Divergent by Veronica Roth

Today's Review is on.....

Divergent by Veronica Roth

5 out of 5 Stars!

"My will is mine...I shall not make it soft for you."

-Agamemnon, Aeschylus

This quote sums up this book pretty well. In the world of Divergent, society is split into five factions: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Erudite and Dauntless. The main character, Beatrice Prior, lives in the faction of Abnegation with her family, where she was raised as one of the Selfless. However, when you reach the age of 16, you have the choice to leave the faction you were born into and choose another. This is when Beatrice ends up leaving her faction of Abnegation for Dauntless (the Brave), changing her name to Tris. There she must face three stages of training in order to be accepted and made into a member, risking becoming Factionless in the process (which is the basically being homeless, living on the outskirts of the city with no hope of ever belonging again). Belonging to a faction is the most important thing in the world this novel is set it, and you're pretty much screwed if you don't belong to a faction.

"Faction before blood."

This is like a sacred law that people live by in the world of Divergent, and if you decide to join another faction during the Choosing Ceremony, one different from your family, you are expected to forget them, and accept your new Faction as your family. I do not agree with this; asking someone to forget who raised him/her, with whom he/she has lived with for 16 years, is basically asking for rebellions of some sort. But it seems to be working for this world, for now at least. Although I don't really understand how these factions came to be. Yeah, to stop war and fighting and whathaveyou, but isn't dividing a nation like this just asking for war? 

"I don't care about the factions." she shakes her head. "Look where they got us. Human beings as a whole cannot be good for long before the bad creeps back in and poisons us again." 

Well said, Ms. Prior, very well said. At least someone in this dystopia realizes how messed up the world has become.

Onto the main characters:

Tris:

I freaking love this character. She's strong, independent, smart, and even though she is from the Abnegation, she took a risk and chose the Dauntless. My favorite line from her:

"Did I shoot him in the leg? No. He walks."

Tris will not take crap from anyone, and this quote shows how she has grown throughout the book. Even though she hates it, she does "pretend some vulnerability" in order to survive. I know other people have said it's cliche that she goes from no training to all-star, but that's because she's Divergent. Tris has an advantage over the other initiates, and she knows how to use this advantage to its fullest.

Four:

Reading Free Four has helped me understand this character more. Four can be cruel, but he has his moments, and I will admit to grinning when he and Tris share these moments together. 

"Sometimes I forget that I can hurt you. That you are capable of being hurt."

Four has the perfect blend of strength and vulnerability, which you don't see much in heroes in recent YA novels. Or at least the ones I've been reading. Most of the time it's unbelievably hot guy that's arrogant and sometimes jerky, but will eventually show redeeming qualities and then everyone loves him. I admit, I am not immune (Daemon Black from the Lux series by JLA. Ohhhh, Daemon....) But it starts to get old -and annoying- real quick. Anyway, as I said earlier, Four is cruel during some scenes, but it really is just to help Tris in the eyes of Dauntless leaders and other initiates. And he always makes sure she's okay afterwards. And he's freaking smart and awesome with computers.

"I think we've made a mistake," he says softly. "We've all started to put down the virtues of the other factions in the process of bolstering our own."

Side Characters:

Not only are our heroine and hero awesome, but the side characters are pretty cool, too. I really liked Christina and Will, and how they helped Tris. Tris's mother is badass, and so are her father and brother (Caleb) when push comes to shove. Eric is a dangerous enemy, mixing Erudite intelligence with the newer-Dauntless cruelty, and so is Jeanine, with her genius qualities and abilities to solve any problem she is faced with, regardless of the consequences. Oh, and I hate Peter, but doesn't everyone?

The Ending:

I wasn't sure where this book would go, in the end, for the climax. But I was not disappointed. I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say there is a ton of action, heartache, and holy-shit-what-just-happened moments. It was epic and amazing. This book was pretty long though; this is only the first in a trilogy, but I feel like I just read two books worth of information. Not that I'm complaining. I am very curious to see where this series will go. I'm not reading any information about Insurgent or Allegiant because I don't want to spoil anything for myself. I will admit to being nervous, though, because it seems like not many people liked the third and final book in the Divergent series. But I'm finishing this series with a clear mind and no expectations. 

If you like dystopian novels with action, romance, and just all-around awesomeness, then read this book! You will not be disappointed, and will get hooked on the amazing world of Divergent just like I did :)