"Divergent" by Veronica Roth

While Veronica Roth may not be a world-famous author, quite recently she burst on the writing scene with the first chapter in her futuristic trilogy, Divergent. The story in her book takes place in a dystopian future Chicago, where society has been split into five different factions, each one being specialized in the harvest of a virtue.

There are the Amity (peace), Erudite (intelligence), Candor (honesty), Dauntless (brave), without forgetting Abnegation, who cultivate selflessness.Whenever a person in that society reaches 16 years of age, they are forced to make a choice as to which faction they are going to join and devote the rest of their lives to.

However, for Beatrice Prior, the choice is far from being clear as she is stuck in a dilemma; stay with her family or become who she really wants to be. Naturally, Beatrice decides to go for the adventurous choice, and after changing her name to Tris she and her fellow initiates she must pass a number of grueling tests and simulations which often have tragic consequences. She lives in a world where nothing is ever certain, where anyone could be a friend or a foe. 

However, Tris cannot remain inactive in the face of uncertainty as she is forced time and time again to make psychologically overwhelming choices, especially when she is faced with the possibility of a romance with a somewhat troubled boy.In addition to all of that however, Tris is keeping within her an Earth-shattering secret and as she learns, it may very well end up serving as the key to saving her loved ones… just like it might serve as the cause of Tris’ own demise.

All in all, the first chapter of the Divergent Trilogy makes for a very exciting psychological thriller filled with action, suspense, mystery, with a hint of romance. The characters are often pushed to make difficult choices to which they often respond in interesting and even unconventional ways; while Divergent may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it will surely deliver to those who are into these kinds of stories.

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Veronica Roth Personal site Veronica Roth is an American novelist and short story writer whose debut effort, the Divergent trilogy, became a New York Times bestseller, in addition to which it earned her the Goodreads Favorite Book of 2011, as well as the 2012 Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction awards.