Divergent, by Veronica Roth

Divergent was one of the BEST books I've read in a long time. I know I say that a lot and I tend to like most books but this one kept me awake dreaming long after I finished it at 4 AM.

The theme in Divergent follows yet another common pattern-that of the seemingly utopian society filled with undercurrents of corruption which are uncovered by the main character who is special in some way and ends up fixing everything in the end. The main character I just mentioned is Tris in Divergent. The utopian society is divided into five factions by one strong personality trait: the Dauntless are brave, Candor is honest, Abnegation is selfless, Amity is peaceful, and Erudite is intelligent. Tris is born in Abnegation but when the time comes for her to choose her own faction, her aptitude test doesn't point her in any clear direction but defines her as a secret category, one that can get her killed if anyone finds out. Tris's heart drags her to Dauntless where she faces challenges like she never would have imagined and must compete to stay alive (or at least in the faction, but the factionless are practically dead so it's practically the same).

Character definition and development in Divergent is both simpler and more complex because of the factions. While certain qualities can be obviously identified because of faction, one problem, which comes up in the book, is that no one is only one of the five. It's easy to write off someone's entire personality by their faction but most of the characters, including some of Tris's closest friends and family, are transfers and associate themselves with more than one faction. But clearly, each character has so much more than those specific traits or else this would have been an incredibly unstimulating read.

After reading Divergent I was unable to stop thinking about it for days, and now my chem notes are covered in the number 4. Why 4? Because he is one of my favorite literary love interest characters. You know those characters who are only included to stick a little romance in? Veronica Roth managed to extend Four beyond the generic good-looking Ken doll in most books to make him seem like an actual person. His weaknesses only make him more attractive in my head because they turn him into much more than an Edward.

5 stars. I LOVE FOUR!!!!!!

In case you don't recognize the skyline, Divergent takes place in dystopian Chicago.