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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

In a future time, the city once known as Chicago has been divided into five factions: Abnegation, Candor, Erudite, Amity, and Dauntless. Developed to counter the selfishness, duplicity, ignorance, aggression, and cowardice believed to lead to conflict and war, each faction has a specific societal function. Beatrice has grown up with her family as a member of the selfless Abnegation—the faction designated to make decisions in the interests of all. But as the time approaches for choosing her faction for life, her aptitude test shows her to be a rare Divergent—someone with equal affinity for multiple factions. Warned to keep the results secret—the government believes Divergents are dangerous—Beatrice weighs the expectation that she will stay in the faction of her birth against her uncertainty and desire before deciding to join Dauntless. Beatrice must adapt quickly to the thrill-seeking and confrontational style of her new community. Starting with a name change to Tris, she works hard to meet the initiation demands, knowing failure means being relegated to the pariah status of Factionless. Tris is surprised at her innate talent even as she struggles to meld expectations of ruthlessness with her ingrained model of selflessness. As she moves deeper into the Dauntless community and a romantic relationship with her initiation instructor, the mysterious Four, Tris becomes aware of secrets and conspiracies that threaten to wreak havoc upon the balance of power among the factions and the population of the city. Equal parts social commentary, action, intrigue, and romance, this dystopian novel is a compelling page turner. (Age 13 and older)

CCBC Choices 2012 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2012. Used with permission.

From Horn Book

July 1, 2011
In future Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice should have discovered which of her society's five factions--Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, Erudite--she belongs to after taking a sorting test. However, her results are inconclusive, which could get her killed; or she might just save the world. The story's fast-paced action; romance; and strong, intelligent characters facing difficult choices will appeal to Hunger Games fans.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From School Library Journal

Starred review from June 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-In a future Chicago, the population is divided into five factions-Abnegation, Candor, Dauntless, Erudite, and Amity-each of which believes its opposite is the root of human evil. Sixteen-year-olds are tested for aptitude and must choose whether to remain in their birth faction or select another. They are aided in this selection by a simulation in which their decisions indicate which faction best suits them. Occasionally, though, the simulation indicates multiple choices. These individuals, known as Divergents, are perceived as threats by leaders who want members to behave and think in specific ways. Beatrice Prior is a Divergent, born into the selfless Abnegation faction but fascinated by the outrageous Dauntless. She chooses to become an initiate there and leaves her family behind, little knowing the challenges she will face. Despite her slight build and her meek upbringing, she must demonstrate her courage in physical combat and in simulations designed to present her with her deepest fears. Only 10 initiates will be accepted, and there are those willing to let cruelty take the place of courage. Beatrice comes to realize that another faction plots against Abnegation and that it may take a Divergent to save them. 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.-Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Kirkus

April 15, 2011

Cliques writ large take over in the first of a projected dystopian trilogy.

The remnant population of post-apocalyptic Chicago intended to cure civilization's failures by structuring society into five "factions," each dedicated to inculcating a specific virtue. When Tris, secretly a forbidden "Divergent," has to choose her official faction in her 16th year, she rejects her selfless Abnegation upbringing for the Dauntless, admiring their reckless bravery. But the vicious initiation process reveals that her new tribe has fallen from its original ideals, and that same rot seems to be spreading... Aside from the preposterous premise, this gritty, paranoid world is built with careful details and intriguing scope. The plot clips along at an addictive pace, with steady jolts of brutal violence and swoony romance. Despite the constant assurance that Tris is courageous, clever and kind, her own first-person narration displays a blank personality. No matter; all the "good" characters adore her and the "bad" are spiteful and jealous. Fans snared by the ratcheting suspense will be unable to resist speculating on their own factional allegiance; a few may go on to ponder the questions of loyalty and identity beneath the façade of thrilling adventure.

Guaranteed to fly off the shelves. (Science fiction. 14 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

From Booklist

March 1, 2011
Grades 9-12 In the future, you are born into one of five factions, each of which has its strength and focus: Abnegation (service), Candor (truth), Erudite (intellect), Amity (friendship), or Dauntless (fearlessness). But on your sixteenth birthday, you can choose a new faction if you are so compelled, and thats what happens to Tris, who shocks everyone by exchanging the drab gray robes of Abnegation for the piercing and tattoo stylings of Dauntless. What follows is a contest, where only the top 10 initiates are accepted into the final group. This framework of elimination provides the book with a built-in tension, as Tris and her new friendsand new enemiesgo through a series of emotional and physical challenges akin to joining the marines. Roth is wisely merciless with her characters, though her larger world building is left fuzzy. (Is there a world beyond this dystopian version of Chicago?) 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from February 21, 2011
In this edgy debut (definitely not for the fainthearted), first in a trilogy, promising author Roth tells the riveting and complex story of a teenage girl forced to choose, at age 16, between her routinized, selfless family and the adventurous, unrestrained future she longs for. Beatrice "Tris" Prior lives in crumbling dystopian Chicago, where citizens are divided into five factionsâ€"Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and
Eruditeâ€"depending on their beliefs, passions, and loyalties. When Tris forsakes her Abnegation family to become one of the wild, fearless Dauntless, she must confront her deepest fears, learn to trust her fellow initiates, and guard the ominous secret that she is actually a Divergent, with the strengths of multiple factions, and is therefore a target of dangerously controlling leaders. Roth's descriptions of Tris's initiation process are as spellbinding as they are violent, while the tremulous romance between Tris and her protective and demanding instructor, Four, unfurls with heart-stopping tenderness. For those who loved The Hunger Games and are willing to brave the sometimes sadistic tests of strength and courage Tris must endure, the reward is a memorable, unpredictable journey from which it is nearly impossible to turn away. Ages 14—up.

From AudioFile Magazine

At 16, Beatrice must choose the societal faction she will join. Emma Galvin's blunt narration of this dystopian novel portrays Tris's gruff exterior as she defies expectations, her own included, with her choice. Galvin conveys Tris's emotional growth as she moves through a brutal initiation, making new friends and finding first love. Though Galvin's narration is concentrated on giving Tris the perfect voice, she never neglects the secondary characters. Poignant moments with Tris's mother and Four, her leader and love, are subtly nuanced to let listeners hear the terror Tris often hides. When she discovers a plot to overthrow the government, the pace never slackens, and listeners will hold their breath waiting to see if she can survive the day. J.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine