Book Review - Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

Yep, another YA dystopian trilogy. But I do like this one - it did remind me a bit of The Hunger Games, though I still thought the Hunger Games is better, probably because it tugged on my emotion more (Katniss' love for her little sister).

The main protagonist, Beatrice/Tris (she decided to go by Tris later) reminded me a bit of Katniss - strong, smart, but sometimes she acted before she thought through it. The 5 factions each 16 years old had to choose which one they belonged to were Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). I liked the world-building in the book.  It did make me think, if I had to choose, which faction would I choose? I think most likely Erudite. I doubt I'd ever be a Dauntless, but those who chose it thought:

But becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it., that's the point. (p239)

It didn't really explain why you could only choose one, but I supposed that was the whole point of dystopian fiction - there were elements that were out of the characters' control, and it was up to them to do something about it:

My father says that those who want power and get it live in terror of losing it. That's why we have to give power to those who do not want it. (p68)

I could also guess who Four (another character) was right off the bat, so it didn't quite come as a surprise. I liked him too, but we did not know a lot about him yet. The other characters didn't leave as much of an impression (I could hardly remember their names now) but there were quite of few supporting characters. I had to laugh though when I read what Tris thought about having a pet - that's exactly what I felt before I became a kitty mama:

What is the point in providing food and shelter for an animal that just soils your furniture, makes your home smell bad, and ultimately dies? (p193)

While part of the plot was predictable (you know, like Tris can't die yet in Book 1) I am not quite sure where the next book would lead us, so I look forward to it! Hopefully it'd just be as fast paced as this one, and we'll get to know the characters a bit more, and that it doesn't suffer from "middle book syndrome" where the author saved the best bits for the last book.

If you like YA dystopian, go read this series!

4 / 5 .


Note - The book was borrowed from the library.



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