REVIEW: Dystopian future never looked so good
“Divergent” by Veronica Roth takes place in dystopian Chicago, which has been divided into five factions of people: Amity, who value kindness; Candor, who value honesty; Erudite, who value intelligence; Abnegation, who value selflessness; and Dauntless, who value bravery. This book follows 16-year-old Tris Prior, who is Abnegation born. She always thought she wasn’t selfless enough to be part of Abnegation, that she was the black sheep of her family because they all did it so well and she struggled so much.
All the other factions fascinated her, except the Erudite. The Erudites had been spreading lies about the Abnegation since they were the ruling part of the government. When a teen turns 16, they go to the Choosing Ceremony. There, they decide which faction they wish to be a part of for the rest of their life. Before the Choosing Ceremony, however, they must take an aptitude test in order to find out which faction they would best fit in.
When Tris takes her test, her results are inconclusive. She ends up with an aptitude for Abnegation, Erudite and Dauntless. This combination of characteristics puts her at risk of being killed if anyone else should find out. She must make a choice to leave her family or to continue on in the Abnegation way, something that never suited her well.
Once she chooses her faction, Tris and the other like-minded initiates have to pass initiation or, if they fail, become factionless. But she soon finds out her city isn’t what they all thought it was and discovers some troubling news.
I love this book because the plot is very captivating. It is well-thought out and it keeps you interested. The plot pace isn’t too fast and not too slow, either. This book is easy to get lost in and you find yourself reading on without realizing how much time is passing.
The individual character development is fantastic. I found myself attached to all of them, laughing and crying with them as different events passed. With Tris, you often get to see and confirm that she is divergent – she could be the selfless girl she was raised to be, or she could be too cold to be that expected person.
The secrets Roth holds back from you until the end of the book – and some on hold until the next installment of the series – help make it a page turner. You just find yourself wanting to know more. There were very few grammatical errors, if any, and they were not noticeable and didn’t distract from the flow of the story.
Roth is a creative author and a fabulous writer. The antagonists with Tris in initiation are sort of one-sided in this story.There’s not a lot of development with them, but the development for the rest of the characters seems to make up for it.
Overall, I would recommend this book to people who love action and adventure books with some romance thrown in for color.