More Than Just a Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent (Divergent #1)
Author: Veronica Roth
Release Date: January 1st 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Purchased by me

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, 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 alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating 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 unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

My Thoughts

I purchased Divergent way back when it was newly released, back in 2011, back when it was being hyped up the wazoo as the next best thing!!
It then sat on my to-be-read pile while I made my way through book after book that I felt took precedence over it. When I did finally plan to read it, I made the mistake of checking out its rating and reading some reviews first.

Many compared it to Twilight for its originality while others slammed it for its likeness to The Hunger Games. The stats I read were mostly 5 star reviews full of OMG’s and exuberant, expletive laden rants induced by too much chocolate and caffeine, or 1 star slammers full of WTF’s and disparaging speeches about the state of today’s literature; and to be honest my initial thoughts were “Oh, God, it’s a clunker!” And so it has sat, unloved and unread on my I’ll-read-it-one-day pile… at least it did, until just a few days ago.

Let me set the scene...

My Miss 15 asks me to look at a movie trailer she found on YouTube because it looks, and I quote “like the type of book you like to read” So I wander over to her desktop and casually watch over her shoulder.

I see the title and groan “Ugh, I have this one on my bookshelf. I haven’t been able to bring myself to read it yet” I say as I start to walk away.

“But Mum, it has that hot Aussie guy you like in it!” she waggles her eyebrows and does this crazy finger pointing thing like she’s cocking a gun and we both have a laugh over my sometimes inappropriate lusting of hot (half my age) guys!

So I watch.
I’ve seen it before, albeit briefly on Facebook. But this time I really watch.
And then I watch it again, and again, and yes, again!

Soooo, yeah. I was excited by the Divergent trailer and its beef cake factor! (there’s no crime in looking!)
Australian actor - and yes, total hottie - Jai Courtney (A Good Day to Die Hard, Spartacus - Blood and Sand) is in it, and I was very drawn to the deep, sultry voice of Theo James (Underworld: Awakening, Golden Boy) and it helps that he’s real easy on the eye too!

So I figured what the hell, the trailer looks pretty good awesome. There’s some visible tension between the two main characters, and being that I am a total noodle for the aforementioned man candy actors, the book must be good, right!

Wrong!

Divergent by Veronica Roth is freaking amazing!
Seriously, I really loved it!

Tris is the heroine yes, but she’s also a real girl. While she has insecurities and questions about her place in the world, in her own family and her faction, she is not weak, whiney, or totally dependent on being rescued by someone else. She has balls!!

And Four. He’s the strong silent type.
Strong.
Sexy.
Tattooed.
Did I say strong, sexy, and tattooed? - seriously what more do you need!!
He is also a total sweetie. He does what he can, when he can, and encourages Tris to find the strength to be Dauntless.

Veronica Roth’s writing is smooth, unhurried, and flows effortlessly throughout. Equal parts excitement and fear, suspense and drama; and all with an honesty that is quite frankly, sometimes hard to find.

I was captivated and addicted to Divergent right from the start, and even though it was published 2 ½ years ago, it’s one of my favorite reads for the year. A well deserved 5 Stars

...and here's the trailer that hooked me!!