Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

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book, book review, books, bravery, divergent, dystopian, review, reviews, veronica roth, YA, young adult

Divergent

by Veronica Roth

genre: dystopian, YA

Synopsis from Goodreads

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, 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 alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are–and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating 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 unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Books to read in 2014 before seeing the movie

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book, books, divergent, J.R.R. Tolkien, James Dashner, Mockingjay, movie, movies, reading, review, Richelle Mead, suzanne collins, The Hobbit, The Maze Runner, Vampire Academy, veronica roth

The writers at POPSUGAR put together a fantastic list of 35 books to read before they are turned into movies this year. I’ve read some of them:

• Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Ermisenda’s review)
• Divergent by Veronica Roth (Ermisenda’s review)
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

…that I apparently need to review. Ermisenda also reviewed Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

I’m interested in Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead and The Maze Runner by James Dashner. To be honest, I wasn’t going to read Divergent until I saw the movie trailer and hadn’t heard of Vampire Academy before its trailer. That’s one bonus for movies, they can on occasion allow us to discover books we might not have explored otherwise.

The full list of 36 Books Becoming 2014 Movies is also a convenient pin, so stash it on your TBR board and let’s get reading!

-Eliabeth

PS Are any of you participating in the Goodreads Challenge? How many books did you pledge and how far are you?

Which faction would you choose? Divergent Quiz

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divergent, quiz

This is not a very detailed test. My answers were all over the board and I tied Candor (Honesty) and Erudite (Knowledge) in the end.

http://www.divergentfans.com/page/faction-quiz

Take the quiz and let us know what faction you would pick in the comments. Remember, one decision can change your life.

Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

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abnegation, action, amity, book review, candor, dauntless, divergent, dystopian, erudite, romance, teenagers, veronica roth, ya novels

Divergent

by Veronica Roth

genre: dystopian, action, adventure, YA

A future where our world is split into five factions to stop future wars, what could possible go wrong? Find out why I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars!

Summary

(Taken from Goodreads)

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, 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 alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are–and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating 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 unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Review

There is a lot of hype over Divergent on Goodreads and elsewhere. I listened to Divergent through an audiobook. I was very impressed with the first few chapters of this book. I felt like the story was grounded, I was able to immerse myself in this Faction-based world.

I wasn’t super in love with Beatrice but I liked her enough. As the story progresses, we see as she hardens. I liked this transformation and I thought that there were sufficiently significant events that occur to appropriately shape her personality and thoughts on the world. She learns about how dark and cruel this world can be, and she begins to internalise these features into her personality.