I have come to fall in love with teaching in Catholic schools. What are YOU in love with?...

"Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything." - Pedro Arrupe

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Divergent...What will the choice be...?

I stayed up later than I had wanted to last night because I was finishing Divergent, a futuristic/dystopian novel that takes place in the future "ruins" (for lack of a better word) of Chicago. (The author describes Navy Pier, the l, streets, etc. - it's pretty cool if you are remotely familiar with the city.)

You can say I'm a sucker for giving in to the popular young adult books that are on the verge of being made into movies. (In the case of this book, it's coming to a theater near you in March.) I mean, let's be real, it's important to read the book first - Hunger Games...Harry Potter...amiright?

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, though, at times, it was pretty predictable. I think my favorite aspect of the plot was the 5 factions/groups: Abnegation (the main character's family's group), Amity, Candor, Erudite, and Dauntless. Each group has a special quality/skill that they hold in highest esteem and stand for - if you know the meaning of these words (or look them up), I bet you can guess what each one is.

The novel opens right before "Choosing Day" - the day when 16 year-olds take a test to guide them to pick their allegiance. Beatrice, the main character, gets "inconclusive" test results...She's "divergent" - but, shhh, don't say it too loud. It could get you into trouble...

So the choice is up to her. Will she choose her family? or will she pick a new group? And what will the repercussions be?

Guess you'll have to read and find out. (It was a fairly fast read - all 487 pages of it.) I do encourage you to pick it up and give it a try.

And if you do, let me know what you think.

1 comment:

  1. If you've ever seen the movie "Equilibrium" with Christian Bale, it's kind of like that...

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