Today: Mar 29, 2024

“Divergent” becomes the hottest book of the summer

The hit trilogy by Veronica Roth

Kelsey Mix – Copy Editor/Online Editor

If you enjoyed the Hunger Games, there is no telling that you won’t fall in love with the Divergent trilogy. This new dystopian series by Veronica Roth took off after the release of the final book, Allegiant, this past year. Very much like the Hunger Games, a film is in the works for the first book and is set to premiere in 2014.

The constant comparison to the Hunger Games trilogy is somewhat correct, but the similarities end at the shared genre and set up of the dystopian world. In Divergent, there are five factions that each represents a different human trait: Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (bravery), Candor (honesty), Erudite (intelligence), and Amity (peaceful).

When a teenager turns 16, they are forced to undergo an aptitude test and the results will tell them which faction they should belong to. Key word in this case is “should.” Divergent is focused around the life of Beatrice Prior, who is an Abnegation citizen of the age to choose which of the five factions she will be a part of for the rest of her life. Occasionally, there are issues that arise with certain people and they test equal for more than one faction; this makes them “Divergent.”

These Divergent citizens cause problems for the government, but the results for each test are kept confidential so they don’t know for sure who is Divergent and who isn’t. Now, I’m not going to reveal which faction Beatrice chooses, because that wouldn’t be any fun. Although, Beatrice will definitely keep you guessing throughout the novel with her brave yet spontaneous decisions.

The hit trilogy by Veronica Roth
The first installment by Veronica Roth

After the tests, there’s a choosing ceremony for the 16-year-olds to make their final decision in front of all of the factions. Immediately following, the new initiates join the faction of their choice and start their first stage of initiation. There are two stages to the initiation and not everyone is guaranteed to become a member after initiation is over. You’re not even guaranteed your life, as a matter of fact. If you survive but don’t receive a high enough ranking, you will become “factionless.” I think the thought of that speaks for itself.

What always gets me about Divergent is that there are elements in the book that are very real and relatable. There are emotions and people we can connect with, such as love, friendships, family, etc., and when you set these (what seem like) normal people in a dystopian world, you become very aware of how real it could be.  You start asking yourself, “What if?” at certain points in the book and your mind starts to wander into a pretty weird territory.

Dystopian novels happen to be my favorite for this specific reason. There are definitely far-fetched ideas in this series, but when you get so immersed in the story, you believe that it could actually happen one day. The genre itself is so creative and throws you into a completely different world that you never thought could exist, even if it’s just in a book.

I would even go as far to say that the Divergent series is better than the Hunger Games series. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of the Hunger Games books and movies, but Divergent is a favorite of mine in general and I really do hope that the movies live up to the high expectations of all the Divergent fans. If you haven’t picked this up yet, clearly I would highly recommend that you do! You will not be disappointed and I assure you that you will fly through it and need to read the sequels as soon as you finish the first.

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