Series: Divergent #1
Published by Harper Collins, Katherine Tegen Books on April 25, 2011
Genres: Action and Suspense, Dystopian, Romance, Sci-Fi, Young Adult
Pages: 501
Format: eBook
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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, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
In this installment of Heather Finally Reads, I finally get around to reading the Divergent seriesĀ before the movie comes out andĀ now that it is complete. I’ll be reviewing each book for the next couple of Tuesdays in January.
My Thoughts:
In this dystopian future, Chicago is a walled off city and Lake Michigan is a swamp. The citizens are divided into five factions, based on testing that they take when they are sixteen years old. If they show an aptitude for a different faction than they were born in to, then they can choose to join the initiates for the other faction for a chance to become a permanent member or remain as initiates in their original faction. If they fail the initiation process, they then become one of the factionless, living in poverty and hunger on the streets of the city.
Beatrice Prior was born into the Abnegation faction–the selfless people who will do anything for someone else, never putting themselves first or ever being selfish. When she’s tested, her results are inconclusive for only one faction, which is also known as Divergent. Being Divergent is dangerous to the well-organized way that Chicago runs, so she’s told to tell know one of her results and choose her faction wisely. She bravely picks Dauntless, the fearless faction that protects the fences, leaving her Abnegation leader father and mother behind for a dangerous and exciting unknown new life where she must risk life and limb to make it through Dauntless initiation. Ā Here she’s tested both physically and mentally as she has to prove herself against both the Dauntless born initiates and the transfer initiates.
I really enjoyed reading Tris’ progression from meek girl to kick-ass woman who stood up for herself. The relationship that she developed with some of her fellow initiates was realistic and well-developed. Their Dauntless instructor, Four, was smart, hard-nosed, sexy, multi-layered, and calculating. The relationships that developed between Tris and Four was well-paced, tension filled, and sweet.
I give Divergent a 4.5 out of 5. In this action packed book, the world-building is strong without detracting from the character driven plot. The fight scenes had the right amount of choreography without being too complicated. The story is well-paced throughout. Overall, I really enjoyed this first book in the series and I immediately started the second book, Insurgent.
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I just finished this not too long ago and I adored it. I don’t know why I waited so long. Great review- I’m glad to see you liked it too! Now I just have to finish the series…
Jillyn recently posted..Review: Ham: Slices of a Life
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I totally adored Divergent too, Jillyn. I’ve finished the series, so I won’t spoil it for you. I hope you enjoy Insurgent and Allegient! Happy reading.
Heather recently posted..Heather Finally Reads: Divergent by Veronica Roth
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I loved this book so much! The world was so cool and Tris was a great character. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the series lessened as it progressed, but hopefully that doesn’t happen for you.
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I’m right there with you on the Divergent series, Megan. I liked each subsequent book less than the one before it. Sigh, I had such high hopes for this series…
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Geeze, Heather. FINALLY! Heh. Yeah, there are too many books that I need to do the same with. Glad you enjoyed it! I loved seeing Tris’s growth and development, too. *Almost* more than the romance. Almost.
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I know, Mary! It took me forever to start the Divergent series, but I wanted the books to be complete before I started. The romance was so swoon-worthy that it almost makes you forget about everything else. Tris was great in this one, but Four is definitely my favorite in the rest of the books.
Heather recently posted..Heather Finally Reads: Divergent by Veronica Roth
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I’m glad I’m not the only crazy person who hasn’t picked up Divergent until this year š It’s sitting on my tablet right now, waiting for school work to lessen, so that it can have my full attention.
D. @ The Nerdy Journalist recently posted..Top ten 2014 debuts Iām excited for
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You’re going to need your full attention once you start reading Divergent. I didn’t want to put it down once I’d started reading it. Hope you enjoy it, and good luck with the school work!
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I still haven’t finished this one. I probably won’t since I know how the series ends. You could barely read a review without knowing that. But I am impressed that you stuck it out and went ahead and read this one and the entire series. Good review!
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I purposely avoided spoilers for the last book. All I knew was that readers were definitely mad about how the last book went. Since I’m reviewing each book on subsequent Tuesdays this month, I will tell you that I liked each book less than the one before. They just got worse and worse. You might be able to just read Divergent and be fine. That one was really enjoyable. But I did feel really let down in the third book. Hopefully if they wind up making all three of them into movies, they change things up.
Heather recently posted..Heather Finally Reads: Divergent by Veronica Roth
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I think I’m one of the few people on the planet who really didn’t like this book or the main character.
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Just look on Goodreads, LOL. There’s a decent amount of you who didn’t enjoy this.
Heather recently posted..Heather Finally Reads – Insurgent by Veronica Roth
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I have had this one on the stack for ages and haven’t read it. But now you’ve read it and it’s coming out as a movie! I am guessing that jenny and I will go see it. So it will move up the pile!
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Omg, I loved this book. I hope that the movie will be as good as the book.
I loved the character of Beatrice. Good thath you finally read it Heather š
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