DIVERGENT - VERONICA ROTH //

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I was introduced to Divergent in the midst of my Hunger Games phase. I had recently completed Mockingjay and was suffering from post-book depression when my friend recommended this book. I ordered it from Amazon, staying ever-skeptical. My friend had reassured me of this book’s similarity to The Hunger Games. I read this book in one day, and after completing it, I closed the book and immediately began to read it again. It’s that addicting. And I am being completely honest when I say I have lost track of how many times I have reread this book, but I believe it is somewhere in the fifties or higher. It is my Moulin Rouge! (my favorite movie, seen well over 200 times) of books. As I can say/sing words along with Moulin Rouge!, I can paraphrase almost every page in this book.

The story follows Beatrice Prior, a sixteen year old girl living in a dystopian Chicago. In her Chicago, there are five factions: Abnegation, who value selflessness; Candor, who value honesty; Erudite, who value intelligence; Amity, who value peacefulness and kindness; and Dauntless, who value bravery. Beatrice comes from Abnegation. Sixteen-year olds go through an “aptitude test” to test their aptitude for each faction, and to help the person to decide on which faction they will choose during their Choosing Ceremony. Beatrice learns she is Divergent, meaning she has aptitude for more than one faction. Despite her monitor reporting her results as Abnegation, Beatrice chooses to transfer to Dauntless in a completely impulsive decision. It is there she learns of the inner workings of her world and of the conflicts between the factions. She also learns that being brave and being selfless aren’t always two different things. No spoilers! But the story is thrilling, heart-rate increasing, and indubitably intriguing. You will not be able to set this book down.

This book is a dystopian fiction novel, and that fact can make it more difficult for authors to create easily-relatable characters, but I believe Roth does a fairly good job at this. Beatrice is beyond flawed, terribly so. Her actions can be far beyond frustrating, but that is what makes her real. Personally, I have a problem relating to the protagonists of dystopian novels because of the disconnect between their life-threatening, world-changing problems and my insignificant problems which I cannot relate to the fictional problems. Beatrice was the first character from dystopian fiction with whom I did not have this problem.

As for a number score, I’d give Divergent a 4.4/4.5 out of 5. I adore this book (obvious by the amount of times I have read it) and absolutely would recommend it to anyone. 

Favorite line: “Fear doesn’t shut you down; it wakes you up.” / “We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.” 

Songs reminiscent of Divergent: "Bootstraps" - You, Me, and Everyone We Know; "Drumming Song" - Florence + the Machine; "Kiss With a Fist" - Florence + the Machine; "Marchin’ On" - OneRepublic; "Teenagers" - My Chemical Romance