3.5 Points for Divergent!

I finished Divergent by Veronica Roth a few weeks ago, but it has taken me a while to think about how I felt about it. It’s a YA dystopian novel that has received much buzz on the Internets. I was naturally stoked since I love all things dystopia. Make of that what you will.

Anyway, here’s the summary: Sixteen-year-old Tris must choose one of five factions (Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, Erudite) to devote her life to. She’s grown up in the Abnegation faction, but will she stay?

No, I won’t tell you.

Here’s what I liked: The writing – Ms. Roth’s words were crystal clear and detailed when they needed to be. Also Tris, her selflessness, and the wicked hot romance between her and Four. Yes, that’s the dude’s name, and no, I won’t tell you why.

Here’s what I didn’t like: throughout much of the book, I’m pretty sure I had this expression on my face:

Why is society divided into these five factions? Why these five? Why must sixteen-year-olds decide which faction they will devote their lives to? Why? Why? Why? Nothing was explained. I get why Hogwarts students were sorted into different houses in Harry Potter. So they’d have a section of the school to sleep in, right? Also, so the teachers could say, “Ten points to Gryffindor!” But the factions? Nope, I don’t get it. Usually I’m okay with unexplanations, but this was a major plot point. Maybe things will be explained in the sequel? Maybe?

Some of the twists in this book came out of nowhere. Foreshadowing is an author’s friend, but maybe foreshadowing and Ms. Roth got into a fight.

My rating: 3.5/5

Will I read the sequels? Hmm… I don’t know yet.

Do I recommend it? I would recommend it to die-hard fans of The Hunger Games, but I would warn them that it is not The Hunger Games. Part of the reason I picked this one up was because of the comparisons everyone made and that people raved on and on about it. Maybe I’m missing something, or maybe I loved THG so much that everything else is meh.