Divergent by Veronica RothMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Roth's first dystopian novel is thrilling, packed with suspense as it tells the story of Beatrice (Tris) whose society is comprised of five factions and with arrival of her 16th birthday, she will need to choose where she wants to spend the rest of her life. The five factions are Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless, this is the faction Beatrice has been in), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent. Beatrice has two loving parents and a brother and she has never quite felt right in the selfless way of life. She angers quickly, questions where she belongs, and is curious, none of the Abnegation attributes. It is at the choosing ceremony that she makes the decision to leave her family and join in the initiation to become Dauntless. the process is grueling and now Tris (she renames herself) questions if she made the right decision, who her friends are and who can she trust. I really liked the Beatrice/Tris character; she was vulnerable yet prickly. She underestimates herself, thinking she is selfish and weak, when she has proved to others that she is selfless and brave. When Tris meets Four, one of the instructors of the Dauntless initiates, she waffles between anger at him (he has shifting moods)and interest in him. What will happen to them evolves with purpose and their romance is unexpected but key to what Divergent really means and what kind of threat being divergent holds. The dystopian world that Roth crafts is so interesting with the Abnegation, self denial, controlling the government, food and luxuries. But there is an undercurrent of evil that manifests itself and Tris and Four will have to choose how to stop the forces that want to betray their faction. A must read!
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