Divergent by Veronica Roth

To say that I went out of my way to read this book is an understatement. I stayed up late, woke up early, and sequestered myself in my room to finish this book. This book was GOOD! I've only read a few other dystopian YA novels because all of the descriptions sound lame, but this is the first book that has come close to THE trilogy, The Hunger Games.

Summary: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, 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 to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating 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 a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.


This book does not stop. It's non-stop action, intensity, and tension. Also, the chapters are all very short which, I think, help speed the pace of the novel along. And I loooved our main character, Tris. We finally have a strong female character who doesn't question her actions and actually shows anger. We don't have any wishy-washy, should I or shouldn't I moments (okay...maybe once or twice). Tris gets sh*t done. And of course we have a romance...but it's not over the top. He isn't overbearing or coddle Tris (YESS!) And more importantly, there's one guy. There's no love triangle for us to deal with!

What stinks about books like this is that they will constantly be compared to The Hunger Games.
A) The story line is somewhatly reminiscent of The Hunger  Games (conflict, rebellion, death)
B) Our main character, Tris, is similar to Katniss (bad-ass, small and strong, strong family ties)
C) And of course this is a trilogy

While this book may have been influenced by The Hunger Games, it was different enough and fascinating enough that I couldn't put it down. (I attribute a lot of that to the amount of violence in the book...lots of guns, blood, cruelty and death.) It's a definite must-read in the YA dystopian genre. I can't wait for the second book of this trilogy to come out! And if the second book proceeds like the first, this will be a series I will buy for my bookshelf.

Rank: A!!!!