Thursday, September 15, 2011

DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth


Beatrice is about to make the biggest decision of her life.  She was born in the Chicago of the future.  Her childhood has been spent along the swampy shores of what was once said to be a great and magnificent lake.  Raised wearing nothing but gray and learning that self-sacrifice is the most important thing in life; Beatrice is now sixteen and is on her way to complete her aptitude test and then attend the Choosing Ceremony.

In the Choosing Ceremony she will decide which faction is to be her future home.  Raised in the Abgenation faction to believe in selflessness, she must choose whether to stay or switch to the Amity faction and its peaceful ways, the Dauntless faction and live a life of bravery, the Candor faction where honesty rules, or the Erudite faction which represents intelligence.  Whatever she chooses, it could mean leaving her parents and her brother and never seeing them again.

When Beatrice's aptitude test is complete, the results are inconclusive.  The test usually indicates the faction that will be the best future fit for each teen, but Beatrice's abnormal score must be manually recorded.  Her inconclusive score means she is classified as Divergent forcing the testing official to manually record Beatrice's native Abgenation is as her final result.  Now in the Choosing Ceremony she will have to decide if that is indeed the direction she will take.

When Beatrice chooses Dauntless, it comes as a surprise to her parents and even her brother Caleb whose own choice of Erudite causes shock waves of its own.  After the Ceremony Beatrice must hurry to pack and say her quick goodbyes before she is hustled off to begin her life in the Dauntless faction.

Bravery and courage above all else is now the future for Beatrice who selects the name of Tris.  She and her fellow initiates face one frightening test after another.  The first is leaping onto a moving train followed by later jumping off the speeding rail car onto the roof of a multi-story building.  To earn the right to become an official member of the Dauntless faction, Tris must pass tests of physical strength and endurance, and prove that she has the mental stamina to face her hidden fears.

The pressure is on for every sixteen year old to earn a spot in their chosen faction.  If they fail, it means living the rest of their lives in factionless poverty.  Tris has the added complication of being secretly labeled as Divergent, and her life is at stake if anyone finds out.

DIVERGENT is author Veronica Roth's first book.  Fans of dystopian fiction will be thrilled to learn that this exciting novel is just the first in a series.  Filled with danger, intrigue, and romance DIVERGENT is on track to be a huge success.

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