around WordPress. I finally picked it up for Bout of Books 2.0. To be quite frank, the more people talk about how amazing a book is, the more suspicious I get about whether I will like it. I have also been skeptical of the dystopian genre, so I went into Divergent thinking it would just be an okay book.
I was so wrong.
My Thoughts
Divergent is narrated in present tense, which sets it apart from a lot of books, and throws the reader into the book; it is the tense of the Dauntless. This wasn’t just a story; it was a commentary on human nature and society, and therein lies the appeal and beauty of Divergent. It operates on a multitude of levels, and I love books like that.
I found the factions fascinating (Dauntless would so not be my faction; the heights would do me in) because where the general premise and idea of each faction is sound, in practice, it is flawed and creates the same problems — or worse — that the world experienced in the first place, which had presumably led to the creation of factions. Divergent asks questions like: what is bravery? What is selfishness? Is it possible to put one character trait above all others? Is there just ONE trait we are missing in this world? Would having the one trait make the world a better place? Buried deep within a story about a girl named Tris is a philosophical debate.
Having Divergent set in a setting that is familiar to our world made it easier to connect to, even though I have never personally been to Chicago (except the airport, which doesn’t really count). Because each faction is tied to a character trait that can be easily twisted, examples of which we can easily find in our daily lives, it was not difficult to find a place within Tris’s world; I know exactly what faction I would be in. I loved Tris who grew into her self throughout the initiation process, and I loved Four (oh, Four!) because he was one of those strong and silent types who is always there for you, even if it doesn’t always appear that way.
I went in with low expectations and ended up being blown away by Divergent. It’s YA, but it is decidedly absent of typical teenage angst. It is our world, but it is not. It goes beyond a story to speak to something deeper, greater.
You Might Enjoy This Book If…
A definite for fans of YA dystopian, Divergent may also appeal to adult audiences
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Think that because I loved Divergent, I’ll love The Hunger Games? Here’s your chance. I said I’d read The Hunger Games if lots of people told me to. So I created a form. You can sign it. If you think I should read The Hunger Games, TELL ME*.
*All duplicate entries will be deleted. If you tell me in a format other than the Google form, it will not count. Creative and/or funny reasons why I should read the book may result in an extra entry. Tweeting is encouraged. Telling me, "I can't believe you haven't read this yet!!!!" is not and will negate any extra entries. Signature numbers are available upon request. These terms are legally binding.
24 Responses to “Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth”
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Bravo, my friend! Well said, indeed. I find most dystopian books to be philosophical in nature, or at least social commentary in some form. I think it’s one of the main reasons I love them so much. I’m a sucker for an author who makes a statement about society.
Four! ♥
Really? I haven’t read a lot of dystopians. Perhaps I need to change this.
Yes!!! Most of them make a statement about society, politics, environment, etc. The Hunger Games makes major statements about Humanity, Governmental Control, Fascism, Abuse of power, Modern Day Slavery,
War and Genocide, Environmental Destruction, Poverty and Oppression,
Rebellion…Another of my favs is a really old dystopian called The Edict by Max Simon Erlich. really fantastic themes in that one. Lots of modern dystopians touch on themes but Veronica Roth really blew it outta the park!
Ok, I’ve made up my mind to read this before the year is over. :)
YAY! :)
Bravo indeed! I loved reading your thoughts on this incredible book and so glad you enjoyed it as much as I did :)
And yes, I loveeee Fou <3 Can't wait for more of their adventures in Insurgent!
Uh, that was supposed to say FOUR not Fou…lol
Insurgent should be good!
So glad you enjoyed this one too! I really loved both Tris and Four, and I found the whole concept of the different factions to be crazy interesting. I also filled out your form and begged you to read The Hunger Games:)
Ha. I saw that! I’m up to 29 people so far!
Seriously, you read this before THG?!
*Shakes head*
I kind of burnt myself out on the idea of reading Divergent because of all the reviews I read for it over the summer. But now that it has your seal of approval…
I’ll read THG if you read Divergent. *nods* Oh, and if I get all those names.
I liked Divergent, but it wasn’t my favorite Dystopian. If you’re looking for recommendations, I loved Neal Shustermans’s Unwind, and I’m super-psyched that there’s going to be a sequel. Oh, and the Last Survivors trilogy, although that’s more Post-Apocalyptic than Dystopian. I’m also psyched there’s going to be a sort-of sequel to THAT.
I find that a lot of Dystopians try too hard and come across as message-y. I prefer the ones that focus on a central character’s story and thereby deliver their message.
I haven’t read much Dystopian at all BUT I’ve totally got Unwind on my wishlist now! :)
I wish I could give you all of my favorite books.
In a perfect world….
(there would be #NakedWerewolves and #NakedHotness and books for all)
I also wish I was English or Canadian so I could spell favorite with a u.
You could pretend? It’s easy to do. Watch: favourite.
OMG, the only thing better than #NakedWerewolves would be #NakedWerewolveswithBritishAccents!
And they would spell favorite with a u! (in speech, too. ha!)
I’m so there with you, about being more hesitant over the books with all the hype–it took me two years to read the first Harry Potter because I figured that will everyone going ape over it, I couldn’t *possibly* like it, right? (I guess I’m a bit hipster in my reading choices since I’m usually anti-mainstream. ;) )
But YES, Divergent was a fantastic read–one of those I couldn’t put down, and one that scared the crap out of me as a possible future scenario. Can’t wait to read the sequel (there *will* be a sequel, won’t there???)
Smiles!
Lori
I held out over HP, too. And I’m holding out on The Hunger Games, too.
Yes! Sequel! I’m excited! I think the ending of Divergent opened too many possibilities not to have a sequel.
I actually have this on my Christmas List. I am trying a little more YA sprinkled into my book diet though I am not sure how long that will last LOL
I really liked this one, and though it’s YA, it’s missing a lot of the YA angsty stuff that drives me crazy.