Review- Divergent by Veronica Roth

Goodreads Summary: 

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.

REVIEW: 

I had been wanting to read Divergent since a very long time, especially because practically every review I read for it has been a four or five stars one. Besides, after The Hunger Games, followed steadily by a few not so extraordinary stories, I hadn't read any solid dystopian. And can I just say that Divergent was the perfect choice to get back into a genre that tends to leave me feeling depressed and helpless half the time. Also, the other main reason why I read this book is because the Divergent movie is coming out soon, which I cannot wait to watch. While I agree with almost every positive aspect of the book that has been pointed out before, I still feel it's necessary to express it. But that obviously doesn't mean I loved everything about the book, as we shall see. 

What I appreciate the most about author Veronica Roth is her deep and detailed description of the post-apocalyptic world in Divergent. Dystopians usually confuse me with their functioning, but that was never a problem here. There were times when it seemed like the book wouldn't end because it did tend to get too deep. The amount of time it took me to finish the book had me afraid of going into a reading slump. Other than a precise and clear view of each of the five factions, there was also a meticulous world-building. Besides these two points, I found that there were the regular ingredients that go into making a  delectable dystopian. Kick ass heroine- check. Smart, sensible and steady hero- check. Strong and supporting family- check. Sweet friends- check. Nasty enemies- check. Sleazy government- check. Sensible scientific discoveries- check. All these and much more went into making Divergent an extremely great read. Beatrice or Tris and Tobias or Four obviously stood out throughout the length of the book. 

Aside from what I have already said, the other positive that I actually ended up admiring in Divergent is the nature of the dystopian world described. We all know that it isn't easy to live there and we all know what the consequence will be. And Divergent has that consequence. And I deeply, deeply, deeply admired that. While I couldn't really connect to the story emotionally and it wasn't anything extraordinary for me, Veronica Roth's writing which goes from Tris' point of view in first person, is simply smacking. It's clean, clear and precise and that in itself is enough in making a reader connect with a book. I have no idea if I will be continuing with the series anytime soon, but I sure as hell am curious to read both Insurgent and Allegiant. I am interested in knowing what's in store from here. 

RATING: