Dystopian | Harker US Book Blog

Divergent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Imagine a dystopia in which everyone at the age of 16 must choose one of five factions: Dauntless, Amity, Abnegation, Candor, or Erudite. Created at first to balance and seam together society, the system soon threatens to fall apart because of greed and corruption. Veronica Roth frames the story through the eyes of Beatrice Prior, a girl who must choose her faction and deal with the decaying structure of her world. Beatrice captures the hearts of readers easily; she is incredibly brave, selfless, and intelligent. While the book presents a wonderfully unique and fascinating society that is struggling to keep itself upright, it also ensnares readers through the battles Beatrice fights with herself, her family, her friends, and the boy she grows to love. Divergent is beautifully written and extremely hard to put down. I am definitely looking forward to its sequel: Insurgent. Recommended for fans of The Hunger Games. –Anushka D. ‘15

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Unwind by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Imagine a world where teenagers are at a constant risk to be “unwound,” or have their body parts harvested to be donated later, by their parents. This sociological dystopia can be viewed in Neal Shusterman’s novel Unwind, a must-read. Poignant and illustrative, the story not only fully draws the readers into a grippingly heart-rending world but also raises questions about many current societal controversies, for instance abortion. Told from the viewpoints of three different desperate teenagers, Unwind is an engaging tale about a fight to survive while questioning existence itself. The first book in the Unwind Trilogy, Unwind is especially recommended for readers who appreciate powerful, complex characters, but will be relished by people of any age. – Nikita R. ’16

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