DivergentAuthor: Veronica RothPublisher: Harper Collins, 2011
Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.
My Review:
Novels like this are the reason I love reading. Hell, novels like these are what keep me reading. The level at which I found myself immersed in the pages of Divergent was something previously unknown to me. I walked with Tris, I cried with Tris, I flinched at the horrible things, and sighed at the wonderful moments. Divergent had me enthralled from page one, and did not let go until the end.
I might be doing some unholy act in saying this, but I love Tris Prior so much more than Katniss Everdeen! Tris shows courage under dire consequences, she’ll do anything to save her own skin even lie, and she is able to think in hard situations. And all that even before joining the Dauntless! Joining them didn’t change her; it allowed her true self to show. Tris just needed to redefine, reinvent herself. It wasn’t about leaving her old factions virtues behind, because then she turned too ruthless, like Eric. We get to see that when she shows no mercy to Al, and well we know how that goes. She needs her Abnegation values to tame her mercilessness with compassion or at least understanding.
Four mentions it to her that courage is about standing up for those who can’t. I love how he pushes Tris to the limit (see quote 3). And while he helps her this way, she in turn becomes his pillar against his fears. It was quite refreshing to see the girl stand up for the boy for once! I also loved the concept of being Divergent, of not being cut for any one single faction. And though Four is not classified as Divergent, he wants to be (see quote 4). I think I’d be like Four, and choose to join the Dauntless even if I wasn’t meant for it. They are chaotic to an almost ridiculous point with no sense of self-preservation, and they are thrill seekers to the end. But the way they go about overcoming fears, and how fearlessness is not the goal but action in the face of fear, it’s a lesson I’ll always remember.
In my opinion, Divergent is Best Debut Novel this year. A truly original world full of action, intrigue, important lessons, and the unspoken yet firm command to take action and be courageous ourselves.
Favorite Quotes:
I open my eyes and thrust my arm out. My blood drips onto the carpet between the two bowls. Then, with a gasp I can’t contain, I shift my hand forward, and my blood sizzles on the coals.
I am selfish. I am brave.
~
‘We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.’
~
“My first instinct is to push you until you break, just to see how hard I have to press,” he says, his fingers squeezing at the word “break.” My body tenses at the edge in his voice, so I am coiled as tight as a spring, and I forget to breathe.
His dark eyes lifting to mine, he adds, “But I resist it.”
“Why…” I swallow hard. “Why is that your first instinct?”
“Fear doesn’t shut you down; it wakes you up. I’ve seen it. It’s fascinating.” He releases me but doesn’t pull away, his hand grazing my jaw, my neck. “Sometimes I just… want to see it again. Want to see you awake.”
~
“I want to be brave, and selfless, and smart, and kind, and honest.” He clears his throat. “I continually struggle with kindness.”
“No one’s perfect,” I whisper.
