Insurgent

from the teaser:
"One choice can transform you - or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves - and herself - while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love."








Insurgent is the second book of the Divergent trilogy. It picks up the story at the precise point where Divergent left off.... and it continues with Tris struggling to be true to herself as she's finding out more about who and what she is. This seems to be a common theme in dystopian literature. Another theme is that it's the young who will save and provide safety for the world as it will be in the future. The youth take on seriously adult roles, make very tough decisions and fight incredible odds to survive. When things are really, really bad, the youth are the only ones who can lead and fight through to a better tomorrow ~ even if it's only minimally better.

Why is dystopian literature so popular? What is it about a world in pieces, being pieced back together by youth, that fascinates us so much?

Divergent

The 'teaser' from the book:
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue-Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is-she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.


Divergent is the latest rage in young adult dystopian fiction. It's written from a first-person point of view ~~ and that 'first-person' is 16-year-old Beatrice Prior. She talks through every thought and feeling she has. Throughout the story, we know everything she knows about herself. All of this makes her feel incredibly real to us.

On the testing day, before the chosing of the faction, Beatrice is told she is Divergent. She doesn't fit into any one particular Faction... she fits into multiple Factions. She has no clear idea what this means... and that takes her places she never would have thought she'd go.

Why are young people reading this kind of fiction? What's so striking about Beatrice Prior? or the world she lives in?