Bibliographic Information

Roth, V. (2011). Divergent. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

ISBN: 978-0-06-202402-2

 

Plot Summary

Divergent by Veronica Roth is about Beatrice Pior who lives in a futuristic society made up of five factions: Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, Amity and Candor. Beatrice and her brother were born into the faction Abnegation. Beatrice has always felt out of place in her faction, unlike her parents and brother. When Beatrice turns 16 she is finally able to take an aptitude test which will tell her which faction she should be in. Her test however tells her that she is suited for three factions, Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite. This makes her a Divergent, which also makes her a danger to society. With some help she is able to hide her results and join the Dauntless faction. Her choice to leave the Abnegation faction is shocking not only to herself, but to everyone around her. Her brother who also took the aptitude test finds out that he is best suited for Erudite and chooses to leave Abnegation too. Beatrice soon begins the journey of going through mental and physical trials as part of joining the Dauntless faction. If she fails to complete these trials she will become faction-less. During these trials she decides to leave her old life behind and go by the name Tris. She also meets Four a dauntless instructor, that she begins to have feelings for. As time passes Tris begins to hear rumors of conflict between Erudite and Abnegation. The conflict eventually elevates into a war between factions, and Tris must choose sides in her fight to survive.

 

Critical Evaluation

The aptitude test that Tris takes at 16 represents the tough decisions teens make everyday. Each faction stands for something different, Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (bravery), Erudite (intelligence), Amity (peacefulness), and Candor (honesty). In Divergent these teens can only choose to be one of these things, however Tris’s character finds that she has characteristics from more than one faction. She has to pretend to fit into one and make a decision that will dictate the rest of her life. Teens today experience similar types of decision making as they apply for college or jobs. Their expected to make decisions as they get older that will influence their lives forever. I think it is interesting that Tris belonged in more than one faction because I think it shows that humans aren’t all the same. Their society started to fall apart, because they tried to fit everyone into five factions. There was no room for differences and it made me think about how often teens try to fit themselves neatly into societal expectations. Tris’ character didn’t fit neatly into a box and for that reason she should have been ousted from society. Tris’ differences in the end however make her more valuable to the survival of their society, because she realizes what is wrong with their current structure. I think the message here for teens is that their differences make them important, that it is okay to be more than one thing, and to question societal norms.

 

Reader’s Annotation

What makes an ideal society? Is it selflessness, bravery, intelligence, peacefulness, honesty? You can only choose one and be forewarned that what you chose will determine the rest of your life.

 

Author Information

The following information was taken from the author’s biography, http://www.veronicarothbooks.com/bio/.

 

“I’m Veronica. I write books for young adults. Specifically, I wrote the books Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant, and Four: A Divergent Collection. I like things. Some of those things are (in no particular order): Harry Potter, rain, YA, books, puns, cute animals, tea, sitcoms, grammar, writing, Chicago, Doc Martens, trains, flat stretches of prairie land, cold weather months, and so on.”

 

The following information was taken from the author’s biography, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Veronica-Roth

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"Veronica Roth, (born August 19, 1988, New York, New York, U.S.) American writer known for her Divergent trilogy of science-fiction novels for young adults, which unfolds as a coming-of-age story set in a postapocalyptic Chicago. Roth, who grew up in Barrington, Illinois, began writing at an early age and was an avid reader. She was a fan of the works of writer Lois Lowry, especially of Lowry’s The Giver (1993), often cited as the original young-adult dystopian novel. When Roth reached high school, she became a practicing Christian. Her path to religion was a theme that she often referenced in her novels. Prior to graduating (2010) from Northwestern University, where she studied creative writing, Roth penned Divergent, the first installment in the trilogy, over winter break during her senior year. Roth took her manuscript to a writers conference in March 2010 and secured an agent. The book was sold the following month to HarperCollins. It debuted in 2011 at number six on the New York Times best-seller list. Insurgent, released in 2012, captured the number one spot on that list. Roth had clearly hit her stride at the right moment—the niche market for dystopian novels was blossoming, and her offerings came on the heels of the popular Twilight and Hunger Games young-adult series. Roth’s fan base grew quickly, and when Allegiant came out in 2013, it became the most-preordered book ever issued by HarperCollins. The trilogy was a huge commercial success, with more than 30 million copies sold by 2015."

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Genre

Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopian

 

Curriculum Ties

N/A

 

Booktalking Ideas

• What faction would you be and why?

• Would you have made the same decision to join Dauntless like Tris did? Why or Why not?

• Why do you think there aren’t more Divergent people in the book?

 

Reading Level/ Interest Age

Grades 6-12

 

Challenge Issues

Sexual Content, Language, Violence

 

Challenge Issue Resources (for usage in a challenge situation)

• Active Listening

• Explanation of why it was chosen for the collection (Rational)

• Awards

• Reader Advisory Reviews (Students, Parents, Educators)

• Positive and Negative Reviews

• National Council of Teachers “Right to Read”

• ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials

• ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom

• Library Selection Policy & Library District Reconsideration Form

 

Why I choose it

I choose to read this book because I love dystopian books! I knew there were popular movies based on the series and I wanted to read them myself.