Divergent (Review)

Divergent – Veronica Roth
(4.5/5)

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.

There’s no doubt about it; Dystopian fiction is fast becoming the new Vampire romance of the YA genre. But it would be a mistake to write Divergent off as a poor man’s Hunger Games the way Twilight fans view its many spin offs. A Hunger Games clone Divergent is not. Beyond sharing a genre, they’re very different.

At the beginning of the book, Beatrice Prior is living the life of Abnegation. She is reluctant to even look at her reflection – that would, after all, be selfish. But she says it herself; selflessness doesn’t come easily for her, not like it should. As the book progresses, she is forced to confront this ‘fault’ in her Abnegation, and the character growth that results is a strong point in Roth’s storytelling.

Unsurprisingly, a romance is worked in, but it’s subtle – and cute – enough to not break either the believability of Tris’ character, or the flow of the plot. Instead, it serves as another way for Roth to validate the three-dimensionality of her writing.

As someone who believes everything is open for psychological analysis, dystopias are right up my alley, and Roth’s futuristic Chicago is the best I’ve read in quite a while. She has effortlessly created a unique, thought provoking society for her characters. I enjoyed every minute of her book, and I’m not (too) ashamed to say that I spent a considerable amount of the following days pondering what it would be like to live in one of the factions*.

Action is clearly an important part of Divergent, as well as something Roth is confident writing. Though she doesn’t in any way hold back when detailing a fight scene, the violence rarely comes across as gratuitous.

Because of my afore-mentioned interest in all things dystopian, I would have liked to learn more about the other factions. Very little is said of life in Candor, Amity and Erudite. Hopefully these factions will be further explored over the course of the next two books, because I see a lot of potential there. All in all, I was very impressed by Divergent, and would recommend it to readers aged 14+ who are fans of Action or Dystopia, and I'm looking forward to Veronica Roth's future offerings. 

Happy reading!

Love,

Kore 

*I came to the conclusion that I would be in Amity. The Facebook quiz agreed with me. For those who’ve already read Divergent: which faction do you think you would choose? Would the faction your parents belonged to influence your decision?