Divergent

I'm obsessed with this book. Therefore, it gets five stars because anything less just feels wrong. I know, I know, I know, that the dystopian backstory of society dividing into five factions is a little hard to believe, BUT I'm very good at just going with it. I like the “what if” society was like “this” quandary and I think you have to be in that mindset to enjoy the book. If you're a die hard critic that tears apart the minutiae of detail in an action movie (“well that's not realistic, reversing the polarity is impossible”) then this book probably isn't for you. Moving on. I won't go into much detail since my book club is reading this at the moment and I don't want to spoil anything, but I love these characters and I kind of wish my life was a little bit more dauntless. The book covers a lot of problems that teenagers face - wanting a life different than your parents or just being different than your family/society expects, abuse and fear, first love, fears of failing, etc. I thought the romance was much better than other YA books I've read. The first Hunger Games had me rolling my eyes A LOT over the Peeta/Katniss story, and Twilight is just plain unhealthy. There were times I wanted to shake Tris by the shoulders and yell “WHY can't you see what he's doing!” She has a few moments that are obviously slow on the uptake, but I appreciate that she's just a tough female heroine who doesn't want the guy to see her as weak. Oh, and when she thinks he's going macho asshole she doesn't swoon. She gets mad. YAY! Anyway, I found a lot of things to love in this book and I can only guess that quite a few people will be running to the tattoo parlor if the series explodes with the movie release in March. Now I'm off to buy Insurgent!