Review: I’ll be honest, I wasn’t super excited about this book. It was one, like Twilight that I knew many teens were reading and had been made into a movie. I also had seen it on lists saying “If you liked The Hunger Games then you might like…” When I found it cheap at Marshall’s I figured I’d pick it up. Well, consider me a convert. I LOVED IT. I guess I really can’t get enough of the dystopian YA genre! I found the concept different, loved the Chicago references, and enjoyed the variety of characters.
If I used this in the classroom I’d probably use it in a 9th grade class and as a quick- not overly in depth novel study. I think there’s a lot to the book, but there are other books that I think make better class reads. I’ve seen middle school students reading it, and that’s probably fine, but there are some sexual undertones that may or may not be appropriate depending on their maturity. That said, I really really admire the way Roth handles intimacy between Tris and Four.
Have you seen the movie? I haven’t made it out there quite yet!
The Lowdown: (from Scholastic.com)
Interest Level: 8
Grade Level: 9 (What?! A YA book whose grade level is higher than the interest level! Praise be!)
Filed under: Dystopia, First Love/Crushes, Fitting In, New Kid, Science-Fiction/Fantasy, Sexual Assault, Teen Boys, Teen Girls, Uncategorized, YALSA Awards | Tagged: Veronica Roth, YA Literature, Young Adult | Leave a comment »
YA Lit- The Good, The Bad, The Ugly 