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Divergent by Neil Burger

In a futuristic Chicago, the society is divided into five : Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intellectual). The remaining population are the Factionless, who have no status or privilege in this society. When children reach the age of 16, they undergo a -induced psychological test which indicates their best-suited faction, then are allowed to choose any faction as their permanent group at the subsequent Choosing Ceremony.

Beatrice Prior () was born into Abnegation, which runs the government. Her father, Andrew Prior (), serves on the ruling council along with the head of Abnegation, Marcus Eaton (). Beatrice takes her test with a Dauntless woman named Tori Wu () as her proctor. Her results show attributes of multiple factions, meaning she is Divergent. Her divergence includes Abnegation, Erudite, and Dauntless. Tori records her results as Abnegation and warns her to keep the true result a secret, saying that because Divergents can think independently and the government therefore cannot control them, they are considered threats to the existing social order.

The next day at the Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice's brother Caleb Prior () chooses Erudite, while after some hesitation, Beatrice chooses Dauntless. After the ceremony, Beatrice meets Christina (), Al (), and Will (), three other initiates from other factions who also chose Dauntless. Christina and Al are from Candor and Will is from Erudite. The initiates' commitment and fearlessness are immediately tested, and Eric Coulter (), a brutal Dauntless leader, makes it clear that anyone not meeting Dauntless' high expectations will be expelled from the faction. Beatrice is the first to volunteer for a leap of faith from a tall building into a dark hole, landing in a net. When Four (), a transfer initiates' instructor, asks her name, she decides to shorten it to "Tris."

Tris initially struggles in Dauntless training, ranking far below the cutoff after the first evaluation, but slowly improves. Eric matches her against her nemesis — Peter () in a fight. Tris is soundly defeated and ends up in the infirmary. When she discovers that she will miss the most important test, Capture The Flag, she breaks out of the infirmary and joins the other initiates, secures her team's victory, and makes the final cut.

In the next phase of training, the initiates are subject to psychological simulations where they face their worst fears. Tris' divergence allows her to excel at the tests, defeating them in unusual ways, but Four warns her to hide her abilities and solve the challenges as a normal Dauntless would. Divergents can also manipulate tests and serums.

Tris visits her brother Caleb, who tells her that Erudite is planning to overthrow Abnegation and become the ruling faction. On her return to Dauntless headquarters, Tris is attacked by Al, Peter, and Drew before being rescued by Four. The next day Al pleads with Tris for her forgiveness but she refuses, calling him a coward. He later kills himself by jumping into "The Chasm" rather than face failure.

To prepare her for the final test, Four takes Tris into his own fear simulations, where she learns that his real name is Tobias Eaton, the son of Marcus Eaton. After the simulation, they kiss. Tris then passes her test and is officially initiated into the Dauntless. The rest of the Dauntless are then injected with a serum supplied by Erudite which is supposedly for tracking, but is actually for mind control.

The next morning, the Dauntless prepare to execute Abnegations by the orders of the Erudites. Divergents are unaffected by the new serum, so Tris must blend in to avoid suspicion. She finds Four, who reveals himself to be a Divergent. While the Dauntless move to raid Abnegation, Tris and Four separate from the group and attempt to locate Tris' parents, but Eric sees that Four is not under control and captures the two. Four is taken into custody while Tris is ordered to be executed. Her mother Natalie () appears and saves her but is shot and killed as they try to escape.

Tris finds her father in hiding with Caleb, Marcus, and several Abnegations. The group sneaks into the Dauntless headquarters, where Tris encounters Peter and forces him to lead them to Erudite's control center. Her father sacrifices himself in a shootout, and Tris goes in alone to find Four, who is now under stronger mind control and attacks her. Using her knowledge of his fears, she manages to wake him from the mind control and the two enter the central control room, where Erudite leader Jeanine () is about to have the Dauntless army execute the entire Abnegation faction. Tris uses a sample of the mind control serum on her to force her to cancel the program. The group escapes the compound and boards a train out of the complex.

I give it 3.4/5 stars