Divergent by Veronica Roth

There is one mirror in my house.

Read a synopsis here.

So. Here I am to review the novel that was allegedly created out of The Hunger Games when Veronica Roth decided she could make a load of money if she changed it up a little. I guess that pretty much five factions = twelve districts, the leader of the Erudite (whose name escapes me) = President Snow, and being a Divergent = you're Katniss Everdeen and you're sentenced to death for almost eating (and forcing someone else to eat) nightlock berries. 

Yes, there are some similarities. Without the Games, Roth pretty much has to jump straight into the Rebellion. Overall, I thought the plot was pretty cheap. The Rebellion itself hardly gets talked about until the last quarter of the book; the middle half is all about training and Tris's romance with Four; and the first quarter is about the Simulation and the Choosing Ceremony. It is an okay book, but because it's from a first-person present-tense perspective (hi, Hunger Games!), we don't get to see anybody's real opinion except Tris's--and with regards to Four and she, this is a stumbling block. The romance moves much too quickly and unrealistically. And there were times when the romance went just a little too far--or threatened to do so.

You want to have something to read and you're in a spot where this is all you have, it's a pretty good read. It just has a few faults, and I'm not entirely certain it deserves all the hype.

That was a short review. . . .

Rating: 4 stars.