‘Divergent’ Book Review by Sachi Patel,15 Vadodara- Book Reviews with Sara#8

Hey book lovers, your friend Sara here! Keep the wonderful entries to my  ‘book reviews by young readers’ section coming in!

Today I share this well rounded book review by Sachi Patel studying in class 10 in Navrachana School, Vadodara. Sachi is a student of Young Orators.

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Name of book : Divergent
Author : Veronica Roth
Publisher : Harper Collins Publishers

“I feel like somebody breathed air into my lungs. I am not Abnegation. I am not Dauntless. I am DIVERGENT – Tris Prior.

Imagine having to choose between your family and your identity. Imagine  having to make a decision that will change your life forever. Imagine facing  some of your greatest fears depending on your choice. Once chosen, there is no turning back. Face what is in front of you or live your life in poverty, dismay and utter misery. Well, this is Beatrice Prior’s world, welcome to it! Welcome to Divergent!

The population of the city is divided into five groups called the factions, each having its specific character traits. Each year, every sixteen-year-old has to choose one of there five factions: Erudite [the intelligent], Abnegation  [the selfless], Dauntless [the brave], Amity [the friendly] and Candor [the honest]. Once chosen you have to abide by their laws forever, forgetting your past, leaving your family, and taking the quote ‘faction before blood’ seriously even if it means changing your identity. Just like in the case of Bentrice Prior who is now known as Tris.

Tris was born in an Abnegation family but was feeling suffocated about always giving up what she loved, just to he selfless.  Just like the others, she depended on the aptitude test to tell her which faction is most suitable for her to choose, until it was declared that the test didn’t work, it was inconclusive as she had an aptitude for not 1 but 3 factions. She was a DIVERGENT. You might think she is lucky, but in her world, divergence is considered extremely dangerous, she must conceal it to stay alive.

On the choosing day, Tris shocks everyone by the choice of her faction: Dauntless. She starts her initials training by jumping off a roof. Initials is a training divided in three stages: physical, mental and emotional. At the end of initials, only ten of the initiates would make it in. Will she be able to make it? What happens if she doesn’t? What happens next? All of your answers to such questions are hidden in the book so go ahead and read it.

Divergent is filled with suspense, drama, action, mind-blowing plot twists, captivating dialogues, realistic characters, a hint of romance and a dash of humour. Here you will meet many characters that you can relate to in real life, like the-want -it-all- Peter, brave, skilled but soft-hearted- Four, the villain -Jeanine and of course the protagonist -Tris. Tris will amaze you with her strength, will power, intelligence and above all her transformation from an Abnegation to a Dauntless.

According to me, Veronica Rath has done an excellent job. She has given it everything I ever expected from a book.  It has 2 more sequels which are equally amazing and all 3 of them are major motion movies now. The Divergent series has so far sold 32 million copies. It is one of the New York Times bestsellers. If you enjoy reading books like The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner than Divergent is a must-read. It’s one of my favourites. You will love it.

Suitable for age group : 13+
Rating : 5/5