Divergent (Divergent, #1) by Veronica Roth (2011)

Description from Goodreads:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, 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 to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating 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 a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

--

Do you know the feeling after reading a book, that this trilogy could become one of favourites of all time? Well, this happened with me while reading Divergent. I just, ugh. I can't. It was just so good. I can't believe that at first I though that I might not like it. Shame on me!

So first of all, the world of Divergent is maybe one of the most imaginative dystopian worlds I have encountered for a  long time. The people are divided by their personality traits as they are allowed to choose to which society they want to belong to: Daunteless, Abnegation, Amity, Erudite and Candor. I mean, the idea is so simple, but so brilliant! The people who government the society have so the complete control over the people, as people are similar in their traits, mutiny doesn't arise as easily. Ingenious. And everything is based on this idea. 

I think I read the book in a matter of hours. The plot kept me captivated from the very first moment. All the events were so captivating and addicting as I had no idea what's going to happen next, and I just had to know more. There were mystery, political scheming, loyalty and identity crises, life and death choices to make, and of course action exuding so much that my pulse elevated quite a bit. 

I loved the evolution of Tris. Even though she does give some indications that she has tendencies to other traits beside Abnegations' own, at the beginning of the book she is the typical compliant, amiable member of Abnegation. However, as she chooses to change her faction, she slowly changes into a completely different person. But this person in fact is the girl who she really is. I enjoyed the development as it wasn't instantaneous, but gradual and subtle one. 

One of things which made me adore Divergent was the romance. Even though it becomes quite important part of the book, it never quite dominates the book's plot and direction. The romance was nicely paced, first a bit hesitant, but in the end overwhelming Tris. Even though the romance isn't exactly perfect, I found it sweeter and more heart-warming than most of the YA novel's relationships. 

The only large disappointment I faced with Divergent was that we never really get the reason why the society has been forced/decided to make 5 different factions. Why is this, what were the motivations behind? I hope these questions will be answered in the future books, because otherwise I'll be sorely disappointed.

One the things which make me so eager to read the book two, Insurgent, because it could be headed to anywhere - the choices are endless. I really hope that it doesn't take the predictable way of rebelling against the system straight away, but there should be something else included. Well, I guess I'll see that soon enough!

"I am not Abnegation. I am not Dauntless. I am Divergent. And I can’t be controlled."

☆☆☆☆☆