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4.11.2011

ARC Review: Divergent by Victoria Roth



Genre: Dystopian
Series: Divergent #1
Pre-Order Online, May 1:  Amazon.com
Stalk the Author:  Blog | Twitter 
ARC review copy received from the Amazon Vine program. (Review published on Amazon.com first)


At the end of this review I'm trying something new, so let me know if you like it!


PJV's QUICKIE POV:
If Orson Scott Card was female and Ender Wiggin was a teenage girl, he would be Beatrice Prior. This dystopian YA hit so hard I think I have a bruise. Never since The Hunger Games have I been so overtaken by a dystopian and I've read some good ones recently. Veronica Roth slams you with intensity of emotion, hard-hitting action, overwhelming odds and such an amazing story that I literally couldn't put this book down. Divergent lives up to the hype. No question. Give me some more Ms. Roth, please!

REVIEW:
Setting: Chicago, distant future. The world is in crumbles and what remains of Chicago seems to be all that is left, at least for the residents that are hidden behind a fence along what remains of Lake Michigan. To battle the nature of mankind the people have split into factions. ABNEGATION, the selfless, those that think selfishness was the reason for man destructive behavior. DAUNTLESS, the courageous and undaunted, they believe fear led to the destruction of mankind. ERUDITE, the brains, they put knowledge above all and believe ignorance was humankind's main flaw. CANDOR, the truth will set you free in Candor. They speak the truth always, secrets and lies are their greatest fear. AMNITY, the kind, the friends of all. If we could all just get along the world would be a more perfect place according to Amnity.

Beatrice Prior is a member of Abnegation. Her sixteenth birthday nears, and along with that age comes her choosing ceremony. She must choose to stay with her family in Abnegation, selfless, giving always...or to give it all up and embrace a faction that speaks to her inner yearning. The faction before blood, to enter another faction she must give up everything she has ever known and maybe discover a lot more about herself and the people around her than she ever believed possible.

I'm blown away by this novel. I feel the need to run down the street and grab the first literate person I see and shove the book into their arms "You need to read this!" Divergent is Phenomenal. Then on top of this, Veronica Roth is only 22 years old! Paint me surprised and a little bit jealous. For someone so young she has written a tremendous book that I think might get a lot of attention. Her character development was in lines with the greats like Orson Scott Card, her world-building was tremendous, the idea of the different factions was intelligent and well-crafted. She made this dystopian world both believable and possible. Her words were so well developed and intrusive that I was emotionally engrossed through the entirety of the novel. I can not wait for the second book in this series.


RECOMMENDATIONS:
This is recommended for teens 14+, mainly for the fact that there is a bit of violence and the topics are for a mature mind. But, advanced reader younger kids will enjoy. Recommended for fans of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and throw back fans of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series.




The 411 on Divergent:

  • The film rights have been sold to SUMMIT (you know the studio that did a little movie called TWILIGHT)
  • This is a trilogy
  • I could not find a scheduled release date, or title for book 2, so if anyone knows, please chime in. Usual way publishers deal with this is a year between books, so I'm assuming May 2012 *sigh*, but maybe with the sale and possible production of DIVERGENT the movie it might speed this up a bit. One can only hope.

Other  Similar Young Adult Novels I recommend






20 comments:

Admin said...

I'm loving dystopians right now and really looking forward to this one. Great review!

Sarah said...

This sounds AMAZING. I am so glad you enjoyed it, because I am really looking forward to it!

Sarah
That Bookish Girl

ParaJunkee said...

Ya'll should like it!

Shelagh said...

This is the second review I've seen for 'Divergent' and I am dying to get my grubby little hands on a copy! Glad yoy liked it.

Danny said...

I LOVED Divergent, it is seriously one of the best Dystopian novels I've read so far!! Glad you loved it too!!!

Rain Maiden said...

Another book to add to my wish list.

Bookish Brunette said...

I already know I want to to Divergent... But now I'm totally checking out Uglies too!

Missie, The Unread Reader said...

Dooood! This review give me the chills (in a good way)! I'm so happy for your wanting to run down to street to shot praises. Can't wait to read it!

Megan@Riverina Romantics said...

I like the extras at the end of the post. I think I'll check this and the Uglies out.

Lisa said...

I've heard such great things about this book. I can't wait to read it.

ParaJunkee said...

@Shelagh - grubby little hands? LOL Don't' worry it'll be out soon.

@Danny - I don't think it beats The Hunger Games, but it was very very close.

@Rain Maiden - too many books, too little time

@Bookish Brunete - Great great great series! (Uglies)

@Missie - I did not SHOOT anyone LOL…*snicker*

@meggerfly - great. I might have to do it again.

@Lisa - I hope you like it as much as I did.

DevouredShannon said...

I am jelaous! I am super excited about this one. Im glad that you liked it. I am really enjoying all the dystopian novels right now and this one looks to be among the best. Sounds like this one is powerful and I love that! Hope you are not bruised too much! HA!

Unknown said...

Amazing review, thank you. I'll be looking for this book, along with the others mentioned that I haven't read yet. Thank you.

The Norwegian BookGirl said...

I do agree with you on everything you write. This book is so good. I read The Trial by Franz Kafka recently, and I think that Divergent actually uses some of the elements that Kafka and the other modernistic writers did.

I actually felt kinda empy inside once I had finished the book.

Sakura Sandra said...

Haha your review was so cute. I wish I was the first literate person you would see walking down the street so I could read this book already! Too bad you're not actually doing that and too bad I probably live far away from you and would never be that person, *cry* but great review and you're lucky to have had an ARC of this!

-Sandra from http://sandrathenookworm.blogspot.com

Jen B. said...

I like the info at the end of the review. It allows me to know that, beyond the description/review, it is similar to something I already enjoyed.

CeeCee said...

I am looking forward to Divergent. So I wish I was the literate person you were shoving divergent at. I like the comparison of Ender's Game as it is a favourite of mine so I hope I feel the same when I eventual read it.
Vary nice review.

Najela said...

I'm excited for this. I love dystopia. Great review.

Gen said...

Sounds great! I don't usually read Dystopians because they just don't grab my attention but this one sounds very good. Also, I trust your judgment. I've been following you for a couple of weeks now and so far all your reviews have been right.
I'm new to the whole Blogger scene and I was wondering if you could follow me back. Here's my URL:
http://genessisliahut.blogspot.com/
Also, if you could recommend me. Thanks.

Emily said...

I have you and Julie to thank for this one. I'm looking forward to reading it soon!

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