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Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

>>Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent #1
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 107/487
Genre: YA, dystopia
Publication Date: May 3rd, 2011
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Rating: No Grade

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.

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.


My Review

Why did I read this book? I bought this book due to the many positive reviews I've read and I thought the synopsis looked interesting.

Why it's a DNF: The usual reason I don't finish a book is because I reach a point where I realize that the book just isn't for me. Many people love Divergent, but after reading about a quarter of it, I knew I should call it quits. This is another YA dystopia and I think I've been really burnt out from them. I find I'm harsher on the worldbuilding because there's just so much others to compare it to. I was generally interested in the premise and the set up of the world: how people are divided into factions based on the traits they feel they need to exude in order to keep the world peaceful. However, I just couldn't grasp fully onto this idea and in particular, I thought the Dauntless faction was disappointing (which is the one that's focused on highly). I didn't understand why dangerous stunts and fighting each other (even in unfair fights) was brave. Once I got hints to a romance I decided to put the book aside since I was not feeling the worldbuilding and characters.

Overall Thoughts 
Obviously I'm in the minority, so if you like YA dystopias, there's a good chance you'll like this one. If you're someone like me who will really question the worldbuilding, then perhaps it's not for you.

4 comments:

  1. I felt the same way about this. It was a big disappoint after all the hype.

    p.s. How did she build enough muscle to outgrow her pants in a week!? *scoffs*

    ReplyDelete
  2. *disappointment

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sorry to hear this one didn't work for you. After hearing all the hype, I was curious about it, but now I'm not so sure...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow..DNF? What a bummer! Hope your next read is better!

    ReplyDelete

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