deborahmarkus7

I don't mind a weak premise if the writing is engaging enough. At first, I enjoyed this book -- enough that I even felt a little guilty, since this world makes the Twilight universe seem grittily realistic in comparison.

Ultimately, though, the goofiness did me in. All those trains. And tattoos. And train tattoos. (I may have dreamed that last one.)

Okay, and part of me died a little every time someone listed the faction names, because they all use different parts of speech AND THAT'S NOT OKAY. If the friendly faction's called "Amity," the brave one should be called "Dauntlessness", damn it. If the smart one's called "Erudite," they should all die in an extremely pretentious fire. And don't even get me started on "Abnegation."

And, okay, fine, it bugs me that an American writer would talk about a potential political revolution that would give citizens more choices when it comes to elected officials as a bad thing.

Plus: THE TITLE. For crying out corn, really? It's, like, vanishingly rare to have people who might be good at more than one thing? People who are a big fat pain in the butt because they hate being told what to do and ask inconvenient questions at awkward times? I thought those were called teenagers.

I have exactly no urge to read the rest of the trilogy, and bear in mind I say that as someone who managed two and a half of the Twilight books before calling it quits.

This book just didn't work for me.