Divergent--Veronica Roth

Divergent; Veronica Roth, YA sci-fi, 487 pages

Coming off the high of the Hunger Games movie I've taken another foray into Teens Doing Dangerous Things In A Horrible Post-Apocalyptic Dystopia!
Only this time it's in a recognizable wasteland that was once Chicago, and that kind of makes the atmosphere much more grim and foreboding, the idea that this story takes place not TOO far in the future. Anyway!

I like this protagonist! I'm usually very hard on protagonists, I think because my short-lived attempt at rading Twilight really made me wary of a story involving a teenage girl and there's romance. But! I think this book actually struck a really good balance, with Tris being confused by her feelings (having previously never been able to really get involved in romance due to her social caste) and being a wee bit preoccupied with staying alive and getting to the bottom of the things that are Not Quite Right with her society.
Also!! Divergent earns MAJOR bonus points with me for having our lead teens having an honest conversation about their anxieties about sex (WHAT) and it's NOT veiled in a heavyhanded vampirism metaphor about like ownership and worth of bodies? That is kind of staggering. Good job, Veronica Roth.

I also liked how Tris and her family were religious but it wasn't a big huge issue that like, divided them from society in any way. It was a nice personal touch that really humanized Tris (as opposed to the hyper-focused internalized thoughtstream jumble that is the almost-robotic Katniss), and okay, I don't know what Roth's personal beliefs are and I don't know if she intended this to be allegorical, but it didn't seem like that was the case. Interesting angle without being overpowering.

Overall I really liked this! Exciting action, psychological horror, characters who feel real in their emotional responses to situations--good stuff. Thanks for the recommendation, Kara!