Have you ever felt like there is no where you fit in? In the book Divergent, by Veronica Roth, Tris knows the feeling. Divergent is the first book in the Divergent trilogy published by HarperCollins in New York. I think that Divergent is the perfect mix of adventure and romance, and it is an excellent book altogether.



Tris lives a life that is basically decided for her. She is grouped with others like her in a faction. The factions decide what you wear, what you eat, and what you do. There are five factions: Dauntless the brave, Amity the peaceful, Abnegation the selfless, Candor the honest, and Erudite with the obnoxious thirst for knowledge. These factions were created after the war to keep peace between everyone. People choose factions based on what they believe is important. When a boy or girl turns sixteen, they take an aptitude test. The test administrator inject a serum into your neck that gives you a situation in your mind. Depending on how you react, will determine what faction you will continue your life in. Most of the people who take the test have results for one faction. But, some people have results for two or more . These people are called Divergents.



The main character’s name is Tris. She was born Abnegation, and received three results for her aptitude test - Erudite, Abnegation, and Dauntless. She was told by her test administer not to tell anyone she was divergent, ever. When the time came to choose the rest of her life, she chose Dauntless. She discovers that the leaders of the Dauntless and Erudite factions would kill her if they discovered that she was Divergent.



All the Dauntless initiatives need to pass a difficult initiation before they can become members of the Dauntless faction. At the end of each of the three stages of initiation, the initiatives get ranked. If you are at the very bottom, you get cut from initiation and become factionless. The factionless are like the homeless. The basically have nothing, except what the Abnegation faction gives them (food and extra faction clothing.) Factionless means that you have either left your faction, or were kicked out.



The dauntless are very wild and crazy. They jump on and off moving trains, fight each other, and jump from the rooftops of buildings. Coming from the Abnegation, where you are taught to not think about yourself, is a big change for Tris. Tris’ instructor Four notices that she is weaker than most of the other initiatives. He tells her what she needs to do better and how she can increase her ranking during initiation. As Tris and Four continue to train together, they start to fall in love.



The book Divergent is similar to The Giver by Lois Lowry in many ways. Jonas, the main character of The Giver, and Tris both live in a concealed world. They take a test that tells them how they are going to spend the rest of their life. Both Tris and Jonas are curious about the world outside of their city.



Veronica Roth is a great writer. She put so much work into this book and it really payed off. I love the way she put so much detail into the book, and put so much life into every single one of the characters. Veronica Roth also wrote the other two books in the Divergent series, Insurgent and Allegiant.



The book Divergent was a great book. I would give this book a 10 out of 10 for it’s detail and imagery. As I was reading, I was really picturing what was happening. I also felt like I could relate to Tris in many ways. Although she was trying to save her city, she was still facing regular teenage dramas that I understood. This book can be enjoyed by someone who likes science fiction, action, and romance genres.