I recently finished reading a great dystopian trilogy by Veronica Roth. "Divergent", "Insurgent" and the newest novel "Allegiant". This young adult series remind me somewhat of the Hunger Games in that there is a strong female lead character, and there are tones of a desperate survival theme that is present as well. However, these books differ in many ways, most notably by the foundation that is set up in the first book, Divergent. I wanted to share with you the set up for the first book...what I've told my friends a million times as I have gushed over these books!
In Divergent, you learn about the different factions that make up this future city of Chicago:
* Abnegation, people who are demure, selfless, the faction who help all others above themselves. They wear gray, move slowly, and are not excitable.
* Dauntless, the reckless, fearless guards of the fence that surrounds the city. They are recognized by their tattoos, piercings, and the black leather they wear.
*Candor, who will tell the truth at any cost, characterized by wearing white and black.
* Erudite, the scholars, spend their life studying. They wear blue clothing and glasses and value intelligence above all else.
* Amity, recognized by the red and yellow clothing, they live outside the city tending to the farms which feed the city. They believe in peace and harmony.
* The Factionless, cast out by the other factions for whatever reason, they are the homesless of the city, doing jobs no one else would do, and always hungry, always cold.
At age 16 each child is given an aptitude test to see what faction they are most aligned with. Tris, the lead character, was born into the Abnegation faction. She finds at her aptitude testing that she is aligned with multiple factions, which is known as a Divergent. Tris is then faced with life altering choices, none of which she can share with a soul, because she is told that being Divergent is very dangerous. The story unfolds in a compelling way once Tris makes her decision at the choosing ceremony. You go with Tris as she begins her initiation into her faction, and what she does once the world she has always known begins to collapse around her.
This is a fast paced read which carries over from book to book. I loved it!
