Saturday 25 June 2011

Divergent by Veronica Roth
















  • Paperback: 496 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks (3 May 2011)
  • ISBN-10: 0007420412
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007420414

One choice can transform you. Pass initiation. Do not fail…
In sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior’s world, society is divided into five factions – Abnegation (the selfless), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent) – each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue, in the attempt to form a “perfect society.” At the age of sixteen, teens must choose the faction to which they will devote their lives.
On her Choosing Day, Beatrice renames herself Tris, rejects her family’s group, and chooses another faction. After surviving a brutal initiation, Tris finds romance with a super-hot boy, but also discovers unrest and growing conflict in their seemingly “perfect society.” To survive and save those they love, they must use their strengths to uncover the truths about their identities, their families, and the order of their society itself.

This is my first dystopian read and it's not a genre I had really thought about exploring but there has been so much buzz about this from the bookie community and youtube reviewers and those on goodreads that I really didn't want to miss out on an amazing book just because it wasn't in my normal genre and I am SOOOO glad that I didn't.

Cover:  Ok I have to be honest from the cover this would not normally be a book that I would pick out either browsing in-store or online but it's actually grown on me and a definite plus is that it's shiney.

Plot: The first half of the book if very much Tris's initiation into the Dauntless faction and how's she copes with each new test because if you aren't ranked in the top 10 after 3 stages you are kicked out and become factionless- the lowest people in society that suffer most.  The second half is Tris finding out that the factions may not be as great as they are supposed to be and are breaking down...and war could be on the way.  Mixed in with all that is the unexpected romance between her and the instructor Four.


Characters:

Tris- Originally Beatrice but when she changes factions from Abnegation to Dauntless she changes her name.  Small in stature but she soon feels that the Dauntless is the faction for her, jumping on and off trains and buildings etc...but her Aptitude test came back inconclusive making her Divergent...does she belong anywhere?  And being Divergent is dangerous and if anyone finds out Tris is in trouble.

Four/Tobias- A Dauntless member and instructor.  His job is to teach the initiates about Dauntless and test them to the limit.  He soon feels for Tris...but he's hiding something himself.

Caleb- Tris's brother and at the choosing ceremony
surprises Tris by also switching factions, she always though he belonged in their original faction

Will + Christina- Fellow initiates that also switched factions and befriend Tris.

Peter - An initiate that takes a dislike to Tris and bullies her at every opportunity.

Eric- A Dauntless leader but does he really have the interests of the Dauntless in mind?


Writing Style:  Even though this is a large book with 487 pages it didn't feel that long with an astonishingly fast pace which allows to read huge amounts in a single sitting.  I feel that Veronica Roth has balanced this book to perfection

Rating:  A definite 5/5 stars for this book!!  It was good enough to have read in 2 days without being able to out it down and to pull me into a new genre of the dystopian.
The rights for the movie have already been bought and when you are reading this book it literally plays out in your mind like a movie so you can really see the potential for a great movie from this book, I only hope the movie stays true to the book and doesn't desecrate this great book.


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