Divergent

My most recent reads were Divergent and Insurget by Veronic Roth.  These books take place in a post apocalyptic Chicago and are fitting with the popular dystopian society fiction books that are all the rage again after the Hunger Games series.

The first book, Divergent introduces us to the world as 16 year old Beatrice knows it.  There are 5 Factions that people separated into and each favours a different quality that their people have - Dauntless (fearlessness), Candor (honesty), Amity (peacefulness), Abnegation (selflessness), and Erudite (intelligence).  Beatrice was born into Abnegation and now at the age of 16 she is required to take the aptitude test that will determine which faction she is best suited for.  She will get to choose which faction she wants to be in, the one she was born into, or the one she is most suited to be in at the Choosing Ceremony.  During the aptitude test each teen faces different situations in a simulation and how they respond determines the Faction they are best suited for.  Unfortunately for Beatrice, she discovers that she is suited equally for 3 factions - Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite - this means that she is Divergent.  What that is she does not know, but she is told to keep it to herself because it is dangerous for others to know she is Divergent.

Beatrice decideds to join Dauntless instead of remaining in Abnegation because she feels that she is too selfish to stay there.  She gives herself the nickname Tris and leaves her family behind.  Tris soon finds out that to become one of the Dauntless you must undergo an initiation period where only 10 out of the 20 initiates will make it in, the others will become one of the Factionless.  She is taught to shoot a gun, win a fist fight, and face her worst fears.  Tris learns a lot about herself and more about what it means to be Divergent.  She also falls for a boy whose chosen name is Four.  As the book goes on, we learn that there is unrest in the Factions and one of them does something terrible at the end of the book.

The second book in this series is called, Insurgent.  This book finds Tris and Four fighting for their freedom from those who seek to control the Factions.  They are joined by others who want their freedom.  Tris must use all of her Divergent traits in this book if she is to overcome  the obsticals in her way.  She must also try to save other Divergent people and help to keep them secret from those who seek to distroy them. 

These books are difficult to discribe properly, as I feel all dystopian books can be.  Usually people just look at me and say, well I guess that sounds interesting?  These books are awesome and I can't wait for the third one (not coming out until fall 2013)!  Anyone who liked the Hunger Games should give them a try - fun and fast paced, with just enough left out for you to keep guessing all the way through.