Ami's Totally BOOK-ish Review: "Divergent"

Have you ever gotten goosebumps from a book? This is my goosebump book. I’ll be a fan forever, and might even get a tattoo to commemorate my adoration...well, I’m not sure about that, but you never know!

Divergent by Veronica Roth, is the first book of a 4-book series, and 2021 is it’s ten year anniversary. What better way to celebrate then with a review, and a suggestion for some addictive winter reading? And before you say, “I think I saw the movie...” Stop. Just stop.

You know the movie is never as good as the book.

It is a future Chicago, where society is divided into five separate ‘factions’ based on virtues. It’s the perfect society where everyone knows their place, their beliefs, and who their like-minded friends are. Outside the boundaries of their perfect factions and their perfect city? Danger and fear.

The story opens with 16-year-old Beatrice preparing for the aptitude test that will reveal which faction she belongs in - Abnegation (the selfless - her family’s faction), Candor (the honest), Erudite (the intelligent), Amity (the peaceful), or Dauntless (the brave). She completes her test, but her results are inconclusive. Instead of revealing just one faction, it has found that she could belong in three. She is instructed to keep her results a secret. She is what’s called Divergent, and in this society, what makes you different also makes you dangerous. Despite her special gifting, she knows she must commit to one faction only, and deny the other parts of herself forever.

As Beatrice makes her decision, and chooses a life that only partly represents her, the seemingly perfect world around her - a society where division has created peace - begins to crumble. The factions are not maintaining harmony like they were intended to. Rather, the government sanctioned divisions within society are pushing the people to rally against each other, forcing a future where one way of thinking at the cost of all others will lead to ultimate segregation and destruction. To fight is the only hope, and Beatrice, as a Divergent, has a special part to play in it all.

This book is a great introduction to reading futuristic and dystopian fiction, especially if this is a new genre for you. Perfect for teens and adults alike, it would make a great gift. It also begs the question: Should we allow ourselves to be divided, or should we fi ght for ways in which we can be united?

Give it a read yourself and come talk to me about it. Maybe we can have goosebumps together... It’s on the shelves now at Totally Book-ish.