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| Divergent #1 |
I bring you Divergent by Veronica Roth, #1 in the Divergent series.
Imagine having one choice - one choice directing the rest of your life, who you will spend it with, and how you will live it.
In Beatrice's dystopian society, once members reach the age of sixteen, they must choose which of the five factions they will live - permanently. Factions are separated by their service to the society as a whole and their character traits determine their service: Candor~they deliver honesty, Abnegation~the selfless servants, Dauntless~the brave protectors, Erudite~the brains, and Amity~the peacemakers. The hardest part is deciding to stay in the faction you were born in, or follow your heart and leave your family forever. Beatrice, from Abnegation, has always found it difficult to be what she's been taught is "truly selfless" and chooses to redefine the meaning of a selfless life - one of bravery and protecting the weak.
This book needs an award just for its cover - it has the swamp, the defunct city, the darkness with a tiny glimmer of light just above the skyline and the storm brewing. Even the title had two different colors dividing it but not equally, more on a tilt. Best of all is the flaming faction symbol. I've never seen a cover reveal so much about a story.
At first Beatrice seems really sheltered and bland, but she's got a spark in her that once fueled with freedom and challenges becomes a roaring flame when she chooses to be 'Tris from Dauntless. She continually accepts challenges, drawing strength from her inner duel between faction traits. Overall, her selflessness shines through chapter after chapter. There's so much to her and hints of so much more just waiting to be tapped. The entire book feels like doors just waiting to be opened to different elements of the society - what have the intelligent been up to? What are the dauntless protecting the factions from? Is the gate there to keep them in or keep others out? Is Tobias' tattoo right - would their society be better off uniting and interweaving the traits and factions?
Overall, I fell fast for this story, its characters, the light romance, its hints towards Insurgent and the cherry on top was the family bond and the strength that it gave her - a rarity in YA fiction. My only reservation was that very, very end of the book. I don't mind that its a cliffhanger, but the very last two and a half pages felt a bit deflated compared to the other fantastic writing. It did, however, tie in motivation and goals for the characters for the next book. I can't wait to pick the story back up in Insurgent! Hastings - hang onto your bookshelves 'cause I'm on my way....
I give Divergent 
5 stars!
What faction would YOU choose? What if you could create factions - what would they be?
First of all, I have to say - COVER LOVE! This is one of those books where the cover gets your attention and is a perfect representation of the main character.
Shatter Me is Tahereh Mafi's first novel, written in the writer's unique non-conventional style. She starts off in Juliette's fragile mind - barely able to walk the line between sanity and insanity. Juliette is in a prison/mental ward because her powers are so dangerous even her parents are terrified of her. But soon her days of perpetually counting everything and secretly writing in her journal end when she meets her new cellmate, Adam. At first she's afraid of him and has nowhere to go, but soon, he takes her to his commanding officer and she finds herself in the "grips" of Warner. Warner is and egotistic, power-hungry, tyrannical leader. He's not only out to control the entire post-apocalyptic world, he wants to control Juliette as well.
The story takes a turn and Juliette and Adam are off on an adventure that takes them to what could be freedom, or could be another life of being controlled and used to fight a war for another operation. Juliette has to figure out if she wants to fit in or flee before things get out of control.
Reviews for Shatter Me were all over the place. Mafi writes in a style that reveals not only the main character's thoughts, but goes even deeper. She's transparent in that most characters have one solid thought, hers share their chosen thought path at the same time as revealing what they are really thinking, usually the opposite. It's very different and you either love it or hate it. It's like listening to a song and having someone "scratch" every few minutes. I had a hard time with it and found that once the writer stopped doing it, I enjoyed the flow of the story more. I think I could have done without about 75 pages of Juliette's madness in the beginning. That's not to say she should not be true to herself and write the way she wants. She is very brave and out-of-the-box with her style and did keep me interested.
I think this is one of the few times I fell in love with the secondary characters before I even liked the main character. Once the story developed and the main character, Juliette, was able to focus, I began to like her too. The last few chapters pave the way for a promising second book that I can't wait to read. Now we're talkin'! Once I finished the book and read the inner jacket, I found that Mafi is a kindred soul..."When unable to find a book, she can be found reading candy wrappers, coupons, and old receipts." A true lover of all things written and I would love to meet her!
I give Shatter Me
four stars! Can't wait for Unravel Me - I just know it's going to be her best work!
5 stars!
