I had had a big bulky trade version of Divergent sitting on my shelf since its publication but I just couldn't bring myself to read it. However after attending HarperCollins' 'Big Book Parade' I received copies of both Divergent  and Insurgent and knew I had to read it before my colleagues got in there first and berated me for missing out. Not that I did this to them with The Maze Runner... So anyway, I set myself up in bed with a cup of tea and pretty much didn't leave until Divergent was finished. I enjoyed it that much.

Divergent has been compared several times to The Hunger Games, and yes, it has a similar set up of a fractured society split to serve each other, and even though I enjoyed The Hunger Games, I think Divergent is much more fun, less depressing, and although it is just as much of a page turner, it was so much less claustrophobic. There will always be these comparisons because the genre lends itself to stock features, but I will try to stay away from them for the rest of this review.

Here's the gist:

In Tris's dystopian world society is split into 5 'factions' (groups): Erudite, Amity, Dauntless, Candor, and the faction Tris is born in to, Abnegation. When they reach 16, members of each faction take the Aptitude Test, which runs a series of simulations, to see which faction they fit in to. Those who are special and therefore dangerous are labelled as Divergent. When Tris's turn comes to choose, she leaves her family and embarks upon a new life in Dauntless, the daredevil faction.

Tris's chosen faction, Dauntless, is the most physically tough. They are the warriors that protect the country from outside forces - forces that the rest of society know very little about. To become a member each must complete a series of trials, most of which involve beating each other senseless. The Dauntless trainers, Eric and Four, teach each of the initiates how to defend themselves and control their fears in various ways. This is a lot of fun, Roth really pushes the boundaries of how much violence is acceptable, and populates the initiates with really interesting characters. Yes, there is a certain extent to which each character serves a purpose to the narrative - such as Will's reluctance to hit women - but the majority of the necessary characters are fleshed out so well that it doesn't matter.

Which brings me to Four - ladies, you're in for a treat. He's your brooding, misunderstood sweetheart under a cover of muscles. His character posed a really interesting idea for me: books give you a freedom of imagination over films and, reading this as someone in their mid-twenties, I imagined Four to be in his early 30's. He naturally has an older voice because of his role of trainer and really as absentee parent (in a weird way), and there is a bit of a 'thing' made of Four being older than Tris. Even though I am becoming cynical in my old age Four really brings out the fangirl in me.

There was only one thing the stopped this being 5 stars for me and that was the end. Don't worry, I'm not going to give anything away. There is a big change in the direction of the narrative towards the end when there is another shift in what you think is going to happen. I enjoyed that I didn't really see it coming but at the same time it happened a little too fast. I had to go back and see what pivotal moment I have brushed over. I think my exact thoughts were: "hang on, what?" But you will get swept away in what happens and you'll want to find out what happens in the very end so I don't think it matters that much, it just ruined what could have been a perfect book for me.

Divergent will become a classic of the YA world, and with the film due to be released at the beginning of 2014, it will cement its hard earned place in both boys and girls bookshelves around the world. Oh, and did I mention that Veronica Roth was only in her early 20's when this was originally published? Makes you sick with envy, doesn't it.