Future dystopian Chicago. Not so hard to imagine. The world officially sucked, but then decided to think things over and try to get its shit together. So they formed 5 factions of people each representing a different quality that they hold above all others: Amity for peace, Erudite for knowledge, Candor for truth, Abnegation for selflessness, and Dauntless for bravery. Things have been going okay for a while, so we all know the shit is going to hit the fan anytime now. And of course, timing it perfectly in the shit fan hitting equation is our protagonist, Beatrice or "Tris".
Children are born and raised within their parent's faction, but rather than a Sorting Hat deciding their fate, during their 16th year a choosing ceremony takes place in which they are able to choose which faction they want to belong to. If they choose a faction different from their parents, they are expected to disassociate themselves from their family and hold their faction above all else. So naturally choosing a faction outside of the one in which you were raised is not very common. But Beatrice, Beatrice doesn't give a fuuuck. She throws caution to the wind and chooses outside of her faction (+ 10 Badassness) But surviving her new faction's initiation process may be easier said than done. Dun dun DUUUUUN.
After wading through the steaming pile that was the Celestra series, which wrapped up the most recent book with a magnificent flourish of shit, I was quite ready to move on to something better. And although almost anything would have seemed better than that, I would not have been disappointed with Divergent either way. Strong female protagonist that isn't stupid, shallow, or irritatingly self sacraficing… check. No sign of super irritating continuous love triangle plot… check. Love interest that is not a douche bag, and is independently important to the plot… check. Actual definable conflicts and resolutions are happening here… check. These most definitely aren't the only things that make Divergent one of my favorites that I have read in the past year, but they are definitely a contributing factor. I am beginning to see a trend of the dystopian future societies in Young Adult books now, and I have to say that I'm for it! What its able to do is take the things that I love about Young Adult novels (a quickly propelled plot, generally a romance etc etc) and combine it with something deeper that sucks you into the characters and the story even more. Aaand also allows you to ask yourself questions of philosophy and ethics, rather than the same hum drum, silly questions like "What if faeries really are real?" …… but seriously guys… what if faeries really are real? Anyway, my point is that Divergent was an actual really great book, that you should probably read at some point. It looks like it is going to be a trilogy, and so far only the first of the series has been released. The second is set to come out on April 30, 2012, at which point I will begin the painstaking process of waiting for the 3rd book to come out, because there is no doubt in my mind that the 2nd of the series will not wrap up so nicely as the first book does. Be prepared.
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