Divergent by Veronica Roth

Sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior lives in the city of Chicago. But it's not the Chicago most people are familiar with. This Chicago is in the distant future. The city is divided into five distinct groups, called factions. Abnegation, created for selfless and particularly caring citizens; Amity, meant for the peaceful; Candor, to which the honest belong; Dauntless, intended for the brave; and Erudite, for the knowledgeable. On the same day of each year, all sixteen-year-olds take aptitude tests that will tell them for which faction they are best suited. On the following day, the Choosing Ceremony takes place. In this ceremony, each sixteen-year-old chooses the faction in which they would like to belong. This tradition is more than forty years old, and nothing has ever gone wrong-- until it’s time for Beatrice to make her decision. During her aptitude test, the results turn out inconclusive, as she fits into all factions. This makes her "Divergent", and she is told never to share this information with anyone if she wants to stay alive. At the Choosing Ceremony, she decides to join the Dauntless. In her new faction, she learns many lessons, including “Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it,” and “Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up.” But, the best lessons come from your own mistakes, as Beatrice meets many challenges and changes while in her new faction, and death suddenly becomes a reality.

When asked about where her inspiration for writing Divergent came from she author Veronica Roth: “There is a precise moment when the writer starts their story, and so it seems like there had to be a precise moment when they came up with the idea for it.The thing is, for a lot of writers, it's more complicated than that. For those of us who didn't have a vivid dream, or ask ourselves a "what if" question, or any of the other concrete ways that ideas come to people, it's actually difficult to answer.” For her, Divergent really happened when a bunch of pieces of inspiration popped into her mind. She began writing it from the point of view of a character that was less involved in the scheme of events, but she felt that it limited her creativity. It was when she discovered Beatrice that she was able to write the full book, four years later.

Follow Beatrice as she struggles to accept herself. Once she joins her new faction, she renames herself Tris, thinking that it would change who she really is. She wants to be strong, but she isn’t. She wants to beleive that “selflessness and bravery aren't all that different.” But she can’t. Most of all, she wants to have integrity because “Lies require commitment,” but she can’t. And since she can’t help but let her true self show, and she struggles to keep her secret: Divergence. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her almost perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves. Or destroy her.

The author, Veronica Roth is the author of Divergent, a New York Times Bestseller. The 23 year old lives in Chicago with her husband, Nelson Fitch. She is a very experienced fictional novelist, having written the fantastical Divergent trilogy: Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant. She has also written a book of short stories, entitled "Hearken". She has won the New York Times Bestselling Author award twice, as well as the Goodreads Favorite Book of 2011 and the 2012 Goodreads winner for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction.

I would recommend this book to readers who seek the next Harry Potter. Although this novel has supreme levels of violence, it is action packed and a fast read. So, if you are a young adult and enjoy quick, action packed books, this is a must-read.

If you enjoy Divergent, make sure you don’t miss the next two books in the Divergent trilogy- Insurgent and Allegiant.

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