Fiction for Teens

In a futuristic Chicago, society is divided into five factions, based on personality. Sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior has a tough decision to make: she has to choose from the selfless Abnegation, her current faction, Amity, for the peaceful, Candor, for the honest, Dauntless, for the brave, or Erudite, for the intellectual. Everything is made harder for her when her aptitude test is inconclusive, meaning she is suitable for three factions and is therefore Divergent. Will she stay with her selfless family or live the life she has always dreamed of?

Tris is the stereotypical YA dystopian fiction protagonist: Sixteen, rebellious, strives to change the world for the better, perhaps with a little bit of romance along the way. First off, I found that the whole faction thing lacked some detail. I think that many people would not just fit into one faction, because you need to be a well-rounded person, right? Nevertheless, it was an original idea. One of the things I did like about the book was its length. It meant that I didn’t devour the trilogy in a week but instead it made me take time over the book, which in turn gave me time to understand the characters and their motives.

Tris is also a very inspirational lead character and is fairly strong throughout the book. Because of her background she is selfless and willing to risk her life for other people.

All in all, I thought Divergent was a well thought out book and I cant wait to see the film when I get my hands on a copy. For a debut novel, the author has to be commended. At the moment I am reading Insurgent so a review will be coming out when I finish the book, sometime next week. Did this review help you at all? Feel free to leave a comment!