Saturday, May 19, 2012



Divergent by Veronica Roth
*****
Divergent I thought was a refreshing look at a dystopian society. I thought it was interesting that in this particular society everyone was placed into a factions of Virtues they are of Candor (the Honest), Abnegation (the Selfless), Dauntless (the Brave), Amity (the Peaceful), Erudite (the Intelligent). Made me think which one would I fit into and I hate the thought of fitting into anyone of them. Thank goodness we are all beautifully Divergent.
At the tender age of 16 a test is administered to tell each person which faction he or she would fit the best in. Ultimately they will get to chose which one they want. Then they will have to spend the rest of their life in it. I thought it was like giving them the choice without giving them a choice, if that makes sense. Were is the agency in that......you can see were future problems might evolve. Beatrice (Tris) undergoes the test and is told which faction she would be best suited for and then she chooses... her choice could have vast consequences for her, her family and the faction she has chosen.
Tris's initiation into her faction is rough, and demanding both physically as well as mentally. Who is friend and who is foe, how to reveal things about herself, but yet not to much? Tris is a great character, I loved watching her struggle with choices, figure out who she is, and continue to be true to herself. She is so courageous, strong, and a good friend/person. I really liked her. Eric, scared me he was a really good bad guy. Four is awesome sometimes he frustrated me because he seemed to lack compassion for others, he is very courageous, smart, calm and flawed. All the characters even minor ones were well developed and I enjoyed getting to know them.
Things start to fall apart as secrets are revealed, and other factions have different ideas as to how things should be. Really a fun story with lots of action and a non stop pace. The romance in this story builds nice and slow, which I could appreciate, and it was soooo sweet at times.

I listened to the audio version of this story and thought it was done very well.

2 comments:

  1. Oh yes, the villains in this were so detestable. I was blown away by this book, Book 2 is great as well. I just reviewed it last week. I agree, I couldn't identify with one faction either. Glad I don't have to choose.

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  2. The villains were definitely something else. I am listening to book two, and loving it so far.

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