Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Publishing Company: Harper Collins

Blurb:

Once choice decides your friends, defines your beliefs and determines your loyalties…forever.

When sixteen-year-old Tris makes her choice, she cannot foresee how drastically her life will change. Or that the perfect society in which she lives is about to unfold into a dystopian world of electrifying decisions, stunning consequences, heartbreaking betrayals and unexpected romance.

One choice can transform you.

The Review:

I want to say something straight away. When I picked up this book I was worried that the book would be a load of hype that couldn’t be lived up to. The world Veronica Roth made is so well made that you can honestly get lost in the world and think it’s real. The way it works and the flaws and the emotion put into the writing, it’s fascinating to see.

So I’ll first talk about the factions. You have Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Erudite and Dauntless. Each stands for their own point, Abnegation is for Selflessness, Amity is for Peacefulness, Candor is for Sincerity, Erudite is for Knowledge and Dauntless is for Bravery. Each faction don’t interact with the other and they are very much for their own ways and nothing else.

The book follows the main character Tris, who’s actually called Beatrice, but goes by Tris afterwards because Beatrice isn’t the right name for her (won’t say why, but you’ll understand when you read it). And she’s going through this change of a world. And as you see her go through these changes, you realise how strange it must be for these characters to know this. I don’t want to give much away about where she goes and what she chooses, but you feel for her.

We also have a few other characters that we want to see a lot of. Four, Christina, Will, Al and Peter mostly. And then there’s her family who you don’t see much of. The characters are lumped together and you really see them having to deal with each other and whatever they’re going through together. Most of them grow as characters, and I think for who we see this in the most (for good or for bad) is Al. And you feel for the characters in one way for another. I don’t want to say much about the characters because it would give away a massive thing in the start of the book, but they’re extremely well rounded and important.

We expect the book to be about Tris deciding where she wants to go, but in fact it’s about her finding out what is happening in the world around her and how it’s falling apart. You see the strength in her and her friends, and the problems that the world faces, even when they think they have a system that works and keeps everything good and fine.

This is a short review because I really don’t want to give anything away, and if I go in more depth I’ll give away Tris’s choice. The world you see is well thought out, and you see everything for what it is and how it works. It’s sometimes extremely blunt and it shows the flaws and strengths. And all in all, it’s a very good book.

My rating:

Setting: 5 out of 5

Characters: 4.5 out of 5

Plot: 4.5 out of 5

Writing: 5 out of 5

Thanks for reading x