Hi all! I meant to mention this before (and failed–sorry about that), but if you get a chance to see the movie Divergent (let alone read the series!) I highly recommend it!
Not all YA book to movie adaptations manage to transition from page to screen smoothly, but I thought that this one was great. Even my 68-year-old father–who makes fun of me incessantly for my interest in YA lit, and has therefore not read the series (though curiously did read The Hunger Games. . . hmmmm. . . )–really, really enjoyed this movie!
To the point, though: This hyperlink takes you to a great list of YA Lit broken into categories (the same as those in Divergent!) to help with the wait until the next episode of the Divergent series is released! So, for example, if you’re feeling rather Erudite, take a look at some interesting YA books under the Erudite section. What really caught my attention with this list is that there were a number of books on it that I haven’t seen time and again on other lists of YA lit. That could be good or bad, but for me? It’s a challenge that I look forward to checking out, and I hope you do too!
Also, to add a little context for those of you unfamiliar with the Divergent series, very briefly, it is a dystopic series set in a society that is broken into factions (separate work/personality groups). In this society, each teenager, upon reaching the appointed age, must publicly commit themselves to the faction of their choosing: either Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, Amity or Candor. Once the group is chosen, though, there’s no going back and undoing it, and failure to sustain the requirements of the chosen group’s initiation results in becoming a member of the “factionless.” The series follows Trish in her choice of which faction she will join (no other hints because I don’t want to ruin it for you!), facing the challenges of that group, as well as trying to make sense of the world as she knows it when the factions war with each other. If you liked The Hunger Games, you’ll definitely enjoy Divergent!
In fact, come to think of it, dystopic novels are pretty popular for young adults. As mentioned, you have those of the Divergent and Hunger Games series, The Giver series, The Maze Runner series. . . I have a sneaky suspicion the list goes on and on. I’m sure there’s a lot I’m missing–anyone else have a dystopic YA series they can plug here?
–JMF