Book Summary: Veronica Roth tells the story
of Beatrice Prior a girl who is approaching her sixteenth birthday. She lives
in post-apocalyptic Chicago, which is made up of a society separated into
different factions. Each faction blames
a specific characteristic for nearly ending the world and therefore lives with
the goal of a particular virtue. She
lives a simple, selfless life as a part of the Abnegation. Her faction blames selfishness for destroying
the world. The Dauntless blame cowardice
so they uphold bravery as their virtue.
Erudites work towards intelligence, Candor is known for honesty, and
Amity are known as the peaceful. All
sixteen-year-olds take a test, which helps them choose which faction they will
remain a part of for the rest of their lives.
Sadly, this means they may leave their family and the life they’ve
always known. Beatrice’s test results
show her strengths lie not in just one faction but in three! She is one of a very few that are called
Divergent since she doesn’t seem to lean towards just one faction. She quickly finds that being Divergent must
stay a secret, as it’s considered dangerous to the current society. She chooses to become Dauntless and like all
the other sixteen-year-olds must complete initiation to truly become apart of
the faction. She shortens her name to
Tris and surprises herself with her bravery and strength during the ruthless
initiation. Initiates must compete for a
few coveted spots in the Dauntless faction or find themselves factionless. Throughout initiation, each person must prove
themselves through brutal trials forcing them to find their courage and
loyalty. Tris discovers imperfections
with the faction system and struggles to keep her secret from anyone including
the Dauntless. Through friendships and
romance during initiation she discovers herself but must figure out where she
belongs.
APA Reference:
Roth, V. (2011).
Divergent. New York, NY: Katherine Tegen Books.
Impressions:
I didn’t expect to get drawn in so quickly to Divergent. It was an
exciting dystopian story with a likeable heroine. The idea of a people choosing to group
themselves into factions based off of their similar views and virtues is not
that foreign but I think it is important for readers to see how that this type
of organization of societies is flawed. It
is an interesting alternative future, though.
The relationships Tris makes in the story are appealing to readers as
well and you find yourself rooting for her success with her initiation. I ended up reading Insurgent as well since I
enjoyed Roth’s first book of what will be a trilogy. I hope to read the third when it comes out
next year (I believe).
Professional Review: "In the future, you are born into one of five factions, each of which has its strength and focus: Abnegation (service), Candor (truth), Erudite (intellect), Amity (friendship), or Dauntless (fearlessness). But on your sixteenth birthday, you can choose a new faction if you are so compelled, and that’s what happens to Tris, who shocks everyone by exchanging the drab gray robes of Abnegation for the piercing and tattoo stylings of Dauntless. What follows is a contest, where only the top 10 initiates are accepted into the final group. This framework of elimination provides the book with a built-in tension, as Tris and her new friends—and new enemies—go through a series of emotional and physical challenges akin to joining the marines. Roth is wisely merciless with her characters, though her larger world building is left fuzzy. (Is there a world beyond this dystopian version of Chicago?) The simplistic, color-coded world stretches credibility on occasion, but there is no doubt readers will respond to the gutsy action and romance of this umpteenth spin on Brave New World."
Kraus, D. (2011, March 01). Divergent, by Veronica Roth. Retrieved from http://booklistonline.com/Divergent-Veronica-Roth/pid=4560042
Library Use: I think this book could be featured in a dystopian future week along with Insurgent and The Hunger Games books. If these books were highlighted, I think the media around The Hunger Games could bring in some excitement and spark curiosity towards lesser-known authors writing about the same topic.
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