Module 8: Divergent

Divergent

Book Summary

Divergent is the first in a trilogy set in a dystopian society. The society is divided into factions, based on a key characteristic. Candor is the trustworthy, honest leaders. Abnegation is the selfless leaders, putting others before themselves. Erudite focuses on knowledge and intelligence. Amity are compassionate and become counselors and caretakers. Dauntless are the risk-takers and provide protection. Every year, students who are of age attend the Choosing Ceremony, where they choose to remain in their faction with their family or choose a new one. Many remain where they grew up, but transfers must leave their families and join their chosen faction. Many make their choice based on the results of an aptitude test, which tells them what faction they are the best fit for. Beatrice shows an equal aptitude for three factions, which is highly rare, as most only receive one and a few receive two. She must choose. The book follows her through her choice and the initiation into her chosen faction. It ends with the beginnings of a rebellion and leaves you hanging and ready to read the next book.

Citation 

Roth, V. (2011). Divergent. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. 

My Impressions

I thought this book started slowly. It took a little while to get through the background information about the society, the characteristics, the testing, and the choosing. Then the book focused on the training that Beatrice (Tris) received in her chosen faction for initiation. Despite the slow beginning, I was interesting from the start to see what was going to happen and what would happen to this girl. The book picked up throughout the training and when all hell started to break lose towards the end, it sucked me in and immediately made me want to read the rest of the series. It is a good book and a good start to the series. The amount of background information is necessary for this book to allow the following books to pick up and take off at a run rather than a crawl.

Review Excerpts

Norton, E. (2011). Divergent. School Library Journal, 57(6), 133. 

"Roth paints her canvas with the same brush as Suzanne Collins. The plot, scenes, and characters are different but the colors are the same and just as rich. Fans of Collins, dystopias, and strong female characters will love this novel."

Kraus, D. (2011). Divergent. Booklist, 107(13), 56.
"The simplistic, color-coded world stretches credibility on occasion, but there is no doubt readers will  respond to the gutsy action and romance of this umpteenth spin on Brave New World"

Suggestions for Use in a Library

I think I would use this for a multi-day or a multi-week "experiment" in the library. I think what I would do is give students the characteristics of the different factions of the book. I would have them choose the faction their family would fit into and where they think they would have grown up. I would then have them take an aptitude test, like they do in the book, and give them the results. I would allow them time to digest this information and then have a school wide (grade appropriate) choosing ceremony, where they chose what faction they would be in. While they were contemplating their choice between the test and the ceremony, I would ask their teachers to tell me what characteristics they see in their students and after the choosing, I would give the students those results and see if what they see in themselves matches up with what others see in them. I think many students would be really surprised by what others might see in them. I also think that we might see a lot of students who struggle to make a choice of a faction, since we, as a society, value many of these different characteristics. We could incorporate the choices students make into roles that students might be able to play in classrooms (especially if it is middle or high school). Those that chose Amity might be the ones in class to go to for advice; Abnegation might be those who are assigned helper jobs - supply manager, clean up, etc; Erudite might be the ones who peer tutor or help out when someone doesn't understand; Dauntless might be asked to serve on a committee or to watch for things that might be dangerous; and Candor might be asked to report back on group work and who is doing their fair share and to serve on peer review committees (such as discipline committees that exist in some schools).