Divergent: The #1 New York Times Bestselling Young Adult Dystopian Novel of Courage, Choice, and Transformation (Divergent Series, 1)
Now available in a gorgeous, deluxe limited edition—with an exclusive preview of The Sixth Faction, the beginning of a bold new Divergent series.
This first book in Veronica Roth's #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent series; the novel that inspired a major motion picture and captured the hearts of millions of teen and adult readers.
Perfect for fans of the Hunger Games and Maze Runner series, Divergent and its sequels, Insurgent and Allegiant, are the gripping story of a dystopian world transformed by courage, self-sacrifice, and love. Fans of the Divergent movie will find the book packed with just as much emotional depth and exhilarating action as the film, all told in beautiful, rich language.
One choice can transform you. Beatrice Prior's society is divided into five factions—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). Beatrice must choose between staying with her Abnegation family and transferring factions.
Her choice will shock her community and herself. But the newly christened Tris also has a secret, one she's determined to keep hidden, because in this world, what makes you different makes you dangerous.
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Readers say *Divergent* is a fast-paced, engaging dystopian novel with intriguing world-building around distinct factions. Many agree the first book i...
I admittedly avoiding reading this series. I couldn't be bothered with another YA dystopian adventure where teenagers save a broken world. The entire context of the plot is too far fetched for me. I work with teens everyday - trust me when I say, if this world (which is our own kind of dystopia) comes to an end, we are screwed. Even our smartest kids are lost without absolute direction.
But, I must confess I enjoyed the book. It's an action packed adventure that has new conflict on every page. Roth weaves an interesting metaphorical tale about human tendencies and carefully constructs an idea that we are all a bit divergent. None of us can truly be all-knowing (Erudite), honest (Candor), selfless (Abnegation), peaceful (Amity), or brave (Dauntless). Yet, we all possesses some of these qualities some of the time. The context of the novel indicates that each of these specialties should be separated, but in truth, they work together seeking a universal truth among a struggled idea. Nice paradox there Ms. Roth (23 years old and rocking a book series and movie contract!).
Beatrice, the protagonist, must choose her faction. She comes from a family of Abnegation and it is expected that most children will remain in their faction with their family; she and her brother Caleb are no exception to this. All sixteen-year-olds undergo a series of tests to justify their faction choice, but for Beatrice, the results are inconclusive - she's divergent. She equally possesses qualities of multiple factions. This is a problem for the "powers that be" because it makes her dangerous, uncontrollable. Basically, she can't be brainwashed by one idea because she entertains many.
Showing great bravery, she chooses to leave her faction and family behind to join Dauntless - a thrill-seeking, brave, adrenaline junkie faction that serves as the protector of their nation. (Isn't that selfless in a way....ay, there's the rub). She meets ruthless other teens that have become a part of Dauntless, and through a series of challenges, reigns supreme amongst the recruits while keep her divergence a secret. Oh, and she falls in love with a boy. Of course she finds a boy - Four. Another intricately written and complex character. Each faction lives their own lives in their own way; borders are not crossed.
However, as we all know, peace can't last forever. An uprising in the Erudite faction over the way the Abnegation faction handles the central government leads to a simulated civil war in which the new Dauntless are controlled through government power. But not Beatrice, she can't be controlled, she's Divergent.
Divergent is the first book in a trilogy by Roth. I'm currently reading Insurgent, book two in the series and I feel comfortable saying I'm going to enjoy it. All I ask Roth is please don't turn Beatrice into a love-sick traditional woman in the end without a believable transformation. Not that I have any objection to this idea (I'm quite traditional myself), but I hate perpetuating the myth of reliance on a man even within traditions. Don't let Beatrice become Katniss Everdeen - that's really all I'm asking.
For more about Veronica Roth, visit her blog at: http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/p/books.html
But, I must confess I enjoyed the book. It's an action packed adventure that has new conflict on every page. Roth weaves an interesting metaphorical tale about human tendencies and carefully constructs an idea that we are all a bit divergent. None of us can truly be all-knowing (Erudite), honest (Candor), selfless (Abnegation), peaceful (Amity), or brave (Dauntless). Yet, we all possesses some of these qualities some of the time. The context of the novel indicates that each of these specialties should be separated, but in truth, they work together seeking a universal truth among a struggled idea. Nice paradox there Ms. Roth (23 years old and rocking a book series and movie contract!).
Beatrice, the protagonist, must choose her faction. She comes from a family of Abnegation and it is expected that most children will remain in their faction with their family; she and her brother Caleb are no exception to this. All sixteen-year-olds undergo a series of tests to justify their faction choice, but for Beatrice, the results are inconclusive - she's divergent. She equally possesses qualities of multiple factions. This is a problem for the "powers that be" because it makes her dangerous, uncontrollable. Basically, she can't be brainwashed by one idea because she entertains many.
Showing great bravery, she chooses to leave her faction and family behind to join Dauntless - a thrill-seeking, brave, adrenaline junkie faction that serves as the protector of their nation. (Isn't that selfless in a way....ay, there's the rub). She meets ruthless other teens that have become a part of Dauntless, and through a series of challenges, reigns supreme amongst the recruits while keep her divergence a secret. Oh, and she falls in love with a boy. Of course she finds a boy - Four. Another intricately written and complex character. Each faction lives their own lives in their own way; borders are not crossed.
However, as we all know, peace can't last forever. An uprising in the Erudite faction over the way the Abnegation faction handles the central government leads to a simulated civil war in which the new Dauntless are controlled through government power. But not Beatrice, she can't be controlled, she's Divergent.
Divergent is the first book in a trilogy by Roth. I'm currently reading Insurgent, book two in the series and I feel comfortable saying I'm going to enjoy it. All I ask Roth is please don't turn Beatrice into a love-sick traditional woman in the end without a believable transformation. Not that I have any objection to this idea (I'm quite traditional myself), but I hate perpetuating the myth of reliance on a man even within traditions. Don't let Beatrice become Katniss Everdeen - that's really all I'm asking.
For more about Veronica Roth, visit her blog at: http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/p/books.html
Divergent was one of those books that's been on my shelf for a while and I've heard a lot about it, especially because it was recommended for fans of Hunger Games. So naturally, I wait a while until I decide it's a good time for me to pick it up--which happened to be when I was trying to figure out a list of YA I should study for my Independent Study class next semester.
I don't know how I expected to feel about this book. I approached it with the academic in mind, which might be why it took be a little longer to invest emotionally in it. I knew that the main character (Beatrice "Tris" Prior) would be identified early on as 'special,' she would engage in training activities, and guessing by the title and subsequent books to follow, she would lead a rebellion against her dystopian society. Okay, pretty much genre-standard here for series books.
It wasn't until I realize that other people--namely, her mother--know more than they let on that I started to really get into the story. From then, I read the rest of it at a breakneck pace and switched from my academic-mode to the entertained-reader-mode. Every moment I could, I'd pick up the book and read on.
So, though I recognize why people identify this as good for fans of Hunger Games, please know that this ISN'T HG. She isn't Katniss, though at times, I felt that Tris could be somewhat unyielding in her voice. The violence in the book is different from the that in the HG Arena and I think there are some other (different?) "real/gritty" things that come up in this book, including abuse, sexual assault, and the death of loved one(s). I am curious to see how these sorts of things continue to inform Tris's character and her decisions, but I also want to see her deal with these things and struggle with them. I don't know whether these things are explored more in INSURGENT or not, but I plan on reading it to find out.
All in all, the writing was smooth (but I didn't always like the repetition of sentences/emotions, i.e. "I don't know; I don't know; I don't know."--almost always in 3's, and often separated by semicolons--a fine technique, but when used regularly, it was less impactful for me), and the story eventually drew me in so that I wanted to see what would happen. I admire Tris, but don't necessarily know if I like her more than I like anyone else in the story--including Four. In a way, I feel somewhat indifferent, but I do feel bad for her as the story unfolds and some terrible things happen to her. I think that's the only thing keeping me from rating this book 5-stars: my love for the characters isn't as deep as I'd like it to be. But maybe that will change in INSURGENT!
I don't know how I expected to feel about this book. I approached it with the academic in mind, which might be why it took be a little longer to invest emotionally in it. I knew that the main character (Beatrice "Tris" Prior) would be identified early on as 'special,' she would engage in training activities, and guessing by the title and subsequent books to follow, she would lead a rebellion against her dystopian society. Okay, pretty much genre-standard here for series books.
It wasn't until I realize that other people--namely, her mother--know more than they let on that I started to really get into the story. From then, I read the rest of it at a breakneck pace and switched from my academic-mode to the entertained-reader-mode. Every moment I could, I'd pick up the book and read on.
So, though I recognize why people identify this as good for fans of Hunger Games, please know that this ISN'T HG. She isn't Katniss, though at times, I felt that Tris could be somewhat unyielding in her voice. The violence in the book is different from the that in the HG Arena and I think there are some other (different?) "real/gritty" things that come up in this book, including abuse, sexual assault, and the death of loved one(s). I am curious to see how these sorts of things continue to inform Tris's character and her decisions, but I also want to see her deal with these things and struggle with them. I don't know whether these things are explored more in INSURGENT or not, but I plan on reading it to find out.
All in all, the writing was smooth (but I didn't always like the repetition of sentences/emotions, i.e. "I don't know; I don't know; I don't know."--almost always in 3's, and often separated by semicolons--a fine technique, but when used regularly, it was less impactful for me), and the story eventually drew me in so that I wanted to see what would happen. I admire Tris, but don't necessarily know if I like her more than I like anyone else in the story--including Four. In a way, I feel somewhat indifferent, but I do feel bad for her as the story unfolds and some terrible things happen to her. I think that's the only thing keeping me from rating this book 5-stars: my love for the characters isn't as deep as I'd like it to be. But maybe that will change in INSURGENT!
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