Book #49 week #38, Divergent by Veronica Roth

Now here is a book I was really looking forward to! Apparently there is a movie deal in the works. As with my new format expect spoilers read on at your own risk!

Divergent is the story of sixteen year old Beatrice (Tris). In what use to be Chicago, the citizens are divided into factions. Tris belongs to the Abnegation faction which means selfless, they are the people that always put others first. At sixteen each person is given a mental test to see what faction is right for them and the following day they can choose to stay with their faction or leave their families and move to a different faction.  Tris' test results are inconclusive and she is unofficially labeled as Divergent and told by her instructor to tell no one. She chooses to convert to the Dauntless faction (bravery).

Once in her new faction all pledges, if you will, are required to compete against each other for a spot in the Dauntless community. Needless to say Tris makes the cut but not without threats to her life from the other pledges. During the competition stage Tris and her instructor Four fall in love with each other. After the competition it becomes apparent that the knowledge faction is working in conjunction with the leaders of the Dauntless faction to declare war on the Abnegation faction (they control the government). They are doing this by way of injecting the Dauntless citizens with a serum that allows the person to be mind controlled.  This is where the Divergent come in, something is different in their brains that does not allow the mind control to take place.

I loved this book! I loved that Tris is sensitive, selfless and selfish, brave and scared. I really love Four, he is very smart and brave of course but also mysterious with good reason to be. I thought the story flowed very well and for a YA book the author wasn't afraid to kill off characters and didn't gloss over the violence. It was so sad when Al died and also Tris' parents. Overall I felt this book was about discovering oneself. Who we really are and what we are capable of.  I can't wait to get my hands on book two; Insurgent.

Quote:
“Somewhere inside me is a merciful, forgiving person. Somewhere there is a girl who tries to understand what people are going through, who accepts that people do evil things and that desperation leads them to darker places than they ever imagined. I swear she exists, and she hurts for the repentant boy I see in front of me.

But if I saw her, I wouldn't recognize her.”