BOOK REVIEW: Divergent by Veronica Roth

First Impressions: OMG! YES! 

Last Impressions: OMG! YES YES YES!

I just finished DIVERGENT during my lunch break and OMG I can’t describe the emotions that are running through me at the moment. I have this lump in the pit of my stomach and butterflies trying to fly out of my throat and my heart is so full and heavy! Indescribable!

I have to admit, I was wary going into DIVERGENT because of the hype and the synopsis. It just didn’t sound like my cup of tea (or any caffeinated beverage…). But it went above and beyond any of my expectations. This has to be the best book of the year, no, the best book EVER.

Here’s a synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

I laughed, I cried, I did both at the same time and my stomach was in knots the entire time! Right when I felt relieved, something else happened, and then something else happened. I do have to warn you, there is a lot of violence, like, a lot of violence and it’s not for little kiddies to read at bedtime…

This is definitely a character driven story. Tris’ character is relatable; sometimes I wanted to scream at her and other times I couldn’t believe her bravery. She was selfish and selfless and everything in-between, she was HUMAN. And I think that’s something I find a little hard to find in YA literature lately. HUMAN characters that aren’t cut from cardboard boxes and flung into unbelievable circumstances and somehow make it out alive. Tris was believable, relatable, and I was emotionally connected with her from the first moment her voice rose from the pages. If you haven’t read DIVERGENT… What are you waiting for?? Get it YESTERDAY, yes, I said yesterday.

Random paragraph: I look at my reflection in the mirror on the back wall and see a stranger. She is blond like me, with a narrow face like mine, but that’s where the similarities stop.  I do not have a black eye, and a split lip and a bruised jaw. I am not as pale as a sheet. She can’t possibly be me, though she moves when I move.

And does anyone else think the Divergent just have ADD…?