Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

SBN: 9780062289858

Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books

Copyright Date: 2011

Genre: Dystopian Fiction; Science Fiction

About the Author:

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.

Blumberg, N. Veronica Roth. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Veronica-Roth.

Curriculum Ties:

•  Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
• Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.

Plot Summary:

 In the book Divergent, the future is dystopian, with each person being separated into a different faction which represents their main trait. Tris was born into Abnegation, whose people are humble. However, she doesn’t feel like that is what she wants to be for her life, and when she is tested, she finds that she is divergent, or that she has multiple traits, which is something that society views as dangerous. At 16, when she gets to choose her faction, she chooses Dauntless, who are brave. She has to undergo a difficult training regime, where she has trouble physically because she is small, but she succeeds in simulators because of her divergence. She also gets help from her trainer, Four, who also switched from Abnegation to Dauntless. During her training, she begins to uncover a plot by Erudite to destroy Abnegation, and has to work with Four to save her family and stop Erudite.

Critical Evaluation:

Divergent has a number of themes throughout the book that underline the basic story telling. The first theme is one of identity. At the beginning of the story, Tris has to make a decision on whether to stay an Abnegation or join another faction. She decides she must make her own choice, not the safe choice. This continues through the book, as she does things her own way. Another theme is the concept of challenging your fears. Throughout the training in Dauntless, they are trained to overcome their fears by facing them, like jumping onto a train or onto a roof, and the end of training culminates in a simulation that makes trainees face all of their fears and overcome them. The book also has an extensive amount of it devoted to world building, establishing the different factions, and what their intentions are. There are two other books in this series, so this does lay the groundwork for them, and previews what will happen in the next books. 

Readers Annotation:

Tris Prior has to choose between her family and her own desires. As sixteen, she must choose whether to stay in Abnegation, a faction of humility, or Dauntless, the faction of bravery. However, she soon finds out that she has much bigger problems and must save her family. 

Book Talking Ideas:

• Introduce the concept of factions. Discuss how you would like to choose your path in life at 16.
• Talk about what family means, and how Tris's family helps her.  

Reading Level/Interest Age: 14-18

Challenge Issues:

• Violence- frequent violence and murder
• Drug and alcohol use
• Some swearing 

Defense Collection:

• Grades 9-12 In the future, you are born into one of five factions, each of which has its strength and focus: Abnegation (service), Candor (truth), Erudite (intellect), Amity (friendship), or Dauntless (fearlessness). But on your sixteenth birthday, you can choose a new faction if you are so compelled, and that’s what happens to Tris, who shocks everyone by exchanging the drab gray robes of Abnegation for the piercing and tattoo stylings of Dauntless. What follows is a contest, where only the top 10 initiates are accepted into the final group. This framework of elimination provides the book with a built-in tension, as Tris and her new friends—and new enemies—go through a series of emotional and physical challenges akin to joining the marines. Roth is wisely merciless with her characters, though her larger world building is left fuzzy. (Is there a world beyond this dystopian version of Chicago?) The simplistic, color-coded world stretches credibility on occasion, but there is no doubt readers will respond to the gutsy action and romance of this umpteenth spin on Brave New World. -- Kraus, Daniel (Reviewed 03-01-2011) (Booklist, vol 107, number 13, p56)
• Gr 9 Up — In a future Chicago, the population is divided into five factions—Abnegation, Candor, Dauntless, Erudite, and Amity—each of which believes its opposite is the root of human evil. Sixteen-year-olds are tested for aptitude and must choose whether to remain in their birth faction or select another. They are aided in this selection by a simulation in which their decisions indicate which faction best suits them. Occasionally, though, the simulation indicates multiple choices. These individuals, known as Divergents , are perceived as threats by leaders who want members to behave and think in specific ways. Beatrice Prior is a Divergent , born into the selfless Abnegation faction but fascinated by the outrageous Dauntless. She chooses to become an initiate there and leaves her family behind, little knowing the challenges she will face. Despite her slight build and her meek upbringing, she must demonstrate her courage in physical combat and in simulations designed to present her with her deepest fears. Only 10 initiates will be accepted, and there are those willing to let cruelty take the place of courage. Beatrice comes to realize that another faction plots against Abnegation and that it may take a Divergent  to save them. Roth paints her canvas with the same brush as Suzanne Collins. The plot, scenes, and characters are different but the colors are the same and just as rich. Fans of Collins, dystopias, and strong female characters will love this novel.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI --Eric Norton (Reviewed June 1, 2011) (School Library Journal, vol 57, issue 6, p133)
• Awards:
• Amelia Bloomer Lists - Young Adult Fiction: 2012
• Black-Eyed Susan Book Awards (Maryland): High School
• California Young Reader Medal: Young Adult
• Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award
• Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award (Rosie Award)
• Garden State Teen Book Awards (New Jersey): Fiction (Grades 9-12)
• Gateway Readers Award (Missouri)
• Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers
• Goodreads Choice Awards: 2011
• Grand Canyon Reader Award (Arizona): Teen Book
• Great Lakes Great Books Award (Michigan): Grades 9-12
• Iowa High School Book Award
• Isinglass Teen Read Award (New Hampshire)
• Kentucky Bluegrass Award: Grades 9-12
• Land of Enchantment Book Award (New Mexico): Young Adult category
• Nutmeg Children's Book Award (Connecticut): Teen category
• Rhode Island Teen Book Award
• Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award - Best Young Adult: 2011
• School Library Journal Best Books: 2011
• Sequoyah Book Awards (Oklahoma): High School Books
• Soaring Eagle Book Award (Wyoming)
• South Carolina Book Awards: Young Adult Books
• YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults: 2012
• YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults: Book to Movie: Ripped From the Pages (2015)
• YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers: Fiction: 2012
• Young Reader's Choice Award (Pacific Northwest): Senior
• Freedom to Read Statement
• ALA Library Bill of Rights
• Springville Public Library Collection Development Policy
• The Library Director and designated staff actively evaluate and select materials. The Springville Public Library Board, acting under the authority given to it by Title 4, Chapter 6 of the Springville Municipal Code and Title 09 of the Utah State Code, has the ultimate responsibility for the determination of the policies for selection and acquisition of materials.
• Library materials are selected based on the following (not necessarily in order of priority):
• Local public demand and usage potential
• Popularity
• Subject coverage
• Relevance
• Accuracy and currency
• Presentation, readability and format
• Point of view (all sides)
• Cost
• Local connection
• Social values
• Collection balance
• To assess the item based on the above criteria, staff utilize:
• Nationally recognized and relevant pre-publication reviews
• Staff expertise
• Bestseller lists
• Patron recommendations and requests
• Reliable social media reviews 

Purpose in Collection:

The book Divergent is part of the popular dystopian genre that many teens read at this time. With the release of the movies, it has become more so. It is also highly awarded, which make it important to add to the collection in order meet patron's desires.