The Divergent trilogy is a series of young adultscience fictionadventure novels by American novelistVeronica Roth set in a post-apocalypticdystopianChicago. The trilogy consists of Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant. A related book, , presents a series of short stories told from the perspective of one of the trilogy's characters, the male love interest named Four. A later short story, We Can Be Mended, serves as an epilogue five years after the events of the trilogy from the perspective of the same character as the previous add on. The trilogy is set in the future, in a dystopian society that is divided into five factions. The society of the trilogy defines its citizens by their social and personality-related affiliation with these five different factions, which removes the threat of anyone exercising independent will and threatening the population's safety. Beatrice Prior, who later changes her name to Tris, an Abnegation-born and Dauntless transfer, must figure out her life as a Divergent, while concealing her true nature, and living with the danger of being killed if it is discovered by the Erudite and Dauntless leaders.
The trilogy received positive reviews from critics. Critics praised Divergent for its plot and action, while Insurgent was praised for its writing and pace. Another critic said that, "No one can argue that Divergent is not a fun, edge-of-your-seat read. It is easy to get submerged in, effortless to remain engaged in, and impossible not to enjoy even the slightest bit." Allegiant was praised for being "gripping" and for the love story, but was criticized for its ending and prose.
Film adaptations
had bought the rights to film an adaptation of the novel and recruited Neil Burger to direct, with Shailene Woodley starring as Beatrice "Tris" Prior and Theo James as Tobias "Four" Eaton. Lionsgate and its subsidiary Summit Entertainment distributed the film. Kate Winslet was signed as Jeanine Matthews. Also recruited into the cast were Maggie Q as Tori, Zoe Kravitz as Christina, Ansel Elgort as Caleb, Miles Teller as Peter, Ashley Judd as Natalie Prior, Tony Goldwyn as Andrew Prior, and Jai Courtney as Eric. Divergent was released on March 21, 2014. began filming in Atlanta on May 27, 2014 and was released on March 20, 2015. The adaptation of Allegiant was split into two parts; the first part, Allegiant, was released on March 18, 2016, while the second part, titled Ascendant, was originally planned to be released in June 2017. The big screen release of Ascendant was shelved due to the poorbox office results of Allegiant. On July 20, 2016, it was announced that Ascendant would be released as a TV movie, but later scrapped.
