A-Z Challenge: Divergent Series

The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth

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.

That's just from Divergent. Now I know we've all been seeing the trailer for the movie, which I haven't seen. I read the book after seeing the trailer a while ago and I thought, hey, that looks interesting. Poor Divergent, I kept comparing it to The Hunger Games (which I still love more), and it almost failed because it's not The Hunger Games. But it left me wanting for more and I realized I enjoyed it. So I went and bought the next two books. And let me just say - they are worth the read. And no, they are not The Hunger Games. It's a dystopian world with a kick-ass teen girl as the heroine. But that's kind of where the true similarities end. Tris's world almost seems like a utopia, but you quickly find out that there's some latent anger amongst the factions. In this world, revolution lurks, and Tris learns the true meaning of what Divergent really is. Her and her love interest have an on-again-off-again thing and it does get rather annoying. But it could be worse. What I didn't expect was how the series ended. It left me slack-jawed and I admit . . . I cried. Can honestly say I didn't see it coming. Definitely worth the read.