Summary:
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, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her
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, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her
A few observations rather than a review -
* I'd forgotten how LONG non M/M books are. Each book in this series is over 500 pages. I'm hesitant, sometimes, reading stuff over 200. ha! But, it goes by quickly.
* It's uncanny how ALIKE it is to the Hunger Games storyline. But I guess youth, dystopian, and a finding-herself heroine are not original ideas.
* I found myself surprisingly emotional. I don't know why children dying didn't affect me as much when reading HG. In Divergent, it really...broke my heart...kids having to make adult choices, leaving home, dying.
* The romance element is stronger in Divergent and probably why I liked it more. In HG, Katniss doesn't really love either Peeta or Gale in my opinion. In Divergent, you feel the attraction and the budding romance between Tris and Tobias.
* Tobias is swoon-worthy (if I didn't think it was creepy to be swooning over an 18 yo boy)
I really, really enjoyed this book. I was captivated and drawn in and held my breath at points. I liked Tris so much...and I liked Tris' journey. The action and plot play themselves out almost too quickly (all back-ended...the build up to the last 25% took awhile and dragged just a bit). But, I was engrossed in what was going to happen, and left slightly dizzy by the end.
In a nutshell: If book 1 is any indication, I may end up liking this better than Hunger Games
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