Review: DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth

From Veronica Roth's Blog: 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. 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.
Audience: YA

Genre: Science-Fiction

Length: 487

The Rating: 

DIVERGENT gets two ratings. I can't stand to give a well-written book a bad rating just because it's not something I loved. So ...

For writing: ***

My take: ** (Didn't like it.)

The Pros: This books is so full of voice and just ... you're just really in Tris's head. Roth does this thing were she repeats things and I love the way it works. It is powerfully written and I suppose I should give it props for how realistic it is in it's evaluation of human behavior.

The Lecture: Because it's not so much of the cons in this book ... Let me explain. I have disliked main characters before (Bella, TWILIGHT; Katniss, THE HUNGER GAMES). But, they had "Save the Cat" moments or traits that redeemed them. ("Save the Cat" is a phrase from Blake Snyder's book by the same name. Essentially, a moment or moments where a character does something that makes them likable, that makes a reader/watcher care about the character.) For me, Tris's "Save the Cat" moments came far too late in the book. By then, I really didn't like her and though as the second half of the book progressed, I liked her more, it seemed too late. It made me have to slog through the first half wondering why I should care about her. As I began, I knew that, because it's a book and people change and grow, Tris would change and grow. I would understand why the Dauntless faction seemed much more cruel and reckless than brave, understand why Tris ever envied it and wanted to be part of it. It just seemed to come too late. And **SPOILER** I hated the number of people that had to die. It's realistic, so I'll accept it, but I don't have to like it.

Basically, I will read the following books. I need to know what happens, so that's a good thing about this book. The writing has compelled me forward, though I'm dragging my feet.

Disclaimer: Violence, Mild sensuality (YA appropriate)

Buy DIVERGENT on Amazon.

If you happen to like Sci-Fi about tough choices, check out my short story, ANGEL on Amazon.