Divergent by Veronica Roth

Genre: dystopian, adventure
Series and Book #: Divergent Series #1
Pages: 487
Synopsis:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided 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.

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W-O-W. Like, mind-blowing awesomeness is all wrapped up into 487 pages. Veronica Roth is a 2011 debutee and she's created a memorable novel that will attach to you, begging you for more! It's somewhat like other dystopian fiction--government's corrupt but everyone thinks its perfect, the hero/heroine discovers something they never knew about themselves, etc. etc. But Veronica managed to put those things aside. She spent so much time building up the different factions, and it really paid off. Most of the time while I was reading, I was wondering which faction I'd be in (and I still have no idea). It takes a great author to pull a reader into the world and have them considering the same things the MC is.

Four was stellar. The perfect guy you'd ever want to meet. Even if her book was terrible, I'd probably keep reading just for Four. ;)

Overall, Veronica's first novel is a champion. The characters were excellently written, the world was mesmerizing, and it pulled me in, which I think is the biggest aspect of this novel that I love. I can't wait to read more from this series to see how it all ends.

The Cover: AH-MAY-ZING! It was clever to put the symbol of Dauntless on fire, and the dark outline of Chicago in the distance really sets the theme for the book.