For many years, novels have been put on the big screen and are successful. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins turned out to be a huge hit in 2012 and boosted the book sales after the movie release. Three years after The Hunger Games novel was released, author Veronica Roth published the novel, Divergent, a very popular book. Divergent is the first novel in a three book series that is often compared to Suzanne Collins’ trilogy. When comparisons come to mind, people may find both books similar because of the time setting. The two compelling novels take place in the far future where new governments and societies are created. Another parallel often drawn from both stories is the narrator, a teenage girl who is forced to make a life changing decision. The release date for Divergent is set for March 21, 2014 but has already had small red carpet premiers in big cities including Orlando. According to the attendees of these events, the movie stayed true to the book and was portrayed beautifully.

Divergent is a futuristic story about a sixteen year old girl named Beatrice Prior. Beatrice resides with her family of four in Chicago. The government has divided the city into five factions. Abnegation- the selfless, Candor-the honest, Erudite- the intelligent, Amity- the peaceful and Dauntless- the brave. The prior family is part of Abnegation, the faction where they always put others before themselves. When Beatrice and her Brother Caleb turn 16, they take an aptitude test that determines what faction they should choose. Beatrice hopes that the test will tell her which faction to choose because it will be hard for her to leave her family. When the aptitude test is over, Beatrice is told that her results were inconclusive. Beatrice is called “Divergent” and the aptitude test did not quite work. When the choosing ceremony comes along, Beatrice has to make the biggest decision of her life. Although she loves her family, she decides to leave the nest and become Dauntless. Beatrice’s brother Caleb chooses to be an Erudite, which surprises her. During Dauntless initiation, Beatrice changes her name to “Tris” to create a new identity and because it has a tougher demeanor. Tris stands out among the initiates not only because of her divergence but because of her bravery and sacrifices. She also makes new friends during initiation including Christina, Al, Will, Zeke and Uriah. She also becomes close with one of her training instructors, Four. Being a part of Dauntless means being able to face your fears and Tris does exactly that with the help of Four, someone who has been through the same thing she has. As Tris gets higher and higher in rankings, her number of enemies increases as well. Friends turn to foes but Four is always watching out for Tris. The duo tries to take on Jeanine Matthews, leader of the Erudite to take back their freedom from the overpowering government control. Being divergent helps Tris along the way and is something she soon learns the meaning of.

Divergent is a highly anticipated movie for fans of the trilogy. Author Veronica Roth has seen the movie a few times so far and commented about it in her blog. “It was so ridiculously awesome and surreal I just wanted to laugh and cry all at once”, Roth said. “I loved it. I was completely absorbed by it.” Veronica Roth even admits that even though she wrote the story, she caught herself gripping the arms of her chair in parts of the movie. “It was beautifully shot-Chicago is such a gorgeous city, and to see it transformed into this futuristic wasteland was incredibly cool- and suspenseful, and the cast did a wonderful job.”

Roth also wrote that the actors portrayed everything she hoped for in the characters.  She also admitted in her review that like most authors, she was nervous to see her book being adapted for the big screen but feels like final product reflected everything she was hoping for. I am excited to see the this fantastic book being shown on March 21 and hopefully it will live up to the high expectations.