DIVERGENT Giveaway!

Sunday night I stayed up until 1am finishing an ARC of Veronica Roth’s debut novel, Divergent, out May 3rd.

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.

TIME FOR SOME TRUE CONFESSIONS:

1. Initially, Divergent‘s cover didn’t do much for me.
2. I’m very close to being over-saturated by all of the dystopian literature coming out these days.
3. I don’t usually seek out novels that are described as “action-packed!” or “edge-of-your-seat thrilling!” I prefer quieter books, ones that are character and emotionally driven.
4. I didn’t know a lot about Divergent going in, other than the fact that it was majorly hyped–not always a testament to a novel’s quality.
5. It took me three days to get through Divergent‘s first two chapters.

NOW, THROW AWAY THE FIVE TRUE CONFESSIONS ABOVE!

Divergent was, simply put, AMAZING. It lived up to and then far surpassed the hype surrounding it. Easily my favorite debut of 2011 so far. After those first two chapters, holy crap, I flew through this book! I hesitate to give anything away so I’ll be very general …

Divergent truly is action-packed, but not at the expense of deep character development, realistic relationships and stellar world building. If you want an example of a strong female protagonist, look no further. If you’re interested in reading about a dystopian future that is extremely well thought out (not to mention, a startlingly real possibility!), dive into this novel. If you like a slow-burn romance with a fantastic payoff, you’ll love Tris and her *ahem* love interest (nope, no spoilers here!). I usually hate comparisons like the following, but if you’re a fan of The Hunger Games Trilogy, I suspect you’ll love Divergent. I’m already itching for the next installment!

AND GOOD NEWS… You can win an ARC of Divergent here!!! (If you don’t win, please go buy your own copy on May 3… I am!)

Contest Rules:

1. Leave a comment telling me which faction you’d choose if you were a part of Beatrice’s futuristic Chicago: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).

2. For a second entry, tweet about this contest, including a link to this post. Leave an additional comment letting me know about your tweet.

3. For a third entry, become a friend of this blog by signing up for an email subscription (in the column to the left). Leave an additional comment letting me know. I will verify this through the blog.

4. This contest is open internationally, now through Friday, April 15 at 12:00pm (noon), PST. I will tally all of the entries and draw one winner randomly, then post the winner’s name Friday afternoon.

You, if you win. Good luck!

*Also, big thanks to Erin Bowman, who held a Divergent ARC giveaway on her blog a few weeks ago. I was lucky enough to win, and now I’m passing along this amazing book here. 🙂