“Divergent” by Veronica Roth

I picked this one up because of the cool ring of fire on the front cover.

Beatrice lives in a society where 16 year-olds make a choice about their entire lives based on how they feel – if they want peace and love, they join the Amity; if they prefer a life of pursuing knowledge, they join the Erudite. Beatrice is a Divergent, a dangerous thing in her society, meaning that she doesn’t obviously fit in anywhere – she has many talents that are equal in strength. When she chooses to become Dauntless (the faction that values bravery over all else), secrets about the society she lives in come to light, and it’s up to her to protect herself from the evils who would use her.

I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of a cross between The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Matched by Ally Condie. Roth takes time to build this world, but doesn’t slow the story down to do it. While the mysteries of Four were pretty obvious, there was plenty of action and personal growth to keep a reader’s interest. The pages just flew by, and I’ll definitely be reading the second book, Insurgent, when it comes out in May. A 9.5 from me for an excellent book.

Read-A-Likes: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Matched by Ally Condie, XVI by Julia Karr