Divergent is the first installment in the well-known dystopian trilogy Divergent written by Veronica Roth and one of my favorite books. The book tells the story of sixteen year-old Tris Prior, a teenage girl struggling to find her true identity. I loved this book from the moment I started reading it to the very end.
I first came across Divergent when I was browsing on Goodreads. After hearing so many good things about it and seeing the wide popularity that the book kept gaining, I decided that I wanted to check it out. And, boy, am I glad that I did! Divergent quickly became one of my favorite books and I read it very fast because I just had to keep turning the pages. It has everything a reader wants: action, conflict, character development, romance.
Here is the official description of the book:
"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."
One of the main things that I loved about this book was the protagonist, Tris. She was one of the best characters of the book and one of my favorite book heroines of all time. She wasn't whiny, she wasn't weak and she was always true to herself, while trying to help the others as best as she could. Even though in the beginning she didn't understand the true concept of selflessness and bravery, that changes throughout the series and it changes in a good way. Tris evolves a lot as a character, eventually becoming strong, brave and selfish.
Another thing (or should I say character) that I loved about Divergent was Four. He was a very good supporting character, a mysterious boy with a strange past. I loved how his relationship with Tris evolved from initiate-instructor to a true romance. I felt like Four genuinely tried to help Tris discover and defeat her fears and without his help, Tris never would have made it through Dauntless initiation. He is also one of my favorite book characters of all time.
Overall, this book had everything. Good protagonists, good antagonists, good conflict, good friendships and good romance. Divergent will always be one of my favorite books and even though the following two books weren't as good as the first one - in my opinion, anyway - I really liked this series. I even prefer it to The Hunger Games, which says a lot because I loved The Hunger Games trilogy. What's even best, Divergent is now also a series of movies, starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James and Kate Winslet as Tris, Four and Jeanine, respectively. I definitely recommend this book to everyone who likes dystopias because it is an excellent read!
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