Divergent (Divergent, #1) by Veronica Roth

4 Stars

I’ve had DIVERGENT on my TBR list for over a year. I think I put off reading because I didn’t want to read another hyped book to only be disappointed or expect to be reading a The Hunger Games knock off.

I have mixed feelings, but more positive than anything. No, DIVERGENT isn’t The Hunger Games knock off and even though Divergent is another YA dystopian novel, there were still many unique qualities that kept me interested.

[Summary]

You have this dystopian society and apparently it’s broken up by what Roth calls “Faction”, which are Candor (being honest), Abnegation (to be selfless), Dauntless (to be brave/warrior/protector), Amity (to be peaceful) and Erudite (to have smarts). If you don’t fall into one of those categories, you are considered factionless, (kind of like being a hobo) or you get killed.

Tris currently lives as an Abenegation (like her parents), when the kids reach adulthood, they take an exam to figure where they should go. Tris has unique test scores, but ultimately decides to bec0me Dauntless. Before she can truly become Dauntless, she must train and of course one of the trainers is handsome Four (Yes that is his name).

[Review]

To be honest it was a struggle for me to write the summary. For one, the whole faction thing was way confusing to me. I felt like I was drop into this society and I was kind of just flying by the seat of my pants. As contradicting as it sounds, Divergent was equally fast-pace and slow. At some parts I felt like everything was moving too fast and it was hard for me to keep and other times I was wondering if movement was ever going to happen.

Even though there is a mild love story, this is no romance book. I would say we see hints of stolen glances and easy banter, but mostly Divergent is about a 16 year old girl struggling to accept her choices and kind of open her eyes to something other than what she knows (okay, so something like The Hunger Games, but really it isn’t).

Beatrice and Four have awesome chemistry. At times I wanted to slap Four in the face, but in all fairness no one likes to read an easy relationship. I love the innocence of YA reads and how character development is so key. I felt Beatrice’s struggles and pain, while Four remained a mystery I wanted to uncover (if you are wondering, yes, his name is explained).

The beginning was great, the beginning-middle a bit slow, the middle picked up and the end was knock your socks off jam pack action fun. My rating went from 3.5 to 4 based on the last 20% of the book.

At 20% I was kind of confused

At 60% I was shocked on some of the graphic scenes

At 85% I was on edge and just racing to get to the climatic-conclusion

At 95% I was screaming and pulling my hair out

I didn’t read the reviews, I just knew there was a lot of hype, so when I saw the non-flattering ratings, I get it. Divergent isn’t for everyone, it’s not a cookie-cutter book wrapped in at tiny bow, but it will leave you satisfied and wanting more.

I recommend.

View all my reviews