Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

February 2012

ISBN: 978-0-06-202403-9

Pages: 487

Futuristic, Young Adult, Dystopian Chicago

Beatrice Prior lives in a world where society is divided into five factions.  Each dedicated to a particular virtue.  Candor is honesty, Abnegation is selflessness, Dauntless is bravery, Amity is peaceful and Erudite is intelligence.  Once a year on an appointed day all the sixteen-year-olds must select the faction that they will belong to for the rest of their lives.  Beatrice’s decision comes down to being with her family or being who she truly is.  She can’t have both though.  She makes a choice that no one saw coming not even herself.

While Beatrice goes through the highly competitive initiation she renames herself Tris and struggles to figure just exactly who her friends are and who is not. Tris also has a secret that she has to keep to herself or as she has been warned will mean her death.  She then discovers a conflict that is growing and threatens the seemingly perfect society that she lives in, threatening to unravel everything.  She also discovers that her secret just might be the very thing she needs to save those she loves if it doesn’t destroy her instead. 

This is an excellent book that comes to life with every word that is read.  It is similar to some books and yet it is very different and proves to be a book that will be one that will be hard to forget even after the very last page is read.  Reading how Tris grows and overcomes the obstacles placed in her path is interesting and will hold the reader captive until the very end.  This book starts the trilogy off with a bang that will have readers wanting to see just where this is headed and how it will turn out for the characters.  It is easy to see why this one was turned into a movie. 

I give this one 4-1/2 red roses

LRH