Short Story Review: Free Four by Veronica Roth

Divergent #1.1

April 2012 from Katherine Tegen

Goodreads / Kindle / Nook

Synopsis:
#1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth retells a pivotal Divergent scene (chapter 13) from Tobias's point of view. This thirteen-page scene reveals unknown facts and fascinating details about Four's character, his past, his own initiation, and his thoughts about new Dauntless initiate Tris Prior. (from Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

Remember the part in Divergent with Four and Tris and the knife? Remember how obnoxious Four was? Ever wonder what he was thinking? I know I did!

Free Four is a short re-telling of that key piece of Divergent from Four's point of view. A very interesting point of view! It's short and sweet and if you have read Divergent it's a pretty awesome little bonus.

I can't help but think though, if I had read this short story before (or even during) Divergent, my vision of who and what Four is would have been very different. I would have to say, for fans of this series, it would be a good idea to read this one in between books 1 and 2.

Not really a story for those you haven't read Divergent as it doesn't make a lot of sense out of context.

Extras? Yes - excerpts from Divergent and Insurgent plus an introduction from the author.

Will I continue the series? Yes! Reading this really got me excited (again) for Insurgent.

Worth the price? It was free when I read it off of the Divergent Facebook page. Annoying because I really dislike Facebook. You can buy it now for $.99 or read a sample of it for free still on FB. It's only 16 pages long and even though it was interesting and I really enjoyed it, my bitter side says it's not worth the money. Wish the publisher had kept it free!

It's also available in the Collector's Edition of Insurgent - If you haven't bought yours yet, I would get this one!

On My Reader (17) - June 30, 2012

On My Reader posts are were I highlight recent ebooks I've added to my digital collection :)

Found a couple more free online short stories plus something hilarious from NetGalley

Insider Information: A Possession Short Story (Possession #0.5) by Elana Johnson

You can read this one right on Goodreads

I've had Possession forever but haven't read it yet. I'm hoping this short story will get me excited for the series again.

Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story (Divergent #1.1) by Veronica Roth

A scene from Divergent told from Four's point of view!

You can read this one now on Facebook or wait until August and buy the Kindle version

For Review from NetGalley:

Fifty Shames of Earl Grey by Andrew Shaffer

I really tried to get through Fifty Shades of Grey but the writing was just too horrible! I'm looking forward to reading this spoof though :)

So, what's on your readers?

Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

***2011 Debut Author***

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publication Date: May 2011
Pages: 496
Series: 1st in a series
Acquisition: bought

Summary:

Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances. (from Goodreads)

My thoughts:
From the moment ARCs starting falling into eager reader's hands I have heard nothing but good things about Divergent. Lots of fangirl excitement, lots of people lost for words at how very excellent they thought this book was. The hype was (and still is) HUGE!

And you're wondering…..was it warranted? I say - "Oh hell yeah!"

I love this book. I love it for it's characters, for it's dystopian world, for it's emotion - both of love and of hate. Best of all, I love it for it's simplicity. Dystopian tales run the risk of being too messy. Too many factors at play at once with too many possibilities. Not so with Divergent. It's dystopian playground is clean and believable. The world is different from ours today but it's still very much our world. This makes the actions of each character vivid and real.

And the characters! I really did fall in love with every one of them. Very believable and very enjoyable to read. Especially Tris. She is just a strong person, both emotionally and, she discovers, physically as well.

Again though, it was the dystopian world that Veronica created that kept my attention. It's a little strange and pretty harsh but it makes sense. The rules that govern society are logical and the characters actions fit exactly into the molds they should fit into.

That's not to say there weren't any surprises because there were but they were very welcomed and enjoyable to read!

Final verdict:
Divergent is a book that stays with you for a while after you turn that last page. I find myself wondering just what faction I would choose!

I'm very excited there will be more book in this series because I feel very invested in Tris's story and even though a lot of things were worked through in Divergent, there is the potential for a lot more to be told.

I highly recommend this book to fans of dystopian YA stories - I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Overall Rating:

5 / 5 Stars

Books in the Divergent Series:
Divergent
Insurgent (May 2012)
Untitled (2013)

Linkage Love:
Katherine Tegan / HarperCollins
Author's Website
Goodreads