Review: Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent (Divergent #1)
Author: Veronica Roth
Publication date: February 28th 2012
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
My rating: 5 of 5 Stars

SUMMARY (from Goodreads)
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 threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

MY THOUGHTS

I'm probably the last person on earth to read Divergent. With all the hype surrounding this series I was a little skeptical about reading Divergent. But I liked it. I liked it a lot. Many readers complained that Divergent doesn’t deserve so much attention. I disagree. Several past years had so many bad dystopia releases, and Divergent is really good, especially in comparison to many others in the genre.

Action-packed books are not my thing, but I couldn’t put this one down. It was fast-paced, one scene was constantly replaced by another, but I never grew bored, I kept turning pages, anxious to know what happens next.

One of the reason I liked this book was Tris. She was a kick-ass heroine. She was courageous, strong, selfless and loyal to those she loved. She’s not ideal, she had her flaws, but she was an amazing heroine.

Another thing I liked in Divergent was romance. Tris and Four’s love story was such a beautiful one. Their relationship developed gradually and realistically. And I couldn’t help but fell hard for both of them.

I can’t say that Divergent is a book without flaws, it has some of them. Mild spoiler ahead. There were several deaths at the end of the book, which happened very quickly. Then the scene immediately moved to the next and reader did’t have time to process what happened. Because of the rush, these deaths didn’t have necessary emotional impact. But despite some flaws I give Divergent five Stars. Maybe I’m too generous, but I enjoyed this book a lot and it deserved them.

I’m really looking forward to the second book. Also I’m so glad I picked this series after all three books have been released.