Divergent

Like The Hunger Games and Ready Player One, Veronica Roth's Divergent was almost impossible to put down. And like those books, it has some serious pacing flaws when you step back and consider the plot. I'm beginning to wonder if there's some secret formula for all these YA books that soar to the top of popularity based on the fact that you just can't seem to put them down.

Divergent is the latest (well, maybe not anymore, I'm a bit behind the times) in a string of dystopian novels about a teenaged girl who falls in love and saves the world. This isn't a trend I have any major beef with - more strong female role models is always a good thing - but this book also feels like a serious retread of things I've read before. When the government took control of Tobias and he tried to strangle Tris, I actually thought "No! That already happened to Peeta!" And the five factions were eerily reminiscent of the houses in Harry Potter. The traits even sort of lined up.

On the subject of the factions (last nitpick, I swear), it bothered me that their names started with A, A, C, D, E. Was it really that hard to find a B word? Could Amity not have been Beatific instead? It changes the meaning somewhat, but I think it could be worth it for the sake of symmetry.

Anyway, the story itself was entertaining. Tris is fierce and brave and independent and wonderful, though not very bright. Her relationship with Tobias is nice, if obvious. Though I'm kind of pulling for Uriah to be end game for her. Assuming he survived this book, which, since he didn't get an on-page death, seems pretty likely.

Overall I liked Divergent, though I'm in no rush to go out and buy the sequel. And not only because I've heard that the trilogy goes seriously downhill. I'll probably pick up the next book when it's released in paperback. And I'll make an effort to see the movie when it gets to HBO or NetFlix.

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