Today is the day when Beatrice, age 16, and her brother Caleb are going to take the Aptitude Tests that will change their lives forever. They come from a family of Abnegation; people who choose to put others needs ahead of their own and who dress simply and live a life of selflessness. But there are other choices in the world. Beatrice and Caleb could become part of the factions of Candor, Erudite, Amity or the most intimidating of all, Dauntless. Each faction is true to its name and lives in its own style derived from its dominant feature. For Beatrice the world is about to do a complete 180 turn as she goes through the process of the tests and watches the odd reaction of the test giver.
There is something different about how Beatrice responds to the questions. She will be listed as Abnegation but in the moment of truth, she chooses Dauntless and becomes Tris. Now the initiation begins. Standing on the edge of a tall building, the new Dauntless class is told to jump and Tris steps forward, first, and takes the daring plunge. Dauntless is a world of taking no prisoners and giving no quarter. It's survival of the fittest. Does Tris have what it takes to be one of the ten who will make it into Dauntless? Will she even live through the process?
Her group slashes and cries and walks through test after test and challenge after challenge to see who has the right stuff. Beyond the walls of this challenge, hints of a larger conflict begin to emerge. Is someone trying to destroy the society they live in? Is someone worried that the Divergent society members might pose a threat to their power? For those who loved The Hunger Games here is a very worthy contender. Prepare to ask yourself some powerful questions. Prepare to be tested. Prepare to be sucked into a world where you wonder in fascination who am I now and who would I choose to be? I'd give it four and a half stars for action, adventure, a touch of romance, intensity and thrills. Ages 14 and up 487 pages (Reviewed by Barb)
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In this Dystopian novel, five factions exist. Each faction represents a different virtue. Once a year, 16 year olds must choose whether to stay with the faction they were born into and by whose values they were raised, or to leave that faction to spend the rest of their life in one of the other factions. Beatrice has known for most of her life, that she didn’t completely belong in Abnegation, the faction she was born into, but having the courage to choose another, and which to choose, is a decision that she must face. Once the choice is made, Beatrice, now known as Tris, must make it through initiation. Those who don’t make it either die trying, or become faction-less, a fate, to Tris, that is worth than death. Through initiation, Tris must discover who her friends are, if romance is something she wants and can face, and most importantly, learn how to keep the ultimate secret of who, or what, she really is.
Recommended by: Mrs. Shawn Lane, Librarian, Texas USA Review @ https://www.whatireadyesterday.com
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Students at Colquitt County High School in Moultrie, Georiga in collaboration with their fabulous librarian, Cheryl Youse, have created a list of books that match each faction of DIVERGENT. What faction do you belong to?
Dauntless:
Percy Jackson Series and the Kane Chronicles
Maze Runner / Dashner
Abhorsen / Nix
I am Number Four / Lore
Incarceron / Fisher
Keys to the Kingdom Series / Nix
Leverage / Cohen
Eragon / Paolini
(The House of Gryffindor in Harry Potter)
******** Abnegation:
The Impossible Knife of Memory / Anderson
The False Princess / O’Neal
My Book of Life by Angel / Leavitt
Allegiant / Roth
Finnikin of the Rock / Marchetta
Every Day / Levithan
Girl of Fire and Thorns / Carson
The Zookeeper's Wife / Ackerman
(Hagrid from Harry Potter—he went to Azkaban)
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Amity:
Jump / Carbone
Anna and the French Kiss / Perkins
Charlotte’s Web / White
The Perks of Being a Wallflower / Chbosky
Jane / Lindner
(The House of Hufflepuff in Harry Potter)
******** Erudite:
Artemis Fowl series / Colfer
Ready Player One / Cline
Winger / Smith
Erebos / Poznanski
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks / Skloot
(The House of Ravenclaw in Harry Potter)
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Candor:
To Kill a Mockingbird / Lee
The Story of an Hour / Chopin
Where the Red Fern Grows / Rawls
My Life Next Door / Fitzpatrick
Grasshopper Jungle / Smith
The Mockingbirds / Whitney
Hate List / Brown
List created by students at Colquitt County High School in Moultrie, Georgia, and shared by: Cheryl Youse, Media Specialist and Webmaster, Georgia USA
