I stayed up until 1:30am to finish this book.
That tells you everything you need to know. I loved this book. It kept me engaged. I even went to a few fansites to peruse different information about different factions to see which faction I would call home (Amity!). I have not been this into a "young adult" novel since Harry Potter (where, incidentally, I'm completely positive I would be in Ravenclaw). I have a weird relationship with books for the youth because on the one hand you have to accept that there will be childish behavior from some of the characters because, well, they are children. On the other hand, when done right, it is refreshing to see something with a little bit of innocence attached. Fresh eyes.
Having said that, I seem to make poor choices for these series. I hated Twilight and will never get those hours of my life back. The Hunger Games was a disappointing series for me because the protagonist slowly became catatonic and less empowered when she should have been going from district to district raising a rebel army. I'm still an optimist though. So when I heard about Divergent, I thought I would give it a try because the premise sounded decent and these books are usually quick, light reads.
In Divergent, we have all the requisite elements:
1) Protagonist teenage girl: 16 years old (just old enough to kiss, but not *quite* old enough for sex)
2) Brooding love interest
3) Dystopian future
4) Sidekicks
5) Mean adult antagonist
6) Similarly mean teenage antagonist
7) Conflict between good and evil
Now you can apply these elements to a story and it can flop because one element or another is weak. But, elemental formulas don't always mean it will flop (see: Jodi Picoult). The author uses the formula well here.
Brief description: Main character, Tris, finds out that she is different from the other teens who test into different factions of society. She is Divergent, which is something powerful, but she doesn't understand how powerful it is and what it all means. She is warned to never tell anyone she's Divergent, but instead to just pick a faction she thinks she can function in and press on. She picks a faction and begins to learn what it really means to be Divergent and why she is a threat to others. After this first book, I'm going all in for Book 2. If that one doesn't disappoint, I'll be ready for Book 3 when it is released in October. I really, really, really want this series to rise to the occasion. I don't want the main character to become a puddle of weak female teenage emotions at the end. That's all I ask. I want to believe again!
