THE YA SISTERHOOD’S TOP TEN THINGS WE LOVE ABOUT DIVERGENT BY VERONICA ROTH!
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.
We, at the YA Sisterhood, do solemnly swear that we love all things Divergent. So much, in fact, that we couldn’t decide who was going to get to write the review!
So instead, we’ve decided to bring you our favorite things about the book in top ten form. Believe me, there are so many other wonderful things about this book (yes, it’s that good)! We’ll try to be vague enough to not be spoilery! So here goes:
10. The Setting- Divergent is set in a dystopian future Chicago. I loved that we got to see a major U.S. city besides NYC represented in the Dystopian genre. Not that I don’t love the Big Apple, it was just great to see something new!
9. Dauntless Headquarters- Dauntless is one of Five Factions in the world of Divergent that represents the citizens who are brave, and believe that courage is the most important attribute in a person. And of course, their living space can’t just be a normal apartment building—no that’s too boring! It has to be an epic, dangerous compound that you have to be willing to jump off moving trains and fall off buildings to get into. And even every day living is dangerous when there's a 200 ft. chasm in the middle of your home. Yeah, that’s how we do it in Dauntless. :)
8. Will and Christina—These two are some of Tris’s friends, fellow Dauntless recruits. They have just the right amount of humor, sarcasm, and severity with just a dash of romance. Love them.
7. The simulations—one of the ways that they test the Dauntless recruits is through simulations. But don’t think that just because they’re technically not real, they aren’t dangerous. These simulations were as exciting and hardcore as it gets!
6. The Tattoos—the Dauntless have this thing for tats, as in, they love them. One of the first ways that Tris proves she wants to be in Dauntless is by getting some wicked tattoos. I loved that the tattoos started as Tris daring herself to see if she could handle the pain, but they became so much more than that. She didn’t mark herself to prove a point, she marked herself to keep from forgetting the point to all of it. Veronica Roth may be single handedly responsible for a spike in the number inked YA fans (I know I want one)!
5. Veronica Roth—by all rights, Veronica should be number one on our list since she created everything else on this list, but we wanted to take a second and applaud her for her willingness to make bold choices. She knew that in real life, people don’t have safety nets. In real life, people get hurt, even main characters, and she wasn’t afraid to test her characters emotionally and physically. Bravo! And since we at the Sisterhood were lucky enough to meet Veronica Roth not long ago at a signing, we can personally attest that she's just as awesome and witty in person as her books!
4. Tris’s Mom—All mom’s are cool! But this one has a little extra oomph! Don’t want to spoil anything here, but let’s just say that Tris’s mom is more than meets the eye!
3. The Factions—Like I said, the community is divided into five factions, each defined by a different attribute: Dauntless (Brave), Abnegation (Selflessness), Erudite (Intelligence), Candor (Honesty), and Amity (Peacefulness). These were like the Hogwarts Houses, but amped up to full volume. I believe my first thought was, Dauntless is like Gryffindor on crack!
2. Tris—Oh, Tris. I loved her character—as both Beatrice and Tris. I loved how strong she was, how determined she was to prove her worth. I even loved her faults—her impatience and lack of compassion. She was a fully developed, wonderfully complex character whose story was simply captivating!
1. Four—Oh, man. Here’s the biggie. Four is Tris’s love interest. He’s also her instructor for her Dauntless initiation. He’s the ultimate mystery! As her instructor, he has to put her through grueling, dangerous, painful tasks, but there’s clearly a connection between them, and he hates to see her hurt. He’s strong and dark and closed off—which makes him all the more intriguing when he starts to open up. Easily my favorite YA boy in a long time (possibly ever)! Look out, Jace Wayland, you may have to make some room up on that pedestal.
And in case you haven't heard, Book Two is going to be called INSURGENT! Squee! So excited! It's perfect. We're already brainstorming possible titles for the third book that ends in "gent". Somehow we don't think it will be Detergent, Pungent, or Astringent.
Well, that’s it folks. Our Divergent top ten. If you’re not already following us, please do! Because when we reach 100 followers, we’re planning to give away a SIGNED copy of Divergent! Trust me, you won’t want to miss this!
P.S. Here's a picture of us with Veronica Roth and Tara Hudson (Hereafter)
