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Title | Divergent
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Author | Veronica Roth
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Cover Art | Joel Tippie
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Publisher | Katherine Tegen Books - 2011
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First Printing | Katherine Tegen Books - 2011
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Title | Insurgent
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Author | Veronica Roth
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Cover Art | Joel Tippie
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Publisher | Katherine Tegen Books - 2012
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First Printing | Katherine Tegen Books - 2012
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Title | Allegiant
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Author | Veronica Roth
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Cover Art | Joel Tippie
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Publisher | Katherine Tegen Books - 2013
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First Printing | Katherine Tegen Books - 2013
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Title | Four
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Author | Veronica Roth
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Cover Art | Joel Tippie
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Publisher | Katherine Tegen Books - 2014
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First Printing | Katherine Tegen Books - 2014
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Category | Dystopia
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Warnings | None
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Main Characters | Beatrice Prior, Four, Uriah, Christina, Caleb, Marcus
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Main Elements | Dystopia
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Website | veronicarothbooks.com
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Divergent
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
Insurgent
One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian DIVERGENT series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.
Allegiant
The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered - fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she's known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.
But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningliess. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend to complexities of human nature - and of herself - while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.
Told from a riveting dual perspective, ALLEGIANT, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the DIVERGENT series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in DIVERGENT and INSURGENT.
Four
Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation’s faction leader did the same. Tobias’s transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child.
Newly christened “Four,” he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future—and the future of the entire faction system.
Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth comes a companion volume to the worldwide bestselling DIVERGENT series, told from the per-spective of the immensely popular character Tobias. The four pieces included here — THE TRANSFER, THE INITIATE, THE SON, and THE TRAITOR—plus three additional exclusive scenes, give readers an electrifying glimpse into the history and heart of Tobias, and set the stage for the epic saga of the DIVERGENT trilogy.
Two books in I'm scratching my head a little as to why this was so popular, but I do that a lot for most female aimed young adult fiction. The first book just left me confused, I mean what a weird society. How is it that there are people who always tell the truth but not smart, or smart but not friendly, friendly but not brave, brave but not sefless? And why are the friendly people the farmers, what has one got to do with the other? Where did all these one-dimensional personalities come from and to find someone who is smart, brave and selfless is considered Divergent? Aren't everyone made up of several aspects, qualities and faults? And why isn't there a group for funny people, running the entertainment perhaps? And it's very strict, once you fail to make it into one faction you can't even try for another, you just become factionless which means you live in the streets and surive off the generosity of others. Why, why, why? Why create a society with a huge number of homeless, jobless, helpless people built into the system?
There's your expected romance, the slightly bad boy who everyone else is scared of but our heroine is able to look past his gruff exterior and access his sweet and loving interior. And our heroine is as expected, never good enough for the boy, she's too flawed, how could he possibly love her given what she's done, she's so worthless, might as well sacrifice her life since the world would be better without her...sigh. So while I kind of liked Four, Tris was just annoying, though Four had his annoying moments too.
Now, with the society setup being so weird, I hoped there was a good reason for it, and as we get to the end of the second book there are hints that this is indeed the case, which would explain a whole lot. But the explanation is not very clear yet, so guess I'll have to read the third book after all. I'll keep reading to figure out the worldbuilding, not because I really care what happens to the characters.
Finished the trilogy...the last book jumped between the POV of Tris and Four which was...disconcerting at best. Since I was used to just seeing Tris' POV when I was reading Four's I would think it was her and then find it really weird. And, well, I wasn't convinced by the underlying premise of the story (which I won't spoil here), I didn't feel it was very realistic, though swap in some other kind of oppression (racial, religious, ethnic, etc) then I can view this as a kind of allegory. But I don't think the science behind the book really holds, even the memory serum...I can't see it wiping a personality, their memories, but not their ability to read. All our experiences are learned whether it is a skill or an emotion and I doubt you could wipe someone's name (which they learned since their parent taught it to them) while not wiping what they learned in school. I know there are things we feel we learn from a book versus we learn simply by experiencing life, but they are just two ways of absorbing the same information. Ok now I sound like an Erudite...
Well, for what it's worth, it was full of action and mystery and kept be going because I wanted to figure out what exactly was going on in this weird place. I was a bit disappointed by the answer but it's still a valid dystopia tale, and if you're into difficult romances and heroines that attempt to be strong (while still being annoying at times), basically your classic YA directed at teenage girls, then I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I didn't hate it, I've read far worse, but I just didn't get they hype. Anyway, I have the movies on my PVR and will give them a go.
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