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Divergent is the story of Beatrice Prior, a sixteen year old teenage girl living in a futuristic Chicago. Roth's dystopian vision features an even more polarized society than we are living in now (hard to imagine, I know), which has resulted in the creation of five factions, each centered around one particular virtue: Candor which focuses on strict honesty, Abnegation which is selfless at all costs, Dauntless the always brave, Amity the peaceful, and the Erudite who value education and intelligence above all else.

Annually, a ceremony is held in which all sixteen year olds must choose the faction to which they will dedicate their lives. After their choice, they are forced to undergo an initiation, which if they fail leaves them as cast offs of society. Beatrice, our plucky yet conflicted heroin, has been raised with the teachings of her abnegation family, but feels herself not truly selfless enough to remain in the faction of her birth for the rest of her life. I won't tell you what choice she makes, but honestly, I think you'll be able to guess within the first few pages. The remainder of the novel follows Beatrice, now known as Tris, as she struggles to survive initiation and become a member of her chosen faction.

Divergent is a fun and fast read. I did find the concept of the five factions a bit hard to swallow, which I think made it hard for me to get really invested in this read. However, if I am honest the most challenging aspect of this book for me was that it wasn't the Hunger Games, which is what I was really yearning for. Still, I am excited that Divergent is only the first on a planned trilogy, and I am planning on continuing on with Tris in the next installment. Is it wrong for me to hope that Veronica Roth spends some serious time with Susan Collins while writing the sequels?

Genre: Adult Fiction

When I first read the horrific accounts of the Fritzl case on the internet I couldn't stop thinking about it. I couldn't even imagine the frustration, despair, and disorientation that a victim of such a long and isolated imprisonment would suffer. So, I was intrigued when I first heard about "Room", a novel that was inspired by the Fritzl case.

"Room" is the story of a boy named Jack, who in the opening pages of the novel has just turned five years old. Jack has lived the entirety of his life in a single room, in the company of his mother. The only visitor to the room is a mysterious man who Jack knows only as Old Nick. Old Nick always appears after 9:00 in the evening, and Jack's mother keeps him locked away safely in her wardrobe during these visits. Jack is a truly precocious child in many ways, but in others he has a limited understanding. He believes that the world he sees on television, including other people, trees, buildings, and animals are all "pretend."

I thought this book was very well written. Donoghue did a wonderful job in the development of Jack's character. At times I wished I knew a little bit more about some of other characters, but this limitation was more a product of Jack's first person narrative than the result of poor writing. I have read some who criticized the novel, particularly Jack's escape as improbable. The details of the escape didn't bother me so much, as the entire story of their imprisonment and its results were almost beyond belief, yet were based on real events. This novel made me think about how amazing it is that such things can happen under our noses, in our own communities, in the backyard next door.

I really enjoyed "Room" and found it to be thought provoking, insightful, and a page turner!

Genre: Science Fiction

I first discovered Elizabeth Moon almost a decade ago when I read "Sporting Chance." Since then, I've enjoyed several of her books, but I don't think I ever really appreciated what a gifted writer she is until I read "The Speed of the Dark."

Initially, I was somewhat hesitant to read this book as it didn't sound like a standard science fiction offering. The novel tells the story of Lou Arrendale, an autistic man in a future where those with autism are able to be cured at birth. Lou was born after these amazing developments, but was able to benefit from improvements in the treatment of autism that have left him more than capable to function on his own. Lou's primary difficulty seems to be a tendency to take the words of those he calls "normals" literally and to have difficulty in understanding their facial expressions. Throughout the course of the novel, Lou faces several momentous occurrences that challenge his own understanding of himself and his disability. Ultimately, he must decide if he is willing to take the chance to become "normal," or to remain as he is.

The above is a very simplified explanation of the plot, but I don't want to give too much of the plot away. Personally, I enjoyed Lou's journey of self exploration, specifically as he came to realize that the concept of "normal" as he had always thought of it didn't really exist. There were more than a few times that reading this book made me feel a bit angry at those who seemed almost intent on making Lou feel like less of a person. Moon is the mother of an autistic son, and her knowledge and passion about the subject was evident in her writing. That being said, I found the novel to be more enlightening than preachy. The book was an unexpected delight, and I recommend it to those who enjoy character driven novels, science fiction fans and non fans alike.