Veronica Roth’s debut novel Divergent will capture the attention of teenagers from the very beginning. Divergent follows the story of Beatrice Prior, who lives in dystopian Chicago. Beatrice is turning 16, meaning she is about to choose one of five factions to join for life. She’s lived in the Abnegation faction her entire life, but has never felt that she was selfless enough to stay.

When it’s time to choose, much to the surprise of herself and her family, she chooses Dauntless, the faction of courage. She leaves her family and everything she’s ever known behind and renames herself Tris in the intense initiation that follows. The odds of surviving the initiation and becoming a member of Dauntless is slim, but for Tris failure isn’t an option.

But in the initiation, the secret Tris has been keeping is getting harder and harder to conceal. If she’s discovered, she’ll be killed. But with the growing conflict around her, Tris will have to decide if keeping her secret is worth watching loved ones die, or if she’s willing to place herself in harm’s way to help them.

Divergent is an entertaining, suspenseful and compelling novel that will have readers mesmerized from the very first page. Roth has masterfully crafted characters that are multidimensional and a dystopian world that will leave readers wanting to know more. With Roth’s incredible writing style, her masterfully crafted world and her fast-moving plot, it’s easy to see why Roth’s novel has met such immediate success.

Divergent is the first installment in a trilogy. The much anticipated sequel, Insurgent, will be released in 2012.

Rated: Mild. This novel doesn’t use any profanities and doesn’t contain any references to sex. The only concern is violence. The novel centers on Tris’ training to be a fighter, so violence is a central part of the novel. However, the references aren’t graphic and are mild at best. Overall, this novel is a clean read.