The Transfer by Veronica Roth

The Transfer (Divergent #0.1) by Veronica Roth ☆☆☆☆☆

I've been looking forward to reading this since I heard it was coming out. Hell, since it was rumored that it was coming out. Four has always been my favorite, not only in this series, but over all. This series changed the way I look at writing and really inspired me. I was immediately jealous that someone so much younger than me could hit is so big with such a great book. And that jealousy has pushed me to keep going.

I love reading things from Four's point-of-view. Reading the knife scene in Free Four was really amazing. What made this ebook most interesting was the subject matter. We weren't looking at a scene we already saw from a different perspective. Instead we were seeing what Four's life was like growing up, the kind of monster his dad was behind closed doors (behind what we could see in his fear landscape). We also got to see the movements in his head that lead to his decisions for faction, how he was unaware of what he was going to choose up until he chose it. And we got to see what initiation was like for him, how it changed him and how he got his name. Most especially we got to see what initiation was like before it changed to what initiation became when it was Tris's turn.

I am so excited there are three more of these coming! I'm extremely excited that Allegiant is almost here! And most especially excited for the movie coming out for my birthday! So much love for this series :D

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth ☆☆☆☆☆

I literally just finished the last line and I am stunned into silence. I remember back to reading the first book last year when I said I would have loved to give it an 11 out of 5 stars. You can double that statement with this book. A lot of books in the middle of a series become nothing more than filler to get the arc to the end of the series. This book goes well beyond that. It created so much more than the first book was able to and went in more directions than I literally could have dreamed. I have fallen even more in love with this series, and can now appreciate fully my decision to re-read the first book in conjunction with this one.

It's really hard to express the emotions I've had throughout this book at this point. I'm not exclamation point happy because I'm honestly just stunned. The first several chapters were to die for, I was laughing so hard that I was covering my mouth to keep my neighbors from hearing my through our thin walls at 4am. I love the Dauntless snark and it reminds me so much of the snarky conversations I've had with friends and lovers in the past. It felt like home. :)

And as funny as those first several chapters were...things eventually got very real, and real means painful, confusing, and quiet. I was fully engrossed in the story like any other character. I was screaming at the characters. I hated them, hated how they were acting. And it had nothing at all to do with how they were written, they just stood out from the story for me that much that I hated them as if they were real. Bookish people, you get it and I know you do!

I also reminded myself how much I hate books where a war of some kind is taking place. I came to this conclusion during the Harry Potter series. (Sirius!!!) The first book of this series easily slipped from memory as it was just one book, but then came the Hunger Games series for me (Rue!). And now this series has officially become a series for me...and hell, I really hate reading war books. Loss cannot be avoided, but I care about the characters so much that I hate to see any go, even small ones that barely stand out. As much as I hate reading it and want to blame her, I know as a writer myself that she probably hurts more than any of her readers do over the losses. She lives with those characters every waking day as she writes.

All said and done, this series is amazing. I will recommend it over and over until the day I die. I have already begged and prodded people to read it and to join in with me. And to break the seriousness of my shock from this book turned into review with a little humor...and to also express how awesome I am at getting others to read the series, I present the most awesome discussion I have had while reading this series with my best friend (her first time with the entire series).

(During the last half of Insurgent)

E: Do you ever wonder if the Dauntless read stories about us haha, I mean not that half of them could read, but ya know
A: Hahahaha I can honestly say I don't think so. If they have, they were probably so bored they stopped haha
E: Hahaha point made!

Free Four (Divergent #1.1) by Veronica Roth

Free Four (Divergent #1.1) by Veronica Roth ☆☆☆☆☆

This is a joint review. I read Divergent last July and left an awesome review. And here I re-read it and loved it even more. I even noticed things I hadn't noticed the first time. Like how Tris could just as easily have ended up with Uriah and it would have been cute! Don't get me wrong though I'm a Four/Tris girl all the way. And I got to fall in love with Four all over again which is more amazing each time.

What made it even better was that I got to read Roth's side story told from Four's point of view just after I finished re-reading Divergent. Can I just say O-M-G?! I didn't think it was possible to love Four even more until the moment I started reading this side story. I already wished I could rip him out of the story and have him for myself and now I'm begging for the chance to do it! I fell for him on an even deeper level. He's a total jerk, but he also cares too much for his own good. And he doesn't always think about what he says before he says it, as evidence by both these stories.

I'm totally psyched to start Insurgent now!!! (Yeah yeah yeah, I know I'm behind, but I had school and stuff to get to first!)

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth ☆☆☆☆☆

I have to say that this by far is the best book I have ever read hands down. Yes, it was that good. If I could I'd give it an 11 of 5 stars.

From my creative writing background, Veronica Roth is a genius. The book was amazingly well planned out. No information seemed unnecessary. Halfway through the book I had that great moment I love as a reader where something clicks and immediately flip back to the beginning of the book to check my suspicions. (My suspicion was right!) The clues she left in the text were spot on and didn't seem out of place or like foreshadowing, well disguised. Honestly, I'm jealous...especially since she's a lot younger than I am too.

The characters in this book are above and beyond well developed. It is told from the point-of-view of Tris, a 16 year old girl who is incredibly strong and determined. While I see her determination in myself often, I could never have the bravery she has. And then there is Four.... I am in love with a boy named Four! From the moment he was first introduced in the book I couldn't stop focusing on every aspect of him. There is one quote that seems to sum him up perfectly: "He is not sweet or gentle or particularly kind. But he is smart and brave, and even though he saved me, he treated me like I was strong. That is all I need to know." It was in that moment that I realized why I was drawn to him and will always been drawn to him. The five factions of society were so interesting and exciting too (and almost reminded me of Harry Potter houses at first).

I'd never really read dystopian society stories before, but they seem prevalent now. I was hesitant to read it because they can get science-fictiony if not done right, but this didn't go there. Besides having strong, identifiable characters and an amazingly well written structure and plot, my favorite part of this book was that no part of it was slow. A lot of the books I have been picking up are slow in the first half, attempting to introduce and set up everything to not leave the reader hanging, but this story was fluid. Everything in this world was explained without leading me away, it left me no lingering questions about how things developed, and definitely didn't leave me bored. In fact I dreaded having to put this book down. And yet....this book had my heart racing with excitement, desire, and intrigue so often that I had to set it down regularly for a few minutes just to slow my heart rate down and think about what I was reading. It was fun!

I can't wait until the sequel. To me this one was left too open and I want to see so much more. Even better, the film rights have already been sold to Summit Entertainment. Oh the upcoming years look great :D