Divergent by Veronica Roth

487 pages

"In Beatrice Prior's distopian 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.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends 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 held her save those she loves...or it might destroy her." -Dust Jacket

So I read this book twice...and LOVED it both times. I'm glad I read it again because sometimes when you blow through a 400+ page book in one day (because you can't put it down) you miss stuff, especially when it's getting into the early morning hours. For a debut novel this one is superb, one of the best I've read. The distopian world Veronica Roth created is one of my favorites. She did a great job helping the reader visual the people and places. I liked that it was set in a real city. I loved the idea of factions and the idea that only one character trait should be developed in each person. Being Divergent means that you are capable of more than one trait at a time and that makes you dangerous. The idea is that free will is dangerous to those who are in charge.

Tris is a well-written character. She's a lot like Katniss; she's small in stature yet packs a punch. I hope she stays strong throughout the series. Most of this book is spent in the initiation phase of her Dauntless training and there is a lot of action from start to finish. The author is great at writing action scenes. I love where this book ended. It didn't leave you hanging like so many do, just wanting more. My favorite character was Four. He's a great "leading man," so real. As a reader I totally believe his relationship with Tris. It seems to take a more natural progression than some relationships in other books. 

I'd put this book in the same league as The Hunger Games and absolutely recommend it. Just make sure you don't have anything else to do that day.  

The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman

332 pages

"Gil Goodson's future happiness depends on winning the Golly Toy & Game Company's ultimate competition. If Gil wins, his dad has promised that the family can move away from all the gossip, false friends, and bad press that have plagued them ever since The Incident. Inside the toy company's fantastic headquarters, Gill will have to master trivia, solve puzzles, and complete physical stunts--and he'll have to do it better than all of the other kids competing.

Oh, and did we mention that Gil's every step--and every mistake--will be broadcast on national television? Hold on tight, because the ride of his life is about to begin!" -Back Cover

My kids and I have been having reading time every day (sort of) during the summer. We sit out on the deck when weather permits and when it doesn't we read in the basement, eat a treat, and read a few chapters. My oldest daughter read this book and suggested we read it together. It was a success because it interested the other two girls enough to have them asking to read every day. Or maybe they were just interested in the treat. I thought it was just okay. The puzzles and games were all right. We did borrow one of the ideas for Father's Day. My husband had to figure out a puzzle similar to one in the book to learn the location of his present.

My problem with this book was that there were way too many incomplete sentences. I'm not a stranger to using them myself but too many and it gets annoying. For instance, on page 290 you get, "She looked up at him. Laughed. 'I won?' He jumped. High. Came down. Grabbed Carol, spun her around, let her go. 'I won?' Looked over at Lavinia. Lavinia was smiling. Smiling big." It was just too many, too often for me. It distracted from the story, which I didn't think was that well developed to begin with. For this genre of book I would recommend The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull before this one. The characters are more likable and the story is better.

*The ancient computer was not to be revived (thank goodness). I'm still figuring out this new one.

A Hiatus

My husband is currently trying to resuscitate our ancient computer that decided to stop working today. (Dreaming of an iMac....) Summer crimps my book time because the kids are all home from school but today we finished the book we've been reading together in the hot afternoons when we escape to the basement. Hopefully I'll be able to post soon.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Let's just say that maybe this book was so good that I sat down to read a couple of chapters one day last week and wound up reading the entire day while my kids watched 2 out of the 3 High School Musical movies. (They would have watched all three but we don't have number 2.) Maybe this book was so good that I decided that I needed to read it again before I wrote a review. Maybe I haven't started it again because I've got a house to clean and some laundry to fold, but soon. Very, very soon.