Divergent

4.5 stars
Veronica Roth

 In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

 Can I just say WOW! I could not put this book down, I just had to keep reading! Veronica Roth is one talented author. This book was a total page turner and every page kept me guessing what would happen next. I was prepared for another dystopian society that doesn't work, which is what greeted me in the first few pages. But within a few pages I saw that it wasn't the same old boring story rehashed again. Beatrice was a girl that doesn't fit in and isn't like everyone else in her faction, so when the time comes for her to be tested she discovers a secret about herself that just might get her killed. She must chosen between factions, one which she has lived in all her life and one that she will to be crazy to survive. I really liked this book because the main story line was about Tris and the moral decision between RIGHT and WRONG. She had to constantly reevaluate what she thought about herself, others, and her society. Tris is one strong girl which I think is what made me love her, because I could relate so much to her. She does not let those hurting her know how much they are getting to her, she shows only her strength, she doesn't ask for help and she hides her vulnerability so well (two of my own character flaws). She doesn't need no man to fight her battles for her she has got it handled. But of course no book would be complete without a love interest, so enter "four" who is mysterious (what heartthrob isn't), withdrawn, and just over all confusing. It is a slow descendent for Tris into to her love for four and in the end true loves saves him (this was the only part of the book that I felt was predictable, I mean come on true love always wins it kinda gets a little annoying at times). But over all Tris has to face unimaginable hardships that lead her to be the person she was always meant to be. I give kudos to Veronica Roth for writing such an amazing book and look forward to reading Insurgent which I hope isn't a huge let down like sequels sometimes are.