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.