Relaxed Review: Divergent

No one asked me to review it, but its been a while since a book left me with a "story hangover," and I had to share. So here's a somewhat relaxed review of this popular book, soon to be released as a major motion picture. I read a lot of books, and if I shared every one of them, I think my blog would be too overwhelmed with them. But this is worth sharing.

My rating: 10/10
Cleanliness Rating: 4/5 (violence mostly)

Holy wow. I didn't expect to like this one, my friends. I didn't want to like it, in fact. First of all, its a YA Dystopian, which has replaced my genre of Fantasy, I feel. So I spit in their general direction. Also, I get author envy when I see that a writer has hit the jackpot, and is rolling around in their book dough, laughing at my tiny puniness.

So I was determined to give it like 20 pages and put it away in disgust. But page 2 had me completely hooked ("What? What's a faction? Why can't you look in mirrors? Why are you wearing just gray????), and I was a Divergent sucker. My sister said the main character was "whiny," but I think what she meant was "empathetic and thoughtful," which to me made her a unique and wonderful character. Tris (or Beatrice I guess) was a perfect blend of "I'm going to totally kick your butt," and "but I feel a little guilty about it." I like that. I like it when the main character thinks about the people she has to roundhouse kick. Call me sentimental.

The love interest made me swoon. Even though he's 18, and I'm 24, and faintly I realized how weird that probably is. But he's a great character, and I like their relationship. I like that it had to form quietly and slowly--no sucking face because their hormones just took control of them for no random reason. Thank you, Lord, for characters with a little common sense.

The overarching plot with the political intrigue was pretty straightforward, and although there were little surprises, I wasn't blown away by huge plot twists. But the Dystopian world she created was intricate enough that I didn't feel the need for it.

So the only bad thing I can say is that I'm number 16 on the waiting list at my local library for the second book. I might cave and just buy the thing (gasp!), even if I'm still a little resentful that Miss Roth is actually making money on her work. I'm a selfish creature, I know.

So did you read it? Tell me what you thought!