This review was first posted on http://www.rubysreads.com. 
 I am utterly impressed that Veronica Roth is only 22. This was a delightful debut, and I enjoyed it very much. Even better, she introduced me to a character named Four. I'm in love, and I'm pretty sure that he's going to leave Tris for me. He was just about to tell her when the book ended. I'm sure it'll happen at the very beginning of book two. Really. 
 The description does a pretty good job of setting up Tris' Dystopian Chicago, so I'm not going to go into it much. I want to say, though, that I had a thought while I was reading and it was this: the Dystopian I've read that disturbed me the most was Susan Beth Pfeffer's Last Survivors series. I've been trying to analyze why this is so, and I think Divergent has helped me to figure it out. Of all the Dystopians I've read (and, admittedly, there are plenty of people that have read more than I), Life as We Knew It and the sequels came the closest to being realistic. It's not that I think that a meteor is more likely to knock the moon closer to the Earth, it's that I feel the human reactions to the disaster ring truer to me than in all other books. In Dystopians where a new world-system has been developed in order to correct the wrongs of the past, there's always a little voice in my head that says, "That would never really happen." I think it's that I have enough faith in humans to believe that we will never outlaw love or decide that it's possible to divide people into factions. In those kind of Dystopians, (of which Divergent is one), I'm never able to completely suspend my disbelief. What rings so true about the Last Survivors books is that all the characters act in ways that horrify you--but in circumstances so dire that no one could honestly say they wouldn't do the same in their place. 
 My point is this: Tris' Chicago is horrible, but I can't quite bring myself to believe it could really happen. For me, it works better to view Dystopians like this as allegories, modern day fables. Whether she intended to or not, Roth's book makes a statement about modern-day society. For me, the book was about compartmentalization. Tris' world tries to put people into categories. Each faction embodies only one human trait, and all the members of the faction are expected to do the same. But people can't be sorted that easily. The idea anyone would think that they could is bewildering to me--and that's where the story fails to be "real". 
 Despite all these deep thoughts on Dystopian fiction, I really enjoyed Tris' narration. She's an honest, relatable character. I was, at times, uncomfortable with the level of violence in the book. I knew it was coming as soon as it became clear to me which faction had caught Tris' interest. Yet, I was still disappointed when, despite her initial timidity, Tris eventually succumbs to it. This is totally a personal opinion. I can't even watch boxing movies, so I admit to squeamishness, and I'd be interested in another perspective on this point. 
 As I mentioned before, though, I loved Tris' romantic interest, Four. He's all sexy and strong and I have to keep reminding myself that he's both fictional and eighteen. Plus, he does that thing where he puts his hand on the small of Tris' back. I adore that move. It sends tingles up my spine. Yum. Tris and Four's relationship is deliciously slow-boil, and I expect more good things from it in the future. 
 Divergent ended in a way that has me anxious for the sequel. I can't wait to see where the story goes next, and how the new complications will pan out. And boy, are there complications. I'm also curious if we'll see more of the country, or if we'll stay in Chicago. I wonder if the whole world is divided in to factions in the same way. Whatever Veronica Roth has planned, I'm definitely along for the ride.