In case you haven't, here's a little summary: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian 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 really 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 help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
So it's dystopian. (win)
And first person, present tense. (win/win)
And a lot of other things I really like. Let's start a list, shall we?
1. Simulators. Dude. I love simulated stuff, and it's incredibly hard to write. I know, because I've done it. And Veronica does it brilliantly in DIVERGENT.
2. Cool names like Four. That's right. FOUR. How awesome of a name is that? And I thought Jag was neat. (Um, yeah. "Neat" is for seven-year-olds. #fail)
3. Fight scenes. In the novel, the MC, Tris, chooses a faction that focuses on fighting, so there's some major fight scenes in the novel. Dirty little secret: I sort of like it when people bleed.
4. The factions. I love that there are groups of people that the characters have to pick from when they're still teenagers. If you haven't taken the quiz yet to find out what faction you belong to, do it. (And if you ever meet Molly O'Neill, editor for this book, be prepared to answer. She'll ask you!) I chose Erudite when I met Molly, but my quiz labeled me as XXX.
5. The mother. So I don't think it's a huge secret that I love family relationships. The messier, the better, in my opinion. And I loved Tris's mother. She was strong, and soft, and wise, and kind, and everything I want to be in a mother. And that's some excellent characterization.
Make sure you get your hands on a copy of DIVERGENT soon. You won't regret it.
Check out what the other Bookanistas are up to this week at the Reading Room.
Or on their blogs:
- Shannon Messenger adores THE DAY BEFORE plus a giveaway
- Shelli Johannes-Wells gives us THE ROYAL TREATMENT
- Carolina Valdez Miller is passionate about POSSESSION and gives away an ARC
- Carrie Harris is PUTTING MAKEUP ON DEAD PEOPLE
- Beth Revis shares some SOLSTICE cover love
- Shana Silver shows her desire for DEMONGLASS
- Sarah Frances Hardy wants to be just LIKE MANDARIN
- Lisa and Laura Roecker and Stasia Ward Kehoe marvel over MOONGLASS
- Megan Miranda and Veronica Rossi delve into DIVERGENT
- Christine Fonseca is in love with DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES with a giveaway