Customer Reviews

Divergent

5 star:		(462)
4 star:		(122)
3 star:		(33)
2 star:		(24)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Divergent was definitely a new riveting tale that had me rapidly flipping the pages in a reading frenzy! It starts off with the reader getting to know the lifestyle of Beatrice, a sixteen year old girl, in a dystopian or controlled world, where there are five factions of people: Abnegation who put others before their own needs and where Beatrice is currently from, the Dauntless who are brave and fearless, the Erudite who are studious, the Amity who are peaceful, and the Candor who are honest. Before Choosing Day, where each sixteen year old will decide which faction they wish to devote their life to, is a simulated aptitude test that will tell Beatrice which faction she would fit in most with...but for her life will never be simple. Instead of having just one of these traits as is normal, Beatrice possesses at least three, which makes her a dangerous person for reasons she doesn't understand, and answers are not forthcoming as she has to keep this information to herself or risk being killed.

From there Beatrice has to make her own mark in the world, and ultimately makes a decision that will change the rest of her life. No more does she portray the meek, silent girl with no spirit, but instead forces herself to rise up to the challenges she faces in both the initiation and in her life. For if she lets her guard down, she faces becoming factionless, without friends or family, but what she doesn't expect to find along her new path is what she yearned for all along. To understand who she really is.

Divergent is one novel that had me jumping out of my seat, biting my nails to the quick as I was drawn into Beatrice's world, cheering her on one minute, and wanting to cry with her the next. She does have her moments where she seems a little cold like when she wishes one boy would stop sniveling, and you see why Abnegation didn't suit her. But then the next minute she is putting herself in danger for someone else, and you understand why she has a bit of a split personality. She's been born into a society that believes you can only have one quality, and she has to figure out on her own that being brave dosen't mean that she has to give up being selfless as well. As she fights to stay in the competition, for only ten initiates will be able to call their new faction familiy, I couldn't help but root for her. Beatrice has a lot to learn, but it's through obstacles and the friendship's she makes that she ultimately finds herself. This is one book that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who loves action, bravery, a little romance, and a ton of adventure. Be forewarned that it will have you sitting on the edge of your seat and eagerly anticipating a sequel!

In the YA book world, 2011 is definitely shaping up to be the year of the dystopian. With the popularity and acclaim of Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games trilogy, the young adult publishing world seemed to explode with all kinds of ideas for dystopians about oppression and chaos -- and publishers were all the more willing to oblige them due to the proven success of The Hunger Games.

One of the more hyped offerings, Divergent by Veronica Roth, has been gaining more and more pre-publication buzz each day, especially since the news that Summit Entertainment had optioned the book for film adaptation even months before the book's release date. Never mind that a mere peek at the Goodreads page for the book shows a bevy of four- and five-star reviews. Divergent just seemed to need to be read to be believed -- and read I did.

Truthfully, I don't think the quick comparison to The Hunger Games does Divergent any favors except to build hype and expectations among readers. However much it's a great tactic for marketing, I personally don't know if this book should even be referred to as a dystopian since the label hurts more than helps it, giving the idea of one thing to the readers and offering something a little bit different with the story itself.

Let me explain: I have a set idea as to what, for me personally, a dystopian is. YA dystopians seem to have an identity crisis at times (something Vinaya spoke about here) where they're just so intent about illustrating some kind of suffering or shock factor hook that they lose the true meaning of a dystopia: a world that has descended from order to chaos, one where what once were nightmares and dark musings of past times (i.e. usually our own modern days) are now common pieces of society, even to the point where rights or privileges of the people have been abolished and replaced by 'what is deemed right and fair.'

Now, back to the case of Divergent: yes, it certainly has hints of dystopian tenets. . .but strip the layers of the story away and what do you have? Is it really a true dystopian, the kind that makes us fear for our own world because we see the problems and warnings present in our own time and place? Or just an action thriller with dystopian elements? Honestly, Divergent is an adrenaline-kick, shock-factor-enthusiast, and action-centric kind of book first and foremost; the dystopian undercurrent is mostly for show, at least in this beginning installment to the trilogy.

For being labeled a dystopian, the world-building behind the story leaves a lot to be desired. Though we are told that the five factions resulted from a 'great peace' following a devastating war, the nature and state of the world as a whole is a big unknown. Chicago is the focus, front and center, but any reader must wonder, "What about the rest of the United States? And the world itself?" Roth describes her world sparingly, giving only some modern downtown Chicago landmarks scene time to ground her world; one must wonder if the sparseness of setting is a sign of intentional withholding of information or lack of planning and fleshing of the story's world. (Personally, I hope it is the former.)

But all of those concerns of mine started to fade into the background as I continued to read. Though the flaws are many (the length, unfortunately, being one of them), Roth doesn't fail to draw readers into her story and make them feel compelled to keep reading just to see what happens. The first one hundred and fifty pages were a struggle for me, no lie, but then it got easier to accept the book for what it was instead of wishing for more of what I thought it could be. The most discernible problem for me was Beatrice, who was a difficult heroine to grow to like since she started out so judgmental and harsh to the point that she was a bit unrelatable. Then her 'change' seemed to come much too soon, but I was glad for it since she eventually became a bearable (though, at times, still not particularly likable) heroine.

The novel's plot doesn't start to come together under the last one hundred or so pages, but I have to appreciate the character relationships that grow within the story. However much I was ready to ride them off in the beginning, the characters grew on me (sometimes in spite of myself), and I really started to care about what was happening to them and around them. When I start off with questionable feelings towards a book, I don't often change my mind. . .but, with Divergent, I eventually found myself swayed.

In the end, what struck (and stuck with) me most about the novel overall is this: the underlying theme of morals and their importance in the story. The factions themselves are representations of things valued and praised within the Bible: selflessness, bravery, honesty, knowledge, and peace. (I am not taking liberties by assuming Roth used the Bible as inspiration for her world; she herself has not hidden the fact that she is a Christian.) Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by the moral aspect of the novel, and it gave the story some of the depth I had been craving all along. Let it be known that, at its core, this novel is about choices, priorities, and beliefs. This tendency isn't a flaw in the story, however; rather, I think it helps to enhance and differentiate a book that would otherwise have been lost in similarities to its popular predecessor.

(I will also give Roth credit in this respect: she could have easily had her factions act forever positively in regards to their specific traits, but instead she does not shy away from casting all the factions in gray lights. All the characters are ambiguous figures, mostly neither hero nor villain but rather 'flawed human,' and that in itself is refreshing in a YA landscape of 'goodies and baddies.')

Though this novel contains a rocky and lengthy start that takes away a bit from the impact of the novel as a whole, the story does eventually 'get there' where you're invested (even if only to see where everything is going). It took a while for me to care, but other readers who are more action-oriented than I am may look at this novel with more patience and appreciation. As it is, I'll be reading the sequels to see how the story continues, but I stand by my words that this novel is much more appealing when it is showing off its games of ambiguity and morality than its plays at brutality and violence.

My conclusion: Divergent is a free-for-all book dependent entirely on a reader's specific tastes and expectations. There's just no way to go other than reading it for yourself and deciding your own stance on it. Like it or dislike it, you will definitely be able to admit one thing, at least: it's a book that's going to lead to a lot of interesting discussions among readers.

Spoiler Alert.

Divergent, for the most part, was bland and typical. It's set in a futuristic, dystopian Chicago where the city is split up into factions: Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, Candor, and Amity. Forget about the last two, they don't really matter. The first, Abnegation, is where our protagonist originates from. When she turns sixteen she gets to choose where she'll go, so she chooses Dauntless. Erudite hates Abnegation and is basically planning a war against them. The book is made up of Beatrice, renamed Tris, trying to figure out whether or not she truly belongs in Dauntless and wondering what's up with the smart and mysterious training instructor that goes by the name of Four.

Now, what I didn't like about this book is that yet again I'm reading a dystopian novel that really fails to focus enough on the dystopian and focuses too much on the two things I mentioned above. You get bits and pieces about the world, the sense that things are corrupt and damaged, but not enough that you really care about it. When reading a dystopian, I feel like the world has to have a huge impact on my emotions, like I should be scared or worried over this kind of environment. Books like 1984, The Giver, and The Hunger Games managed to do that, but this one didn't. The setting could be changed and I would likely not feel the difference.

I also just didn't care for anyone in this book. Tris seems to lack an ability to become attached to anyone, and normally I would say this is due to her coming from Abnegation but then that isn't a good explanation. Abnegation isn't big on displays of affection, but that doesn't mean they lack affection and close relationships. Also, she doesn't find it all that hard to develop feelings for Four, yet she seems pretty detached and impersonal when it comes to her new Dauntless friends and when it comes to her family. In fact, because of how she regarded them I didn't really care when several characters died throughout the book. The author wrote token reactions and then moved on, and I never felt like it was a big deal, I actually just felt like it was all pointless. There were two deaths that I specifically thought were weird. First there was Al's, who really just seemed like a Big Guy that didn't want to hurt people, but then because he's failing training he decides to take it out on Tris by attacking her with a group of people that hated her, and then commits suicide out of guilt. This seemed so out of nowhere. Tris later considers that it was his pride that got to him and made him attack her, but you never get the sense that he's proud or that he even resents her. You get that he's miserable and likely homesick, but not proud or even impulsive enough to do that. I mean he was her friend, and he was nice, and even though he wasn't deeply developed as a character, for him to do those things made no sense. Second, you've got Tris's mom, who looks like she's pretty informed on the corruption of the Erudite faction and is probably going to play a big role in rebelling against them because she's originally from Dauntless. She rescues her daughter, takes out several guards and then basically commits suicide by sacrificing herself so that her daughter can escape... except that I didn't really understand how that was necessary. She created a diversion seemingly for no reason, and maybe I misread, but it seemed to me like they could've tried to both get away to safety. Both of these deaths just seemed so random.

I also think several other things were weird, like the fact that Four tells her after the first time she manipulates a simulation that she better learn how to hide this because that made it obvious that she was a Divergent (which is Super Bad but we don't know why till near the end) and yet during her final simulation she continues to manipulate it and nothing comes of that even though more than one person likely to kill her for it was watching. Maybe I misread something, who knows, but this was my understanding.

The romance was typical for the most part. The kind where the two characters are very exclusive to each other and have such a great connection even though I don't really see why. The guy is totally attractive but he's never been with another girl, and the girl thinks she's so not attractive and not deserving of the guy's affections. It wasn't as heavy with these things as other books have been, but it was still there, and I might not have minded them so much were it not for an event near the end. Four gets mind-controlled, Tris is faced with the issue of killing him or being killed by him, but because he just loves her so much he's able to fight it and they both live! I mean, really? That's so predictable and silly. I can't take a relationship seriously when they're written to overcome huge obstacles just because they're SO in love.

Lastly, there was one thing that really bothered me while reading. So much so that I had to stop and rant out loud a little. Jeanine is introduced to us at some point as being the great villainous leader of the Erudite faction that seeks to control everyone, especially Abnegation. When Four and Tris are caught and taken to her office she's shown to us as being the cold and calculating type, earlier in the book she's described to us as "an attractive woman with watery grey eyes and spectacles" (349 of ARC). Naturally Tris hates her, but there were two instances in this scene where Tris thinks two things that I found completely unnecessary. Let me show you them:

"She wears a blue dress that hugs her body from shoulder to knee, revealing a layer of pudge around her middle." (428)

"She perches on the edge of her desk, her skirt pulling away from her knees, which are crossed with stretch marks." (430)

There's no explanation given for these observations, so the only thing I can assume from this is that since she is the villain, naturally her body has gross things like pudge and stretch marks. It was so unnecessary to write this in, I'm not really sure what the author was thinking.

I doubt I'll read the sequel. If I do, it might be out of morbid curiosity, but the ending of this one fell short and the majority of the book was meh so I won't really be looking forward to that.

Ridin' on the coattails of The Hunger Games

Beatrice 'Tris' Prior lives in a (psuedo) dystopic Chicago. People have been rearranged into Five Factions: Abnegation, Candor, Dauntless, Erudite, and Amity. Beatric is given a chance, when she is 16, to choose which faction to go into, and her choice is startling and not the easy one she expected.

REASONS WHY READING THIS WAS ENJOYABLE:

+ There is absolutely, positively NO ROMANTIC TRIANGLE!! FINALLY, a Young Adult, Urban Fantasy/Dystopia novel that does NOT center its ENTIRE PLOT around a forced plot triangle. Excuse me while I faint from astonishment.

+ Roth's competent writing. First person present isn't an easy tense, but Roth writes it well. It isn't as choppy and "childish" as Jones' "Need", and yet it isn't burdened with flowery prose.

+ Interesting characters. Tris is an interesting character, as is Christina, Tori, Four, and Tris' mom (would REALLY love to know more about her!).

+ The last 150 pages are INTENSE.

+ The book reminds me a little of "Ender's Game".

+ The book is about overcoming obstacles and doing the right thing.

+ It is a dystopia.

REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD TURN BACK NOW:

- World building makes NO SENSE. Why would ANY GOVERNMENT split up a society into FIVE FACTIONS? Don't most dystpopias WANT people to be uniform? Or if there ARE Five Factions, wouldn't they want them to be fighting amongst themselves, too busy to see the government creeping into their lives (sorta like Fforde's "Shades of Grey")? In fact, what even MAKES this society dystopian? Why aren't we rooting for the Erudite? Yeah, they are killing people, but they DO want equal representation--isn't that what American Forefathers fought for? Why is this wrong now?

- How in the frakkin' hell can ANYONE call the Dauntless "brave"? Jumping off buildings, running off trains, catapulting down a zipline DOES NOT MAKE SOMEONE BRAVE. Bravery is in the small things--being with a dying parent, living with cancer, not giving up even though you want to--an idea that takes Tris THE ENTIRE BOOK to figure out. Since when does getting a tattoo make you brave? Why is there so much time spent on the physical test, but the last two tests are almost overlooked? How can Dauntless EVER make friends if they are so worried about being on top? How has this faction not totally destroyed itself? Where is the solidarity? Why are these supposedly brave people so eager to have a dubious serum injection?

- Why is it only Abnegation seems to have any real differences from modern cultlure (no mirrors, simple foods, simple clothes)? Where are the vast differences in the other Factions (besides silly clothes differences and the stupid tattoo thing)?

- How can everyone be split up into different factions? Were these people genetically altered? Is there some sort of indoctrination that occurs that wipes away any tendencies for the other Virtues? How can children change and why would they want to wait until 16 to start training them in the Faction they will spend their ENTIRE lives in? Why is being factionless bad? How can the serum work on these people? How come there aren't MORE divergent? Why is it so rare?

- Inconsistent heroine. One minute, she realizes (somewhat determinedly, in a really nice "brave" moment) that she is neither Abnegation, nor Dauntless, then the next, she is shocked to discover this very fact. WTF? Tris constantly complains about her bravery vs selflessness being at war, but when is she ever really selfless in the book? She hardly acts Abnegation at all!! How can she call these people friends? She almost is Bella-like in how she uses them!

- The writing style is a little too similar to Collins' The Hunger Games.

- In the beginning, the relationship between Four and Tris feels almost like a girl having a crush for her teacher.

- Muscle doesn't bulk up in a week. You don't recover from a tattoo overnight. A bullet wound in the shoulder isn't just going to mildly slow you down in a fight.

- (POSSIBLE SPOILERS) In The Hunger Games (first one), Katniss' strength of character leads her in an act of defiance against the Capital. This action inspires many to revolt against the despotism. Beatrice, on the other hand, is just another cog in the wheel. Yes, she does save Dauntless from being wiped out, but it is unclear why we are following her story, as she seems to react instead of act. Perhaps future books will explain what Divergence is and what makes Beatrice so special, but in this book, I was left wondering why Beatrice and why not, say, her mother.

So, yeah, I found a few problems with the novel. Unfortunately, they all dealt with the world building, the absolute fundamental of the novel. But I will say, if you can swallow the concept, close the curtain, and just be enraptured by the story, it's not bad at all. Beatrice takes time to grow on you, but she is a good heroine. She is legitamitely strong and competent and doesn't require a boyfriend to do it for her (I absolutely hate female protagonists that can't function without a man). Oh, and while there is a romantic plot, it's not very pronounced nor is it a triangle.

Thus, even with the problems I have with it, I am still going to be checking out "Insurgent" when it is published. But if I catch a whiff of a Romantic Triangle, I am gone.

UPDATE 10/25/11: Clarified the comparison between Katniss and Beatrice.

Brought to you by:
*C.S. Light*

I'm surprised that this book has so many positive reviews, to be honest, as I really struggled to find positive things to say about it. I debated whether or not to give this one star or two.

In the end, I chose two, because I can find one thing to say for Divergent I can't for many other books: it is gripping. I found it difficult to put down, even though I was pretty sure I knew what was coming (I did -- I seem to have a knack for these things), and found it lacking in so many other areas.

The biggest problem, for me, is that the premise doesn't stand up to two seconds of scrutiny. The manner in which Roth set up her dystopian society, people just don't work like that! I found it so difficult to believe, so preposterous, that it was just impossible to ever really immerse myself in the setting. We're supposed to believe that, in the future, all people will value one quality above all others, that having more than one in equal measure is a rarity? Look around you! People are so much more complex than that.

It shouldn't be surprising that characters also suffer. The secondary characters are actually more interesting than the central ones -- I was far more interested in reading about Will, Christina, and Al than I was in Tris and Four, both of whom come out feeling a bit wet and limp. Four is particularly bad, his appeal hanging on his shirtlessness and a number of overworn tropes that many women lap up rather than any sort of rich inner life. (Brooding, mysterious past, does he like me or does he hate me tension with the protagonist.)

I wanted so much more from this book and it just wasn't there. There are other flaws as well, but I can't get into them without either a rant or spoilers. I do, however, think this is an interesting book to think about. I'm still trying to figure out what it is that Roth succeeds at to have gotten this much success when I hated it so much!

My initial reactions to this book was confusion... and not the good kind. It was the kind that left me feeling cheated and tricked into reading 480 pages of expecting one thing and getting something completely unexpected. And not in a good way.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I suppose I could go on a rant about the things that irked me regarding the writing style first. A lot of the reviewers have said that she was impressively versed for a first time novelist but I have to disagree. In my opinion, this novel could have EASILY been 150 pages shorter if Roth didn't have the tendency to repeat herself over 50 time in the same chapter. Restating information that we already know in different words does not equate to "eloquent" writing in my book so the novel gets points dinged for that.

There might be some issues with the violence in this book but the violence doesn't bother me as much as the author's need to make her sentences jagged and a difficult to process. Language is suppose to have to a natural rhythm and flow to them but it seems that Roth has jumped off that train since page one. I don't understand the impulse to write a sentence that is so contrived that it makes the language stilted and off-putting. Eventually, I just ended up skipping 2/3s of a page just so that I don't have to try and process the unnatural syntax.

This next point could just be me but I have some blatant issues with Roth's need to "tell us" things rather than "show us" things. As if she insists that her readers are feeble-minded imbeciles who can't connect the dots if she left us bread crumbs. This is a note for the author: "Please give us more credit that this." Thank you.

Half way through the first quarter of the book, when I took a second to step back from the rush of the story, I realized that there are some glaring flaws in the logic and set up of the story. For instance, why would people who are so different and complex in the real world conform to one ideal in this novel? It didn't make any sense to me. Had it been set up like the movie Equilibrium it would have made more sense (but that's because they were drugged). Since these citizens of "dystopian Chicago" seem to be functioning "normally" I fail to believe in the premise upon scrutiny.

I suppose it goes without saying that a boring heroine makes for a bland narrator. In this case, Tris is our flat, charmless narrator. Although her struggles to find where she truly belongs will likely resonate with younger readers, I find a lot of what she goes through is simply pointless. Her relationship with Four seemed promising at first but turns out to be exactly what I have read a thousand times before and, thus, looses its appeal quickly and leaves, in its wake, the "fast-food affect": at first it's delicious and, in the moment, you're content with the world but once you're done and meal settles in your stomach, you become guilty and disgusted with yourself for enjoying it so much. So, without that, as well as the fact that Tris can't seem to get a grip on who she is, it constantly makes me lost as to where I stand with my feelings for her as well. In the end, not really my opinion of a "strong lead character".

The novel's ending is WAY too rushed. After Roth uses about 400 pages or so to carefully detail Tris' initiation into her chosen faction, a very crucial, life-altering event happens and is given perfunctory attention. It makes the entire event, as well as the point of the novel itself, seem very insignificant and trivial.

In the end, Divergent became the book that had so much promise but, once again, failed to impress me.

I hate to rock the love boat here but PLEASE stop comparing this to HG!
For a first novel it starts with a bang and Veronica's writing is clear and readable. I am however completely unable to explain what Divergent means and that seems like an important point. I get that she is not clearly defined by one set of morals, but who is? A couple of the characters who are not "Divergent" show aspects of multiple faction values. So why are they not Divergent??? If the plot wasn't so murky I could give this book 5 stars without blinking. Action,romance and a fast pace makes me all giddy inside but I could not get over the thought that the writer wasn't even sure what defined being Divergent. When Tris comes out of her first simulation Four knows that she is "Divergent". It is clear to him when she manipulates the simulation, and it is not a good thing. She is told that being Divergent will get her killed. This was made very clear. However, when she goes into her final simulation she manipulates that test (which the leaders can see) and no one says anything?!! How is it not obvious to them immediately as it was for Four and Tori (I think that's her name) that she is Divergent? This seems to be a big hole in the plot and I found it hard to enjoy the rest of the book. I'm confused :( I don't like feeling like I didn't get what everyone else seems to have understood. Normally this is not the case for me. lol.
I did enjoy the romance and the characters. The ones I was supposed to like, I did and the ones I was supposed to hate, I hated. That being said for a first time novelist the writing is incredible. I just wish she had spent more time fleshing out the plot. I felt like it was so close and I will read the next one to see if these issues get cleared up. I understand that it is a dystopian and that it has the same line as HG but I keep getting annoyed when I read people comparing it. Why does there have to be another HG? All I need is the one. This series should be able to stand on it's own.

Divergent has gotten a fair amount of buzz and, as a fan of dystopian fiction, I was eager to read it.

The book's premise is fascinating. Set in future Chicago, society has divided into five groups. Each of these factions promotes a different virtue: courage, honesty, intelligence, peacefulness, and self-sacrifice. At the age of 16, everyone is given an aptitude test and then must make the irrevocable choice of which faction to join. But not everyone can be neatly slotted into this utopia. Beatrice "Tris" Prior's ambiguous test results identify her as a potentially dangerous divergent.

I have mixed reactions to Divergent so, if you will indulge me, I shall present my thoughts in three parts.

THE GOOD:

The story is penned in first person present tense and quickly grabbed my attention. This may be Veronica Roth's first novel, but she writes like a pro, telling her tale with confidence and delivering plenty of suspense along the way.

Tris is a likable character, a mix of recklessness and introspection. There are some wonderful moments where she ponders the true meanings of courage and abnegation. Her struggles to find where she truly belongs will likely resonate with readers young and old.

THE BAD:

The world-building is a bit sketchy for my taste. I wanted to know more about the factions. Also, I felt the Chicago setting wasn't used to its full potential - but since I reside in the greater Chicago area, I am undoubtedly biased.

The pre-requisite "unexpected" romance is nothing special and certainly not a surprise.

The book's ending is way too rushed. After roughly 400 pages detailing Tris' initiation into her chosen faction, a very pivotal, life-altering event is given cursory treatment.

THE UGLY:

This book has a lot of violence. I'm talking brutal, in your face cruelty. The initiation rituals described are downright sadistic. Aside from shock value, I don't see what purpose the inclusion of such repetitive and unrelenting violence served. I found it off-putting.

To summarise, Divergent had the potential to be a thought-provoking examination of human nature, but fell short. Instead, it glorified thrill-seeking and brutality. The book does has a great premise and a page-turning pace. Lots of people are going to absolutely love it. But I just didn't care for it.

The beginning was great but I was let down by the ending. The book introduces a mystery right off the bat but when I finally found out the answer it just felt so pedestrian after the buildup.

The book is nothing more than a "The Twilight Zone" episode only with about 200 pages of character development as a bonus.

The strength of the book is the five factions which I thought were very interesting but it was the only thing that made this book unique in anyway.

I guess my biggest disappointment is the main character Tris, who I thought was the biggest bore (compared to someone with personality like Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games). We're told she's so brave and she's so special but I never really bought it and it would've helped if her fellow inititiates were even the slightest big interesting. And the character "Four" might as well have "LOVE INTEREST" tattooed on his forehead because that's all he is.

I live in Chicago, so I love reading books with a Chicago setting. Especially when the author knows the city as well as I do, and I can see everything she's showing me. For the most part, Chicago is very clear in this story. I wasn't so sure about some parts, though. I wish I could have pictured exactly where the various faction headquarters were (except for Erudite, which was next to Millennium Park), the realm of the factionless, which train stations they passed, and exactly where the fence lay. I am hoping for more detail in the next book.

As for the factions, the conflict between Erudite and Abegnation felt authentic. Actually, all the factions were drawn well, and it felt natural that the factions would evolve into what they'd become.

Except for one. I didn't completely buy the way the Dauntless faction had evolved. If their focus is bravery, then it doesn't make sense that they would support (or, at the very least, ignore) acts of cowardice. To me, Dauntless didn't feel as fleshed out as the other factions. I think there would have been more conflict within the faction, and I would have liked to see that.

The romance aspect was done well, with a slow build-up and plenty of entertaining awkwardness. I particularly liked the end where Tris realized the ridiculousness of what was going on with her. :)

This is definitely a fast-paced and compelling story, and I stayed up way too late reading. I liked Beatrice/Tris, too. The reasoning behind her choice of faction felt real and honest to me. I could feel her struggle, and honestly wasn't sure who she was going to choose in the end. Which I loved, because both choices had been set up with very interesting consequences.

That said, there were a few things that didn't quite make sense toward the end. As a result, the ending sort of fell apart. For me, an ending can make or break a reading experience, and this one brought my enjoyment down a notch. I'll still read the next book, but I don't have quite as much enthusiasm as I did in the first two thirds. That really bums me out. Then again, not many people analyze characters with as much depth as I do, so there are probably lots of people who won't have the trouble I had. :)

There is a lot of violence in this book. I have a high tolerance for it, and there were parts that were almost too much for me. For that reason, this may not be appropriate for younger teens.

If you want to know what bothered me so much, then keep reading. But be warned that there are major SPOILERS ahead.

This next part is something I almost didn't address, but it bothered me too much to leave unsaid. I will do my best to not be so spoiler-y, but I can't promise anything. Read at your own risk.

What happens to Tris's parents in the end felt contrived, as did much of Tris's reaction. Neither situation made any sense, nor did they require that particular outcome, so it felt like the author simply needed to get the parents out of the way for the sake of the story. Especially Tris's mom. There is no way that a mother in her shoes would have been so careless. She would know that the best way to protect her daughter is to survive, and she would have fought tooth and nail until there was no other option. There were still plenty of options...

After Mom, it was obvious what was going to happen to Dad the second he stepped off the elevator. I actually rolled my eyes here because I didn't believe this part, either. Tris had just lost her mother, so why wasn't she feeling overprotective of her father? She would have, no question about it. There is no way she'd let her untrained, Abegnation father get on that elevator with her. After everything she'd been through with Dauntless, she would know all too well what would happen to him. And she'd never let it happen.

END SPOILER