CBR 16 Bingo – And also (Dun dun): Suspenseful, dystopian, and generally dramatic.
I read a lot of dystopian and, since Divergent is one of the most highly rated modern dystopian books, I felt obligated to read it.
Divergent is set in a dystopian Chicago, where society is divided into 5 factions, based on values. There’s Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). 16 year old Beatrice, a member of Abnegation who never really fit in with them, must decide to leave her family or stay true to herself. She then struggles through her initiation into her chosen faction, making friends and enemies, and hiding a secret that could result in death.
I found that I enjoyed this book once I got over the fact that, in this world, having multiple values could be punishable by death. Once that stopped bothering me, I liked the characters, writing style, and the suspense of the plot that made me want to keep reading. Secrets were revealed, and there were twists around every corner that really made the book interesting.
Also, just saying, why does having multiple values cause you to be a minority? People aren’t single-minded and one-dimensional like this world is trying to be. However, while I usually object to when books have characters or elements that are one-dimensional, since it was kind of the point and played a key role in the plot, I excused it in this book, especially since it got better as you went on.
In general, if you can get over the world, and are in it for the plot, I highly recommend. Otherwise, this one might not be for you.