Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent (Divergent #1)
Author: Veronica Roth
Format: Paperback, 487 pages
Pub. Date: April 25th 2011
Source: The Babbling Reader blog

★★★★★

Five stars.

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In dystopian Chicago, the population has been divided into five factions. For each sixteen year old, the choice is a life changing one: you can choose which faction in which you will serve and live for the rest of your life. There's an administered test that guides your answer- but it doesn't work on Beatrice. This is more dangerous than it seems, and Beatrice must decide who she really is, what she will fight for, and what she holds most dear in order to save not just her skin, but the lives of others.

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I don't know why I waited so long to read this book. I've been hearing about it for what seems like lifetimes on various book blogs I follow. I was a little hesitant to read it, since so many people loved it. I didn't want to be disappointed, and I definitely wasn't.

I think what I loved the most was the setting. Being a Chicago girl, of course I was excited when street names and landmarks that I'm familiar with were integrated into the story line. But it gave the book a scarier, more "true dystopian" feel for me as well. It was unnerving to think about my beautiful city becoming such a thing, and the haunting tone that Roth writes into the story definitely stayed with me after I put the book down. I love the society and technology that she created within this series.

The spacing and pace were also better than expected. I didn't find any lulls or times where I was bored or wanted to stop reading. I started this book on a train from Chicago to southern Illinois, and I was finished before I was at my destination. I didn't want to put it down.

I loved the characters, and I love the Dauntless. It's more often than not that I dislike female leads, but the struggles that Tris faced- both mental and physical- amazed me, and I was cheering her on from cover to cover. Not to mention Four. I was really emotionally invested in their lives, hating some and loving others.

I am SO glad that I picked this up (finally) and now I'm dying to read the rest of the trilogy, and to see the movie too. I recommend this for fans of YA dystopian books with a touch of romance: people who liked Matched, The Hunger Games, or Swans & Klons- this means you!

Thank you to The Babbling Reader blog for my copy.