Ever since I finished The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (If you haven’t read this yet where have you been? Read it, it’s amazing!) I’ve been looking for something to fill that dystopian teen fiction hole it left behind. Divergent is so far the best of the genre, I’d definitely say I like it as much if not more than The Hunger Games. Tris lives in a world made up of five factions, Abnegation, the selfless, Erudite, pursuers of knowledge, Amity, lovers of peace, Candor, the honest and Dauntless, the fearless. When the world began to fall into chaos these groups chose to emulate the values they each thought would bring about a better society. Each child is given an aptitude test at 16 and has to choose which faction they wish to join for the rest of their lives. During her test Tris finds out that she is Divergent, she has an aptitude for more than one faction and so she makes a momentous choice which sets a whole series of events in motion. Tris is probably one of the strongest female characters ever written and though at times she verges on the edge of being too hard she never loses her humanity and capacity to love and do the right thing. I would love to have read this when I was a teenager, it could have helped me gain more confidence as a young girl and I’d definitely recommend it to younger readers. Veronica Roth has built a deep and complex world in this book, each of the factions is fully fleshed out, their clothing, their beliefs, even their mannerisms. She has obviously put a lot of work into the background and you really get drawn into it to point of thinking about what faction you would choose. Some aspects of the world are still a mystery, the city is obviously New York but large parts of it are abandoned and ruined and the whole is surrounded by a fence but is it to keep people out or to keep them in. Also we don’t find out what is on the other side of the fence, what the rest of the world is like and how it came to be this way. I can’t wait to read the next instalment in this excellent dystopian trilogy.

Divergent is the first instalment in the series and it completely just shocked me; I couldn’t believe how brilliant it was, it blew my mind. I heard so many great reviews about the book and then the film, I had to take the dive and see what all the fuss was about and I can’t believe I waited this long. I highly recommend it. The story is told from Beatrice Prior’s in a dystopian Chicago world where the society is divided up into different factions. There are 5 factions; Abnegation (The Selfless) Dauntless (The Brave) Eruide (The Intelligent) Candor (The Honest) Amity (The Peaceful) Each member of Society falls into one of the five factions. When each person turns sixteen you take an aptitude test followed by a choosing ceremony in which each person chooses a faction based two elements. But, once they choose they cannot go back. Each new initiate whether they were born into that faction or not has to face initiation, a number of different tests, to see if they are worthy enough to become a full member. If they fail they will be factionless. Once Beatrice chooses her faction she gives herself a new name and a new identity. She has to undertake a number of different heart stopping, breathe taken tasks which would put the fear into anyone, even the bravest. Beatrice was a shy, confused girl from abnegation who faces a lot of hard, challenging and different encounters from the aptitude test throughout initiation, and not just from one faction. I loved her character she was always under estimated, the underdog but she always proved everyone wrong. She was brave, strong, honest and kick-ass. Then there is Four, who will grow on you. At first I did not like Four he was very arrogant and cheeky but the more his character opened up the better you understand and love him, also it helps he is so god dam beautiful. He has a lot of hidden dark secrets which will shock you. The society they live in to me is very harsh and scary, I do not think I could cope with the struggle and rules, “faction before blood” I could not leave my family behind neither, could I live in a society where I was not happy. It would have been better if more detail was given about each faction, and how they held their imitations to get stronger picture of their world. Divergent is action packed, thrilling and completely surprising. It will have you on the edge of the seat and may also make you cry. It should be, “family and love before faction”. Brilliant beginning to what is looking up to be an extraordinary series. I can’t wait to get stuck into insurgent.

I loved the world which Veronica had created for Tris. Definitely Worth Reading if your into Dystopian or Romance YA novels

This was the first book that got me into reading and it did not disappoint. 10/10 would recommend

I had this on my Kindle for about a year and didn't read it and I was very glad of that because it meant I only had to endure a month or so of torture waiting for Insurgent to be released (which is also awesome by the way!) It's been a while since I read a book that gripped me from the start and didn't let me go so it was great to have that feeling again. The world building in this is exceptional and detailed and it was easy to imagine the world Tris lives in. For those looking for insta-love, there isn't any here. There are well developed and very heart warming relationships and love of a more realistic variety (yes, I know it's fiction, but without some realism, it would just fall apart) The plot itself is pure genius and the action scenes are amazing. If you really like your books with a bit of heart-racing peril thrown in, there's enough of that in this book to make you fall off the edge of your seat, never mind sit perched on the edge. No matter where you sit on the dystopian fence, whether you like it or loath it, I think this book is worth a go. It's exciting, original, action packed, a bit romantic (in a good way) and it has Four in it! As in a person called Four, not the number! Anyway, go read!