TSN: Writing A Book Review - Divergent by Veronica Roth

 "One choice can transform you." 

Open Divergent by Veronica Roth and be prepared to step into futuristic Chicago; a world where society is divided into five factions, each one content on cultivating and living out a particular virtue. These factions consist of: Abnegation, which values selflessness, Amity, believing peace to be most important, Candor, practicing honesty at all costs, Erudite, seeking knowledge, and Dauntless, home of the brave.

On an appointed day every year, all sixteen-year-olds, no matter their current faction, are required to take part in the Choosing Ceremony, where they will decide, based on the results of their aptitude tests, which faction they will live and serve in for the rest of their lives. They may choose to stay in the faction they grew up in, or leave their families behind and be initiated into a new faction, never to be reunited with their families again. And that is precisely the choice that Beatrice Prior must make.

Raised in an Abnegation family, Beatrice never felt like she belonged there. She always felt as if she wasn't good enough, or selfless enough like her older brother Caleb, who always seemed to be the perfect example of self-sacrificing. The choice, for Beatrice, is about more than just choosing the right thing because it's the right thing. It's about deciding between who she should be and who she really is.

Though her father calls them "hellions," Beatrice has always been fascinated by the black-clothed Dauntless teens who perform incredible feats to prove their bravery. Every morning at school, the only place where the factions mix, she watches from the window as young Dauntless-born men and women launch themselves from the fast-moving train that delivers them from the Dauntless sector of the city. Although she admits that she should wonder what tattoos and a metal ring through your nostril have to do with courage, she can't help the way these seemingly fearless people captivate her attention.       

 After taking the aptitude test, Beatrice discovers something unusual about herself, something she is warned to keep a secret at all cost because of how dangerous it is; a secret that, if revealed, even to those she trusts most, could be fatal. She's been warned that what she is, who she is, could put her life, and the lives of her loved ones, in jeopardy.

In chapter five, she makes her decision. It's a decision that no one saw coming, not even Beatrice herself. But as she says at the end of the chapter, "I am selfish. I am brave." Indeed, it takes much bravery to be who you really are, despite those around you shouting conformity.

After the Choosing Ceremony all the initiates, including the new faction transfers, must go back to their faction headquarters, where initiation begins straightaway. If, for whatever reason, an initiate fails to rank in one of the spots available for new members, that person will be turned out of their faction and become factionless, something viewed as worse than death; to be without an identity.

During the process of initiation, which includes extremely difficult physical and mental training, Beatrice, who renames herself Tris, struggles to determine who her true friends are. She also makes a few enemies, who view her as a weak "Stiff," and even, at one point, kidnap her and attempt to throw her over the side of a massive chasm with roaring rapids far beneath. But to the astonishment of everyone around her, she demonstrates, multiple times, that despite her small size and lack of physical strength, she's made of much more than anyone expects.

Early on in the story a mysterious character, who becomes Tris' love interest, is introduced. The "sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating" Four. From the start he recognizes that there's more to Tris than meets the eye. He sees her not as a little girl, but as someone capable of great courage. As their relationship develops and he and Tris get closer, more of his past is revealed and we get a better look into who he is and why he feels so conflicted.

Then of course, the secret Tris has been hiding comes into play. As she discovers a mounting conflict between the factions that's threatening to tear her apparently perfect society to pieces, and an attack planned and executed by evil genius, Jeanine Matthews, Tris learns that her secret might save those she loves....or it might destroy her. In the face of absolute danger she must act; she must be selfless; she must be brave. She realizes that selflessness and bravery aren't really all that different.

My thoughts on Divergent:

Honestly I have to give this book 5 out of 5 stars. It was just that good. I absolutely loved the story and the pacing was genius. I have developed a love for dystopian YA novels over the past couple years and, though I've read a few that were not at all 5 star material, to say the least, Divergent exceeded my expectations. I don't really have any negative comments to make about this book, other than that the world of Tris' futuristic Chicago is not very plausible; I can't really see that it would ever be a realistic future for the world we live in today. However, that wasn't an issue for me, as I also love The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and that setting is even less plausible.

The idea of a society divided into factions really intrigued me, especially the fact that they each valued a specific virtue so much that they would dedicate their entire lives to cultivating it within themselves and shaping their lives to not only resemble, but embody those values. You know it's extreme when it even dictates the way one dresses and the food one eats.      

 The characters appealed to me in that they were flawed, imperfect people just like you and me. Real people. Tris is sometimes a bit cold, not what I would consider a "nice" person, but that's why I love her. I love how she becomes who she really is during the choosing and initiation process. I love her sarcasm and dry humor. She may be small in stature, but she's definitely not a small character.

I think a lot of people, especially the audience for whom it was written, young adults, can really relate to this theme of deciding to be who you are even if it means doing something that other people may not understand or approve of. Often there are certain expectations on young people to follow a particular path that has been marked out for them; they're encouraged to abide by the norm and do what's "safe." But I think there comes a time in each of our lives where we have to choose who we're going to be and what road we're going to travel. And like Tris, we're going to need to be brave to do it.

Veronica Roth has, in my opinion, the perfect writing style. I'm very critical when it comes to books and how they're laid out, whether the dialogue is realistic, how things are described, etc. I had absolutely no complaints whatsoever. I loved that Tris was the one to tell her own story. It wouldn't have been nearly as good if it were told by anyone else. It's a story that has to be told by Tris.

There was a sense of humor within the book that I appreciated, such as the first time Tris eats a hamburger, or when Will says to Christina,  "That's my girl. Tough as cotton balls." There were also many sad parts, such as having to accept that certain characters didn't make it to the end of the book. This made it more realistic for me, and better, in a way, because it would be illogical to think that after everything that happened during the story everyone would come out of it fine and go on living happily ever after. Life doesn't work that way, so why should the storyline? It also adds a lot to Tris' character and how she develops as things progress.

Another thing that I really liked was Tris and Four's relationship. It wasn't all roses and sunshine and chocolate cake. (The cake is a Dauntless joke. Read the book and you'll get it.) It's a real relationship between two real people. It has issues and problems. They argue and have fights, but they make an effort and try to work things out because they truly care about each other. They accept and admire each other for who they really are, imperfections and all.

The last point I want to make is that of the "government." Namely, Jeanine Matthews, leader of Erudite and power hungry genius. Like all "villains," she desires a world where people live in wealth, comfort, and prosperity, willing to do anything to achieve her goals, including mind control and murder of innocent people. She also wants everyone to know what a smart little b**ch she is. I can't imagine the plot happening any other way. I love the psychology aspect and how it really made my brain work to try to figure out the way Jeanine thinks and reasons. Though she is definitely a genius, she chose to use her powers for evil, which, really just makes the book that much better because everyone needs someone to hate.         

All in all this book was awesome. It's most assuredly my favorite book. I would (and have) recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a good read. I loved it so much the first time that I read it, and it's sequel, Insurgent, twice, and I plan on reading them both again before the third and final book in the series, Allegiant, comes out on October 22, 2013.            

Some random facts that I thought were pretty cool:

Inspiration for Divergent, taken from Veronica Roth's blog, which you can find here.

First thing to mention is that there wasn't really one definite moment for Veronica where she was hit with the idea for Divergent. It was more like several different things that started the process of discovering the characters and the storyline. Things like, a psychology class, a certain song, the aspect of people being divided into groups and the workings of governmental systems, and finally her own character, Tris.

This is a quote from Veronica Roth's blog. It's her response to this question: " What is the one thing/the message you would like people to take away from your book?" You can read the full story right here.

"But I would much rather you come away with questions than answers. Questions about virtue, and what it is, and if it makes you worth something, and if being "good" is the most important thing, and if it's not, what is? Or: is the consistency of your character the best thing you have to offer the world? Can you can be defined, and should you even try? Or even: what should you look for in a friend, or a boyfriend, or a girlfriend?"


Some basic facts about Veronica Roth:

She is 24 years old, born August 19, 1988 (I was like, say whaaat?? She's so young to be a bestselling author!)
With shoes on, she is 6 feet tall!
She's married to a dude named Nelson, who is a photographer, and they live in Chicago, where Divergent takes place.
Divergent was her first book to be published.
She graduated from Northwestern with a degree in creative writing, but often chose to work on Divergent instead of doing homework. (Such a rebel.)
She has been writing for about 12 years.

Facts about Divergent:

Published in May of 2011, it is the first book in the Divergent trilogy.
Originally, Divergent started out being written in the perspective of Tobias.
During the writing process, all of the scenes with Four were written first.
Divergent is currently in the process of being made into a film from Summit Entertainment, and is due to hit theaters on March 21, 2014
Divergent won Favorite book of 2011 in 2011's Goodreads Choice Awards.

I hope you have enjoyed this review. Please feel free to leave a comment. If you've read Divergent let me know what you thought of it.

P.S. In case you were wondering what TSN means, it's "Trying Something New," as in, I am trying something new by writing this book review, because I've never written one before. ;)