Divergent is the debut novel of American novelist Veronica Roth, published by

HarperCollins Children's Books in !""# $t is a young%adult dystopian novel set in

the so%called Divergent &niverse,'"( that features a post%apocalyptic version of
Chicago# )he novel follo*s Beatrice +)ris+ ,rior as she e-plores her identity
*ithin a society that defines its citi.ens by their social and personality%related
affiliation *ith five different factions# &nderlying the action and dystopian focused
main plot is a romantic subplot bet*een )ris and one of her trainers in the
Dauntless faction, nicknamed /our#
)he novel has been compared to other young adult books such as )he Hunger
0ames and )he 1a.e Runner because of its similar themes and target audience#
$n particular, the novel e-plores the themes common to young adult fiction, such
as adult authority and the transition from childhood to maturity, as *ell as broader
motifs, such as the place of violence and social structures *ithin a post%
apocalyptic society# $ts ma2or plot device, the division of society into personality
types, is one used in other science fiction *orks# Beyond its literary conte-t,
Roth's open declaration of her religion as a Christian has brought commentary
from Christian communities both endorsing and challenging the novel#
Roth *rote Divergent *hile *orking on a creative *riting degree at 3orth*estern
&niversity, and it *as 4uickly purchased for publication# Divergent is the first book
in a trilogy that *as completed in 5ctober !"6#'"( Roth's first book of short
fiction set in the Divergent universe is forthcoming 7uly !"89 /our9 A Divergent
Collection, edited by :atherine )egen#'6( ;ummit <ntertainment purchased the
media rights to the book, and production on the movie, also titled Divergent, took
place in !"6#'8(