Divergent - the Walmart of Young AdultDid you enjoy the selflessness of Katniss? Love the Harry Potter houses? Adore the will-they-won't-they love from Twilight? Well, here's the watered down combination of every YA series out there. There's Tris - the most annoying main character I've met in a while. The pendulum swings from - from "oh look at me I am such an innocent little Abnegation gal - I don't even look into a mirror cause I'm so selfless" to (and this is within a couple of chap...

I choose Amity. In a dystopian future, in a post-apocalyptic world, society has divided itself into five factions. Candor, who want nothing but the truth; Erudite, who hold intelligence above all; Amity, who love and desire peace; Dauntless, who value strength and life without fear; and Abnegation, who devote themselves to selfless altruism. Beatrice Prior is born under the care of altruist parents, but at the tender age of sixteen she’ll have to choose a faction to live with for the rest of her...

I definitely enjoyed *Divergent*. At first, I had trouble convincing my older son to read it, because he was convinced that every dystopian novel is a "Hunger Games" wannabe, but he read *Divergent* on a recent plane trip, and we had a great in-depth discussion about the characters and their motivations. The premise: Chicago in the future is a closed city-state. The citizenry really doesn't have any idea what is beyond their borders. They just know it's dangerous. Inside the city, humanity is d...

Dear Hunger Games,I miss you. I really do. Our relationship is over and done with, but the memory of you still lingers on. I know that's a terrible cliché – and you hate clichés – but it's a true one, at least in this case. I don't think I'll ever be over you. You are freaking special.It took me some time, but I finally met a new girl. Her name is Divergent. She's quiet and strong and short-tempered and insular and brave… a lot like you, I suppose. But is she really? This is hard for me to admit...

Heh. I'm torn now. I rolled my eyes so much while reading *Divergent* that I may have permanently damaged at least some of my cranial nerves. And yet I read it in one sitting, annoyingly and inexplicably entertained. Go figure.There just may have been some facepalming as well.It's yet another young adult dystopia based on a stupid premise. Seriously, it's plainly ridiculous. If I had to compare it to something equally ridiculous it'd have to be the notion of sparkly vampires. I'm not kidding. Ju...

What kind of ridiculous mess...Oh man.So, I know I'm probably in the minority here, as many of my friends seem to like this book, but I absolutely could not stand *Divergent*. Before I launch into my rant, let me explain. You might be wondering why I gave it two stars instead of one if I'm complaining so much. Well, two stars is pretty low on my scale. Two means "why did I even buy this?" Or read this. Or whatever. One star is dramatic. One star is "this should never have been written," which, a...

Okay, so today I almost lost it on some dude in public. He was yelling at and straight-up abusing his girlfriend or wife. Kicking the shopping cart, shoving her around, screaming the vilest stuff you can imagine. I just ditched my cart and stormed over, completely blinded by fury.Then it turned into some cheesy romance novel scene. My partner, let's call him Mr. Kennedy, grabbed my arm and was like, "No way are *you* going over there!" He took off the baby sling, handed it to me, and told me to ...

Let me make something perfectly clear. I know I gave 4 stars to Daughter of Smoke and Bone. And I'm giving 5 stars to Divergent by Veronica Roth. The world is a tough and inconsistent place. Because Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a much, much better *written* book. It's no contest. Laini Taylor's writing is lush and lyrical, and there's a gravity to it that makes you stop every so often to murmur, "Well said, Laini Taylor, well said..." Divergent is just fun. Fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun ...

As seen on The ReadventurerWe all know why *Divergent* was written. There is no doubt 99% of dystopian novels published in the last year or so have been trying to at least partially replicate the success of *the* trilogy. The public wants more dystopian stories, publishers want to sell them, authors want to write them. Everyone's happy.I've read a few new dystopian novels recently and liked or disliked them to varying degrees. There are dystopias for every taste, dystopias that emphasize separat...

THE SEVEN STAGES OF READING HELL: When You Realize You're Going to be the Odd Man Out (Once Again) With a Wildly Hyped and Popular Book that Everyone Else Lovedas Presented by:The Coterie of Emotive Kittehs (courtesy of Google Images)December 13, 2011Page 30:Page 77:Page 145:Page 270:Page 354:Page 404:Page 475:Final Analysis of my Reading Experience:(What? You didn't think I was going to show a kitteh with a knife in its eye, did you?)Rating: A (Very) Generous 1 StarThe Moral of this Review:I sh...