Book
Summary:
In a
futuristic time, the citizens of Chicago live among five factions. The citizens
of each fiction model their lives after certain beliefs. Abnegation citizens
live to be selfless and help people. Dauntless admire bravery and courage. Candor citizens live their lives to be
truthful. Erudite citizens value
intelligence while Amity citizens value peace.
When faction citizens reach the age of sixteen, they are given an
aptitude test to determine what faction they will become. For Beatrice Prior, her test results are inconclusive.
She is considered Divergent. She decides
to join the Dauntless faction. While
going through initiation, Beatrice discovers a plot that will bring down her
old faction, Abnegation. Beatrice must
not only prove her bravery and strength as she goes through Dauntless training,
but save her former family from war.
APA Reference of the Book:
Roth, V. (2011). Divergent.
New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Impressions:
Divergent combines the fantasy,
sci-fiction element of a dystopian society with mystery. The beginning of the book starts out slow as
Beatrice explains her family life and the factions of Chicago. Upon taking her
placement test to determine what faction Beatrice truly belongs to, her results
are inconclusive. She can remain in Abnegation or pick Dauntless, but she is
considered divergent. She must not discuss her test results, or her life will
be in danger. The pace of the book picks up as Beatrice becomes Tris and goes
through the initiation stages of the Dauntless faction. Tris is burdened with trying to discover if
she belongs with the Dauntless faction or the Abnegation faction. Throughout the book, Tris is trying to
uncover what it means to be divergent, and her own self-identity. During her Dauntless training, Tris makes
some enemies and friends, but she also learns of a plot the Erudite faction has
to start a war with the Abnegation faction.
Although
I did enjoy reading this book, I did not really get into the book until the
last one hundred pages. I had a hard time identifying with the emotions Tris
was experiencing. The mystery of the
plot intrigued me more than the fantasy of the plot. The more I read, the more
I wanted to uncover the secrecy of being divergent and the reason behind the
Erudite wanting to involve the Dauntless in the war against the Abnegation
citizens. The book concludes with a
cliffhanger as the book is part of a three-part series. I am curious to see how
the series will end. I found this book to be similar to the Hunger Games series. As I read Divergent,
I could foresee a revolution occurring and Tris being the citizen to act as the
leader and bring the uprising down. I
did find it interesting that each faction looks down on the other
factions. The values that each faction
has are mocked by the other factions. The
factions are set up in a very separatist society, and they do not appreciate
the goodness of other factions. It seems
to be a metaphor for today’s society where race, culture, and religious beliefs
and differences are not really understood.
Reviews:
From Bulletin of the
Center for Children’s Books-
In this dystopian adventure set in a future Chicago, citizens
derive identity from belonging to one of five factions, and to be factionless
makes you essentially invisible. Beatrice has grown up in Abnegation, but the
test administered to all sixteen-year-olds reveals that she is actually a
divergent, an extremely rare individual who doesn’t respond to the simulations
as expected. She is told she could be Erudite, Dauntless, or Abnegation, but it
takes Beatrice little time to decide that she belongs with the reckless,
apparently fearless defenders of the community—the Dauntless. Once allied with
her faction, Beatrice must grapple with her outsider status, some new romantic
feelings, the risk to her life from both the initiation rites and those who
fear her peculiar status, and her own uncertainty about the five-faction system
as a realistic and productive way to shape the world. It’s a lot for one teen
to soak in, especially as she’s finally found her niche when pursuing purely
physical exertions and she’s tentatively bonding with friends she has clearly
longed for her whole life. Beatrice has plenty of folks around her, however,
who are aware that change comes through sacrifice, focus, and daring, and Roth
wisely allows her protagonist to learn through their examples rather than
making her the perfect heroine from the start. Beatrice is all the more likable
for her faults, and the rather one-note side characters are acceptable as foils
and guides to keep the reader focused on the girl who hopes to change the world.
While dystopias are popping up all over right now, the depth and richness of
Beatrice herself make this an accessible option for both sci-fi buffs and
realistic fiction fans, lending this title a bit more flexibility than most in
terms of audience.
Spisak, A. (May 2011). [Review
of Divergent by Veronica Roth.] Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
64(1), 438. Available from Project Muse at http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2124/article/429934
In the Library:
I think this book lends itself well for a book club read. Divergent
poses the question of how do individuals learn to get along in a society of
mixed beliefs, culture, and practices? Divergent would be a great book talk book. Readers could discuss what faction they feel
they would belong to and why. Readers
could discuss how they pick their friends and what qualities they value in
their relationships with family members and friends. This books lends itself well to the discussion
of standardize testing and how the results shape the outcome of students’
lives, especially the SAT, ACT, or college entrance exams. Students could
relate picking factions to picking colleges or careers.
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