3 June 2013

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent [Divergent #1]
by Veronica Roth

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.


I first read Divergent around this time last year. I decided to re-read it this year so that I could finally read Insurgent - since Allegiant is out later on this year - and because I couldn't really remember everything that had happened. I could remember the basic storyline and that I enjoyed it, but I couldn't remember what else had happened in the book.

Re-reading this book allowed me to fall in love with the characters and the storyline all over again. I love re-reading books and I haven't done it that often in the past year, so I enjoyed the experience of re-reading a book again.

Beatrice 'Tris' Prior has always been one of my favourite characters. When Beatrice was in Abnegation, she couldn't really be herself. She felt pressured into being selfless and she felt like she couldn't live up to her brother's selfless behaviour. She felt trapped and wanted to get out.
So when she transfers to Dauntless and adopts the name Tris, she finally feels like she's able to be herself. She doesn't have to be quiet or refrain from doing things she wants to and she started to seem more like herself. She's such a brave, funny, independent character and all of these qualities were shown more when she joined Dauntless. She also became more selfless in Dauntless than she'd ever been in Abnegation.

I really love Four. I couldn't wait for him to come into the story. He's just such an amazing character. There are times when he seemed like an ass, but I knew he had to act like that to protect Tris. He's such a sweet, friendly, protective character. I loved his story and I enjoyed learning more about him. Four has had a tough life, he's made some difficult decisions and been through some terrible things but he always seems so strong and I admired that about him.

I loved some of the other characters in the book, like Christina, Will and especially Uriah. Uriah is probably my favourite character - except for Tris and Four. He's just so funny and lighthearted, and I really enjoyed every scene he was in.

I really hated Eric and Molly, but mostly I hated Peter. Peter was such a vile character. He was willing to do anything to make sure he got into Dauntless. He's one of the most horrible characters I've ever read about.

There was a lot going on in Divergent. There was the whole thing about the Divergents; the tension between the factions; the simulations and what they're really doing. There wasn't one thing about this book that I didn't enjoy. Everything was just fantastic!

I loved the relationships in this book.
First, we had Tris and Four. Their relationship development was one that I really loved. You could tell that Four had feelings for Tris, even though it hadn't been said yet. The way he acted around her and how he did things to protect her just showed how much he cared for her. They were such an amazing couple.
Also, there was Will & Christina. I enjoyed seeing their friendship grow into a romantic relationship. They were so cute together.

Divergent is one of my favourite dystopian novels and I'm so glad I re-read it. Everything about this book is amazing. If you haven't read this already, GO AND READ IT NOW. You won't regret it.

2 comments:

  1. I started the series shortly before Insurgent came out and there was such a crazy hype I risked it and bout HB of both books. I read them in a day and loved them so much. One of the best investments I ever made.

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    1. I think I got Divergent just after Insurgent had came out. I hadn't even heard of the series [since it was before I started doing anything book related online] and I just liked the sound of it. I loved it second time round as much as I did the first time. It's amazing :)

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