Divergent by Veronica Roth - Book Review

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: Harper Collins

Publication Date: 3rd May 2011

Pages: 496

Format: Paperback

Genre: YA / Fantasy / Dystopia

Source: Won in a Giveaway

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. (Goodreads Synopsis)


I'm not a huge YA reader, but I have picked up several in that genre so far this year. Most have been OK; some I liked more than others, but none have blown me away. Until now.

I was hooked on this book right from the start and found it a real page turner. The story and characters were interesting and engaging and it was always hard to put it down. I loved the premise and the way the names of the factions were not 'dumbed down' for the younger readers.

Tris and Four are both great characters: well formed and believable and you do see them grow during the story - something that a few YA books fail on. When reading some YA books, I find myself conscious of the genre, aware that the book is not for 'adults'. But with Divergent, I forgot that entirely and just lost myself in the story. This is the one I would recommend to people wanting to giving YA a try for the first time.

I had only one minor gripe and that was the fact that the ending felt a little rushed. This is a decent length book and yet it seemed like there was a long, long build up and then the ending was over in a few pages. However, the ending did leave room for a sequel, so perhaps we will see things continued in a second book in the future.

This is one of my favourite reads of the year so far.