Review: Divergent: a great story or just another dystopian?

Title: Divergent
Series: Divergent #1
Author: Veronica Roth
Release date: February 2012
Age group: Young Adult
Pages: 487

Expectations

It's safe to say my expectations are very high. This is one of the books I feel like everyone has read except me. I was so excited when I received this book as a gift!
Divergent is the first book in the trilogy by Veronica Roth. The trilogy has been compared a lot with the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I really loved the Hunger Games. If this even comes close to the Hunger Games I'm very sure I'm going to love it. As I said, high expectations..

Synopsis from Goodreads:
"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"

Review

First impression
As soon as I started reading this book, I was drawn in and didn't want to stop reading. Just reading the synopsis really made me want to start reading this. I loved every minute of reading this amazing dystopian book. 

I got the same feeling reading the Hunger Games and I can understand why people compare the two. They're both dystopian books with strong female main-characters. But I don't think we should compare these books. They both are unique in their own way.

Personal growth
Tris is a great and powerful female character, who's torn between being who she really is and staying with her family. She's continually trying to find out who she is and what she really stands for. We get to see Tris transforming from a skinny, young girl into a confident girl, capable of fighting and not afraid to do so. 

Worldbuilding
The faction-system intrigued me and made me interested in reading about each faction and their visions on life and society. 
We really get to see how the people live in some of the factions, while other factions stay pretty vague. 
I liked the way we get to see the Dauntless faction and their rules and behaviors. 

Friendships
Tris makes new friends, but also loses some. 
I think in this book she worries about who she can trust and sometimes trust the wrong people (which happens to everyone in life). She tries to figure out if people are good or bad and how she should portray herself to protect her from any dangers. 

Let's just talk about Four... what an amazing character! I really loved him being tough and soft at the same time. I liked the connection between Tris and Four and  how they drew closer, finding out some of the similarities they share.

Rating

Overall, I thought this was an amazing, fast-paced read and I loved everything about it. So I do think this is a great story and not just another dystopian novel. I think Veronica Roth did an amazing job writing this action-packed book.

Let me know your thoughts on Divergent. Did you see the movie? I did!
Happy reading!

Myra