Divergent

What do you know, another book that isn't on the list. I chose to read this book now because the movie comes out in a couple of days, and I'm the kind of person who likes to read books before I watch movies that are based on them. I promise the next one will be a book on the list (and I can promise that because I've finished reading it and only need to get around to writing about it).

Divergent is the first book in a science fiction trilogy. It's set in a dystopian* Chicago, where society is divided into five factions, depending on what a person's strongest personality trait is: honesty, bravery, selflessness, intelligence or peacefulness. People become members of these factions the year they turn sixteen, by first taking an aptitude test, which lets them know which faction they are most suited for, and then by attending a ceremony where they choose which faction they actually want to belong to.

The main character is a girl called Beatrice, whom we first meet the day before her aptitude test. We follow her through initiation, which is the highly competitive and potentially dangerous process in which the sixteen-year-olds find out if they really are suited for the faction they have chosen. But Beatrice is special, and the thing that makes her special is also the thing that could get her killed, if the wrong people find out.

I'm still a little bit unsure how I feel about this book. I mean, it's a fascinating story, and a very interesting spin on the whole dystopian universe thing, and for the most part I think it's very well written. It's the author's first book, and sometimes I think that shows in the writing, and in the development of certain parts of the story. Sometimes while I was reading, I would think "oh, this is interesting! I can't wait to see where this is going!" and then nothing would really happen. I'm not going to give examples, most because I don't want to spoil the book for anyone who might be reading it in the future. Partly also because I read it all in one sitting in the middle of the night, and I didn't think to take notes of these parts. I know, excellent blogger right here.

Anyway. The main story arc I thought was really good. It holds up under scrutiny (at least to my untrained eye), and the romantic parts don't feel forced or unnecessary. When I read the back of the book and saw that there was a romantic subplot, I was worried that it was going to be one of those "it's not a book about a teenage girl unless there's a hot boy", but it wasn't like that. This IS a book about a teenage girl, and there IS a hot boy, and the romance is written in a way that mostly seems natural. I'll admit that I think that for a character who has had little to no physical contact with anyone (including her own family) her entire life, she's awfully quick to get over her awkwardness. But that's goes back to this being the author's first book, I think. She's not as skilled a writer yet, and so sometimes the story loses it's magic and you realize it's "just a book". I don't think it's a big problem though. Like I said, I read the book in one sitting, all the while knowing full well I should be sleeping, because I just had to know what would happen next. And to me, having a story like that is much more important than having a story that is perfectly written but exceedingly dull.

So, for the most part I really did enjoy this book. The story is good, the characters are believable, even if some of them are maybe a little too black-and-white. This could be remedied in the next two books though, as I'm assuming most of them will be in those as well. And besides, even if most people in real life aren't black-and-white, that's the beauty of books. Things don't always have to be the same as in real life!

A very important factor to mention is that I really can't wait to see these characters again. This goes for both the good and the bad ones, because I want to know what happens to them, and I actually think that's one of the highest compliments I can pay a book. I'm not speaking from personal experience here, but if I were an author, I would want people to finish my book and go "where can I get more of this?" So basically, I'm really happy it's Easter soon, because if I can't read for leisure at Easter, when can I? Answer: whenever I want. I'm a grown-up. I can make stupid decision every day of the year.

*Per Wikipedia: A dystopia is a community or society that is in some important way undesirable or frightening. It is the opposite of a utiopa (which is a society possessing highly desirable or near perfect qualities). Thanks Wikipedia.

Picture from http://www.divergentfans.com/thestory