Yes, you read that correctly. I’m only half-way through Divergent, but I feel I need to review it so far.

I’ve read a lot of YA Dystopian novels ever since my Barnes&Noble insider turned me on to The Hunger Games in 2009 — Matched, The Maze Runner, Delirium…  And of course nothing really compares to The Hunger Games in my mind, but each of these stand alone in their own right.

Since last year, I’ve seen several author friends of mine recommend Divergent and even say it is better than The Hunger Games (gasp!).

Here is the premise of Divergent:

“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.”

I have to say that Divergent had me hooked from the first chapter. The writing is well-done, the characters are rounded and memorable, the society itself comes to life in this book.

But I’m not even done with the book and need to pause to rave about it. Does that tell you something? I’m addicted to it and struggling to focus on other tasks at hand. Fortunately, I’m listening to it on Audible, so my house chores didn’t suffer this past weekend. 🙂

While I’ve yet to see how it ends, I’m confident this will rank in my Top 10 for 2012. Have you ever read a book and known right from the start it would be a favorite?