The Fiction Conniption

review can also be found on my blog www.thefictionconniption.com---This book caught me completely by surprise. Having of course seen hundreds of reviews, I knew that it had been a hit about a year ago when it came out - but I just never felt like it piqued my interest. I'd read the back cover and thought, "Factions? She can't choose what to do with her life? That doesn't sound all that intriguing." And honestly, I still think the back cover doesn't interest me all that much. That said, as soon as I started reading - I was completely sucked into this world. Veronica Roth creates a dystopian world where everyone is split into one of five factions. Abnegation - the selfless. Dauntless - the brave. Amity - the kind. Erudite - the academic, or Candor - the honest.. Upon turning 16, each person takes an aptitude test to help them decide which faction they should choose. However, Beatrice's results are unusual - and more than that, they are extremely dangerous. The first few chapters I struggled with the idea of the factions. They just seemed impractical to me, and I couldn't get on board without an explanation of how they were formed. When that eventually came, I started to fall into this world a little more. What absolutely sealed the deal for me with this book was Four. Four is the sort of male character that is mysterious without being annoying about it. He's guarded without being a jerk. His personality was completely believable - and more, so was Beatrice's (Tris). Their relationship grew from a simple curiosity about each other and sparks to something more. I felt like I was experiencing everything right along side her for the first time. I felt every heart beat, reacted to every touch - it was a full on experience to read this book. The moment I finished it, I downloaded Insurgent as well. I'm not really one for book 2 in a series. It's strange, because I love series - I love reading book 1 of a series and knowing there will be more to a story than just the few days I spend with the first book. But in so many cases, I never make it to book 2, because it just doesn't call to me. There needs to be some pretty powerful stuff going on for me to want to pick up that world again and dive in, and Divergent absolutely created that for me. Divergent has the perfect blend of kick-ass-ness, tension, authenticity, mystery, action, and romance to appeal to a huge audience - I believe there's something in there for just about everyone. Give it a read if you haven't already, you won't be disappointed.