Bookanista Review: Divergent

This week I am so lucky to review a book written by a friend, fellow Bookanista, and former SCBWI roomie. I’m so excited to tell you that Veronica Roth’s DIVERGENT is going to knock your ugly Uggs off.  Also, she snores.*

Here’s the official blurb from the publisher:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris, and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together, they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes-fascinating, sometimes-exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret: one she’s kept hidden from everyone, because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly-perfect society, she also learns that her secret might be what helps her save those she loves… or it might be what destroys her.

This book is 496 pages of awesome. Tris is not a perfect heroine who falls for a perfect brooding hero who saves her in the nick of time because she’s too silly to possibly think for herself. She has faults, often acts impulsively, and doesn’t always trust the right people. Her actions get her into trouble, from which she must frequently save herself. Smart and funny, she has the ability to think on her feet, and she is constantly thinking and wondering about her place in society.

And her society is not as simple as its founders and leaders would have everyone believe. The factions laud five virtuous traits, but they fail to take into account our baser human motivations of greed and ambition. Watching Tris navigate this imperfect landscape becomes a fascinating journey as you draw parallels with our own society. As she questioned the imperfections of the Erudite or the Abnegation, I found myself questioning manifestations of those groups in our world, like Scientists or particular religions.

This novel is smart. It has layers of complexity that will leave you thinking about it for days. As if that’s not enough, it also has brilliant action and a hot romance. Pick this up. Read it. Veronica Roth is going to wow you and leave you breathless for a sequel.

*I lied about the snoring thing. That was Deb.**

**Okay, I lied again. I’m pretty sure it was me.

Check out the links below to see what the other Bookanistas are talking about!

LiLa Roecker hosts a sunny tour stop for POSSUM SUMMER

Christine Fonseca shares her Guestanista Post: The Lost Hero

Shannon Messenger spotlights the cover of SO SILVER BRIGHT

Scott Tracey is inspired by ANGELFIRE

Michelle Hodkin toasts DEMONGLASS

Beth Revis finds amazing MAGIC UNDER GLASS

Carolina Valdez Miller uncovers WORDS IN THE DUST

Megan Miranda leaps and shouts for THE LIAR SOCIETY

Bethany Wiggins glows for RUBY RED

Shana Silver gets psyched about WITHER

Jen Hayley raves about RAISED BY WOLVES

Gretchen McNeil gushes over BLOOD AND FLOWERS

Rosemary Clement-Moore revisits HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE

Sarah Frances Hardy is nuts for THE NINTH WARD

Stasia Ward Kehoe celebrates THE LIAR SOCIETY