Divergent Review

487 pages

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. 

Review: 
OK. Divergent. I held off on reading this book because I sometimes do that when I'm excited about a book so I want to save it (lol). Now that I've finished it I have to say it wasn't the best dystopian novel I've ever read. I don't think that this book was worth the hype surrounding it but nevertheless it was a good read. The competition between and characteristics of the different factions definitely made the book more interesting. I did feel like the book was a little slow at times and that there should have been more action. I think that more could have been done with the conflict inside the book. I felt like the extreme conflict basically came out of nowhere. Beatrice was an extremely conflicted character but this definitely gave her an edge in the book and in the conflict surrounding the different factions. Beatrice was also a very strong character and defied the odds when she was expected to be weak. I think that when the adventure and real conflict started the book definitely picked up for me. I am interested in seeing where the author takes this story in the next novel in the series. Overall I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes a good dystopian novel.