Submitted by Gerti
I’m
so proud of Northwestern University graduate Veronica Roth for this
brilliant debut YA novel. Although teens consider it this year’s
“Hunger Games”, that comparison does not mean it is bad. “The
Hunger Games” is the story of a young woman’s struggle to survive
in a dystopian world, and so is “Divergent,” but in Veronica
Roth’s novel, the setting is Chicago, which makes this an even more
interesting read for someone familiar with the city and its sights
like Navy Pier and Millennium Park. Also in Roth’s favor is the
fact that her heroine, Beatrice Prior, has a normal name. Sorry,
Suzanne Collins. I think Katniss is a mouthful.
In
THG, the brave new world is divided into 12-ish districts, and just
about any teen can tell you which tribute comes from which district,
and what that district makes or grows. In Roth’s world, there are
five factions instead, and they are divided into specific virtues
that the survivors of a war decided were important to keep around.
Protagonist Beatrice (or Tris, as she becomes later) is from
Abnegation, a grey-wearing, Amishesque group who believe that being
selfless is the path to true peace. The other groups are Candor (for
the painfully honest), Dauntless (for the insanely brave), Amity (for
the friendly), and Erudite (for those who like research and reading).
But there is movement between the groups.
Just
as in THG, teenaged Tris is at this turning point in her life where
she must choose what to be. In the Hunger Games, the districts have
to send tributes to the eponymous “games”. In Roth’s world,
each 16 year old has to undergo a series of mental tests which
determine (to a large extent) to which faction they truly belong.
Tris has had a hard time being selfless like her parent’s in
Abnegation, and her test shows it. But she is something even rarer
called Divergent (hence the title), which means that she has elements
of various factions. Her test giver changes the results so this fact
isn’t automatically known to her superiors, and warns Tris that she
should tell no one about the results (not even her family), as being
Divergent can be deadly.
Despite
some qualms about leaving her family, Tris chooses Dauntless, and her
new name comes with her introduction there as a Transfer. Like THG
again, there is some training, there are some tests, but like Katniss
Everdeen, Tris is able to learn and move from the bottom to the top
of the ranks of new Dauntless candidates by playing to her own
peculiar strengths. Like any young adult novel, Tris makes friends,
faces down enemies, and has several opportunities for romance within
her new faction. Of course there are symbols for each faction (think
marketing opportunities!) and Tris gets a few tattoos which reflect
her heritage and choices. The final scenes of the book involve her
foiling an Erudite revolution against Abnegation involving a
Dauntless army… and if that sounds too confusing, you must read the
book! It is a thrilling trip into a dystopian post-war Chicagoland
filled with teenaged angst and adventure. Can’t wait to read the
next one!
No comments:
Post a Comment