Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Book #1
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins
Release Date: May 3, 2011
Author's Website: http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/
Book 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.Phenomenal! Seriously this was a fabulous book to start off the year. I loved it, seriously loved it! When I polled my blog readers for their favorite read of 2011 Divergent was the unquestionable winner and I hadn't read it. So I remedied that by making it my first read of 2012.
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.
Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.
I rarely read book summaries or reviews anymore and was especially glad I didn't read this book's summary or any reviews on it before reading it. I had no idea what to expect other than knowing that there has been a lot of hype about this book. Divergent currently has a 4.41 rating on goodreads which is the highest rating I found on any of the 2011 young adult debut novels. I had high expectations when starting this book and I'm happy to report that for me this book lived up to the hype!
Amazingly there was no love triangle. Don't get me wrong, many (actually most) of my favorite books have love triangles but it's so refreshing to not have one. No picking side in this one just Team Four all around, how can you not love the guy.
Overall this was a fairly clean book. Kudos to Veronica for writing something I will let my teenagers read. There was no language that I remember, no sex and it was fairly mild on the innuendo although it was violent. If I had to choose I would say that I much prefer violence over language or sex in books, it doesn't bother me nearly as much. The Dauntless are heartless fighters so there are several scenes that are quite violent.
What else to say without spoiling the book? It's fabulously written with characters I love. The four month wait for the sequel Insurgent is going to be a long one.
Divergent is the kind of book I enjoy reading. Young adult, dystopian, fairly clean - Yep that's right up my alley. Seems like I'm the last person to read this book so I'm probably preaching to the choir but if you haven't yet read this I highly recommend it. I loved it!
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Rating: 5 Stars - I loved it!
Source: Download from Audible.com
Content: No sex, no language that I remember, overall I'd say it was clean but violent. I'd let my teenagers read it.
Insurgent is definitely on my most wanted list! I cannot wait!
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
