Divergent Series

Divergent Series

by Veronica Roth

 

Have you ever felt like you just do not belong? Beatrice Prior feels that way every day while with her family and at school in Chicago, Illinois. Throughout her entire life she was told how to act, speak, and think, but at the age of 16 she wonders if she will be able to conform to this society’s ideals for the rest of her life. Fortunately, in this dystopian future, she has the opportunity to switch to a different community, or faction, which has different ideals similar to her own.

            In Veronica Roth’s trilogy Divergent, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue –Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest),  Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent). Every year there is an appointed day when all sixteen-year-olds must decide the faction to which they belong and the value that they will cherish the most for the rest of their lives. If they choose a faction different from their family, they will have little contact afterward and risk shaming the family in the community.  Beatrice was raised in an Abnegation household, and she has to make the biggest decision of her young life – should she stay with her family or stay true to herself? She makes a decision that surprises everyone, even herself.

            Following the Choosing Ceremony, every young person must go through an initiation period. Beatrice, who changed her name to Tris on Choosing Day, finds herself in a highly competitive initiation that challenges her mentally, physically and emotionally. During the initiation, Tris finds that she is able to relate to the other initiates better than anyone before. She quickly makes friends with a group of like-minded youths who encourage her during her search for self-discovery. Throughout her journey, Tris struggles to discover her inner-strength while trying to keep a secret that could put her own life at risk. 

            The author of this series, Veronica Roth, is a 24-year-old author from Chicago. She published the first book in the Trilogy at the age of 22. The series is dystopian literature, so it is similar in theme to Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), The Uglies (Scott Westerfeld) and Unwind (Neal Shusterman).  The first book, Divergent, is currently being made into a movie with actors Shailene Woodley (Tris), Theo James (Four), Kate Winslet (Jeanine), Mekhi Phifer (Max), Ashley Judd (Tris’ mother), Zoe Kravitz (Christina), and many more! It is being filmed right now in Chicago, with a release date in 2014.

Veronica Roth takes an active role in encouraging young adults to read and write. She gives suggestions to youth on everything from how to get started writing to how to get published. Roth’s trilogy has two published books thus far Divergent (2011), Insurgent (2012) and the third unnamed book will be released in October 2013. The series made the New York Times Bestselling list as well as won Roth the Goodreads Choice Awards in 2011. Check out her blog at http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.ca/. She gives updates about her own books, appearances and movie as well as other book suggestions and useful tips for young writers.

The Divergent series already has a strong fan base. Make sure to check out some of the different fan sites on the internet. In addition to many Fansites, Roth and the Divergent series are also Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.