Review: DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth

Summary from Goodreads:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.


During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.


My Thoughts:

Guns. Jumping off of moving trains. Jumping off of buildings. Fear Landscapes. Awesomeness.


How can you not have an awesome, action-packed book when you live in a place devoted to being crazy/brave? Welcome to Tris’ world.

Divergent was different than I expected it to be. I’m not sure I expected it to be but I don’t think it was what it turned out to be. When I first started reading it it felt a LOT like MATCHED. And then the jumping off of things started. And then it felt like HUNGER GAMES. Till I realized I didn’t really like Katniss and I DO like Tris. And then we get characters like Four and I just realized, this is DIVERGENT. It’s awesome all on its own.

I won’t go into too much more detail or rant any longer on how much of an adrenaline rush this book was, I’ll just say GO READ THIS BOOK! I am very impressed with Veronica Roth and will be buying the next book as soon as it is available for pre-order!

4.5 out of 5 stars!

Review: Hollowland by Amanda Hocking

"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door."


Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.


My Thoughts:

So, I’d never read a zombie book before and when I saw that Amanda Hocking had written one I had to go for it considering it was only $0.99.


After escaping a quarantine that gets overrun with zombies and losing the guy she was crushing on, Remy and another girl try to figure out what to do next. Convinced that her brother Max has been taken to another quarantine, the two girls set out, fighting oozing, gnawing zombies along the way. The pick up a pet lion (yes a lion and it is awesome!), a rock star, and a med student.

I think the eclectic cast of characters was my favorite part of this book. There was a lot of contrast in the people and the whole rock star element of Lazlo was a lot of fun. Starting out as strangers this group becomes a family that takes care of each other.

The book is action packed with lots of greenish zombie blood, exploding heads, cults, and running for your life. While I really enjoyed the overall story, and as I said, the characters this did feel a bit like a first draft to me. I’m really torn on how to rate this book but I think I’m going to settle on

3.75 out of 5 stars.

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