Five factions. Five choices. Five possible futures.Chicago is a wasteland, its skyscrapers bare metal skeletons and what used to be Lake Michigan is a muddy swamp. To maintain order, the people belong to one of five factions, each focusing on what they believe is essential for survival - Candor (truth), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (bravery), Amity (happiness), and Erudite (knowledge). In their 16th year, everyone must choose which faction they want to devote their life to. For most, the choice is obvious.
Beatrice, alongside her brother Caleb, was raised Abnegation. Usually, 16-year-olds choose the faction they were raised in - but Beatrice has spent her life watching and envying the Dauntless. Still, she is unsure - to select Dauntless means giving up her family. Beatrice hopes that the aptitude test everyone takes will reveal the truth. But when the test reveals a highly unusual, and highly dangerous, equal aptitude for three factions, Beatrice must choose her future for herself. She is Divergent - a dangerous, rare aberration that the test administrator warns her she must keep secret.
Beatrice chooses Dauntless. Changing her name to Tris and throwing herself into a world completely unlike anything she's ever known, Beatrice finds herself jumping onto moving trains, off 7-story buildings, and training in intense fight sessions with her fellow Dauntless initiates. At first, Tris is consumed with the Dauntless initiation - unlike the other factions, not everyone who chooses Dauntless is allowed to join. Out of 20 initiates, only 10 will be selected based on their performance in three stages of initiation. The remaining 10 will be factionless - and homeless for life. With this knowledge, it becomes even more important for Tris to keep her Divergence secret - even though using her non-Dauntless skills could gain her an advantage over the others. Her Divergence also gives her unique insight that allows her to see hints of a dark conspiracy - one that could threaten not only Dauntless, but throw all five factions into a war that could destroy them all.
For fans of dystopian fiction like The Hunger Games, Matched, The Maze Runner and Delirium, this exciting, quick-paced adventure will keep you up late turning the pages. I loved Veronica Roth's dark vision of a future destroyed Chicago. Death-defying stunts, murder and conspiracy, fierce competition, political intrigue and even some pulse-pounding romance all combine to make this a summer blockbuster of a read. Check it out @ the library!
Megan
(who just finished What Happened to Goodbye, the new Sarah Dessen - swoon!)