Divergent by Veronica Roth: Review, & A Request

Hey, everyone! First, thanks for all the comments on my last post. Really amazing turnout. And big hi's to all of my new followers :)

Today, I want to do a book review, which may or may not be necessary because the book I'm reviewing is practically an addiction for the YA community/blog world. Divergent (Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth.

Blurb (Taken from Goodreads--Disclaimer: I do not own anything having to do with Divergent by Veronica Roth. This description was taken from Goodreads to promote the book. No compensation was given in return for this review, and I got this book from the library.)


"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."

I tried avoiding this book for a while. I first saw it in Wally World; I noticed it because the cover was different than something I'd seen before. I picked it up, got the dystopian vibe, and I put it down.

Then it exploded on every blog I've seen for months. Everyone <3s it something ridiculous, and when I read it, I really liked it too.

It was dystopian, but instead of making the girl a "less than smart" person who has to figure out x, y , or z about her Society that ain't quite right, Tris, the MFC (main female character), in this book was normal, kick arse, and strong. You have to love that. I'm not saying some of the stereotypical elements of the new dystopian thread of YA weren't there, but they were handled in an original way that didn't make me want to vomit.

So here's a roundup of some of the key elements:

The Cover: Major points for being different. Wasn't something that looked like something I had to read, but the cover made me pick it up. I was hypnotized by it, I suppose. Good overall.

The Plot: Good stuff. Really good. I wanted to read it to see what would happen. Roth crammed action, tattoos, friendship dynamics, and romance, along with a maybe-not-so-attainable goal of becoming part of a rather intense group. It may have started a little slow with explaining all of the faction dynamics (you'll see what I mean), but it definitely made up for it after about 2.5 chapters in. The beginning is necessary, and the rest of the plot--intriguing enough to keep the pages turning at an alarming rate.

The Romantic Element: Because, come on, if I'm reading it, there has to be one. Divergent (Divergent Trilogy) was good in this aspect. Four was a great MMC (main male character), and the romance was a slow burn--pretty much the best kind (which I posted about here). You wanted to read the action-y bits to get to see the romantic bits, BUT the action bits were just as good, if not better. The plot made the romantic bits that much more exciting.

Carry-on Factor: Do I want to read it again OR do I want to read the follow-up? In this case, the latter applies, and yes, I will read it. I really want to. Can we arrange for that to be sooner than later? AND, it’s already a buzz online that it's being made into a movie, so jump on the bandwagon, people, so you can say you read the book before you watched the film and blah blah blah.

Overall: Completely worth reading. It was more original than a lot of the options that YA is getting these days. I support the purchase/library checkout. If for nothing else, it'll definitely keep you entertained for the x amount of pages (without lag time in the middle--HUGE plus)

What did you all think of Divergent (Divergent Trilogy)? If you've read it, do you agree with my take on it or what would you change/add to what I've said above? Let me know below!

Note: I decided to change up how I review books. I'm always going to be honest, but the star rating system seems a little harsh (example: Stolen by Lucy Christopher is COMPLETELY worth a read, but my review here may or may not have gotten that across in the best way).

Now to leave you with a song to write by, "Bye Bye Boyfriend" by FeFe Dobson. I <3 the beginning, and I've been known to listen to the first 30, and then start the song over…and over…and over…sorry to all of my friends who have had to deal with me :)

P.S. I'm now looking for book bloggers to review my book, Glittering Ashes (The Dark Artist Series) (write-up in "My Books" tab above and by clicking on link). If you're interested in getting a free ebook copy in return for a review, please let me know below or by email (writtled @ gmail . com---minus the spaces). Also, I really, really (really) want to do author interviews. They seem amazing to me, so also contact me if you want to do something to that ends for your blog post one day. Thank you! And I look forward to hearing from all you wonderful people :)