The book is called Divergent, but I finish reading the book not quite sure what Divergent really means. All I know is that it is really really bad to be one, but I am not given much more description on it. It felt that way about a lot of things in this book. Like the factionless, it is very poorly described except it is a bad bad thing to be. But, there is really no reason why it is so bad to be factionless. Over and over it says factionless is so bad, and it is "living in complete isolation" and "worse than death" but it seems like there are a bunch of factionless since half the transfers from dauntless go there. And it seems like the Agnegation people take care of them by feeding them, and it sounds like they even have jobs too. So there is a bit of confusion there for me.
But, let me back up a bit. Divergent is based in a dystopian Chicago and split into five factions: Agnegation the selfless, Dauntless the brave, Candor the honest, Amity the kind and Erudite the smart. If you are in the Agnegation faction you can only be selfless, you can't be brave or honest or kind or smart, and if you have more than one trait than you are supposed to be Divergent, at least that is what I got from it. At sixteen you have the option of staying in your faction or transferring to another. So, if you transfer, won't you have two traits? The one you are leaving behind and the one you are transferring to? So why are not all transfers Divergent? But that isn't how it is. Although, that is how it is for Tris the main character.
Tris grew up being a Agneagtion, but after her aptitude test and finding out she is Divergent (which is really bad and she should tell no one), she decides to transfer and be Dauntless. Which means, she will leave her family and won't get to see them very much after that. Then she has to train to be brave and not a coward by jumping on and off trains, fighting and taking fear tests.
The book is a bit gruesome. Lots of Fight club fights, shootings, and killings. This dystopian is pretty grisly. But it is very action pack and had me on the edge of my seat at the end of it. Even though the world building is a little lack luster I guess I can overlook it for this being the first book in the series. I hope more is answered in the next book and there is more world building.
