My main goal this sembreak was to catch up on my readings since the only thing I manage to read for the
past months was textbooks and to be specific, Accounting books so to release some steam and let my mind escape for awhile, I decided to read once again. However, even though I am so eager to read, I could not seem to find the perfect book worthy of my time and money (I had been relying on ebooks for months and this time, I want to read from a real book). I found it difficult to choose until I managed to read the beginning passages of Divergent. In that moment, I knew I found the perfect book.

©imyr

Divergent is the first of the trilogy written by Veronica Roth released in 2011. Divergent tells the story of another post-apocalyptic world wherein men and women were divided into factions namely Abnegation which values selflessness,intelligence for Erudite, honesty for Candor, Amity values kindness and Dauntless which values bravery. The five factions were created to retain the peace and order of the nation. According to Roth, the world in Divergent was inspired by the city of Chicago because of the trains connecting the five factions.

The story was told in the perspective of Beatrice "Tris" Prior, a sixteen year old girl who needs to choose which faction she wants to be in. She undergoes an examination to help her make decision however, the results of the exam was inconclusive meaning, she possesses a combination of the factions thus, making her Divergent. Becoming Divergent is dangerous so Tris was not allowed to say anything about it. In the end, she chose Dauntless. She and her fellow initiates must pass the initiations in order to be truly called a member of the Dauntless or else they will become factionless.

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Divergent is not just any ordinary dystopian novel because I believe it is also a coming of age story. Being only sixteen, Tris was thrown into a world foreign to her. She always felt out of place in Abnegation and being in Dauntless shows her how life truly works. Tris learned to fight, literally and figuratively; make friends and even love. Tris is a perfect example of teenage girl trying to work into the ropes of adolescence and being Divergent does not make things easier for her.

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I also love how Roth manages to show braveness in different perspectives. In the beginning, Tris thought that the braveness valued in Dauntless was only about holding a gun and killing but as the story progresses, Tris learned that being fearless is not actually having no fear at all. It is about controlling them and facing them. Divergent also caught my eye because it is not a story of a damsel in distress. It is a story of girl willing to fight for her own beliefs, her family and loved ones and for her nation. Divergent inspires women to fight, again, literally and figuratively.

In my opinion, Divergent share some similarities with Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games. They are both dystopian in nature and both focuses on a teenage girl trying to survive in the midst of war. In Divergent, there are five factions while there are twelve districts in The Hunger Games. Both worlds are facing rebellions and a series of fights and wars. For me, the similarities between the two novels are not disadvantages since both of them have strong plots and characters. It is just a matter of perspective to choose between the two.

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I am in the second book, Insurgent, as I am writing this so I am not in the position to make any final commentaries and opinions but I think Divergent is a perfect stepping stone for the next books. The story line of Divergent perfectly picks up the upcoming events. It enables to us to somehow, predict the fore-coming war. My advice for those who are yet to read the book, buy already set because if you buy Divergent first, I guarantee you that you will be left hanging.