Monday, May 9, 2011

Divergent by Veronica Roth


For those of you that know me, you know that I am an 'early to bed, early to rise' kind of girl. I don't do staying up late to read. You are more likely to catch me up at 5 in the morning finishing a book. However, last night was the exception. I COULD NOT STOP READING this book- it was midnight before I finished it. This is without a doubt one of the best YA books I have ever read. All day today I was talking about how great this book is- I have so many kids that now can't wait to read it.

Divergent is a dystopian story that has romance, violence, friendship, betrayal, fear and government control all in one book. The story is set in what we know as Chicago and in this world, when people turn 16 they must decide what kind of person they want to be for the rest of their life. There are only five choices- honesty, selflessness, peace, intelligence or bravery. Each faction has pros and cons- but once you decide, you must fully commit even if it means leaving everything you know behind.

The main character in the story is Tris, a young girl who is torn between two factions. Once she chooses the faction, she faces an initiation process that could lead to her death or even worse. As Tris meets other members of her chosen faction, she finds friends, enemies and possibly even love. When Tris realizes the people governing their society are corrupt, she must make several decisions that may affect her future and those around her.

The events in this story will appeal to both boys and girls- it is an exciting, thrilling book. There is no way I could put it down last night. I can't wait for the next in the series.

Follow this link to hear from Veronica Roth and her ideas on the characters and the book. Here's a link to Harper Collins book trailer.

If you liked Hunger Games- you will LOVE this book!

2 comments:

  1. excellent! my class ate up "hunger games". almost half bought the trilogy and read it within a week!! i told them about the book that inspired the "hunger games" (battle royale - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Royale) but of course because it is filled with true nastiness and language that ummmm well, it's true to the playground shall we say so i can't share it with them. so i'll give "divergent" a read and see what i can see. it may be the year's end book for this group!! steven

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  2. You will love it! It's a longer book, which is the only thing holding me back from doing it as a read aloud. When I talked about it the other day, the kids went nuts for it and said they were happy if I just read for all of June. MUST FINISHED MATH AND SCIENCE FIRST! That's the plan- finish up and then just sit back and enjoy the read. I think the kids will LOVE it!
    I've got Battle Royale in my TBR pile, but I just can't get started with it. Maybe in July!

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