Divergent, by Veronica Roth

I can see why this became so popular; it's a seriously fun ride! Roth helped make this genre - which I call Young Adult Dystopia and Apocalypse - popular. It's fast-paced and exciting, tapping into that desire we all have to be special in some way. Tris is special but, like Harry Potter, like Katniss Everdeen, she is unsure and unsteady. This is, of course, part and parcel of being a teenager. Everyone that age is unsure of who they are, confused about what they want and who they should become. These hero figures who keep popping up are the teenage condition writ large. Especially when written in the first person, like this one, the stories make you feel a part of something bigger and sweep you up in the grand emotions of adolescence, and apocalypse. Will I read the rest of the books? Maybe...if the mood strikes me.