On My Bookshelf: Divergent by Veronica Roth

The basic plot from Amazon: One choice can transform you. Beatrice Prior's society is divided into five factions—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). Beatrice must choose between staying with her Abnegation family and transferring factions. Her choice will shock her community and herself. But the newly christened Tris also has a secret, one she's determined to keep hidden, because in this world, what makes you different makes you dangerous.

Why I liked it: I recently picked up a copy of Divergent  for my classroom library and was completely drawn into the dystopian society composed up of five factions: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). Beatrice doesn't quite fit in with any of the factions, but when she switches factions from Abnegation to Dauntless, she begins to discover that not everything is what it seems. Making it through her training to become Dauntless is just the first of many challenges she will face.


Classroom application: I would recommend this book for seventh grade and up. There is some harsh violence, but it is PG romance-wise and no concerning language. Fans of books like The Giver and the Hunger Games, Matched, and Initiation series will love this one.

During reading, students could participate in a choosing ceremony (minus the ritual of cutting one’s hand with a knife) and write about why they chose the faction that they did. Before this ceremony, you could create an “aptitude test” for students to take to help determine their faction. I’m thinking of something similar to those quizzes in Seventeen and Cosmo that determine what kind of friend or employee you are. As the plot progresses, you could have students design the tattoo(s) they would get after joining Dauntless and write about what these tattoos represent and why students would want to get them.

After reading, students could discuss what it means to be “divergent” and identify examples from the past and in modern society. Beatrice is a strong female protagonist, able to face her fears and calm herself in difficult situations so well that Four admires her. Students could engage in social emotional learning activities to help them develop similar traits and coping skills.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Divergent for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

On My Bookshelf: Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan

The basic plot from Amazon: Julia is very short for her age, but by the end of the summer run of The Wizard of Oz, she’ll realize how big she is inside, where it counts. She hasn’t ever thought of herself as a performer, but when the wonderful director of Oz casts her as a Munchkin, she begins to see herself in a new way. As Julia becomes friendly with the poised and wise Olive—one of the adults with dwarfism who’ve joined the production’s motley crew of Munchkins—and with her deeply artistic neighbor, Mrs. Chang, Julia’s own sense of self as an artist grows. Soon, she doesn’t want to fade into the background—and it’s a good thing, because her director has more big plans for Julia!

Bubbling over with humor and tenderness, this is an irresistible story of self-discovery and of the role models who forever change us.

Why I liked it: Short is by the Holly Goldberg Sloan, who also wrote Counting by 7s, which I enjoyed more than this book. In all fairness, I did listen to this on audiobook and some of my annoyance with the narrator (and as a result my mild distaste for the book) could be due to the voice of the audiobook’s narrator. This is not the first time I’ve had this suspicion, but I think it is interesting to think about how hearing a character’s voice can impact our overall enjoyment of a book.

The plot centers around performing in a summer musical, which I could personally relate to. My school district ran a similar summer program from grades 4-12 and I have wonderful memories of participating and I completely understood Julia’s awe of the older performers involved. While the shows I was a part of did not include any professionals, many of the high school students involved in my performances were extremely talented and many did go on to become professionals.

Similar to Counting by 7s, Julia makes several friendships with characters across generations. I liked how shocked she was to learn the age of some of the elderly characters in the book, like her neighbor Mrs. Chang and the show’s director Sean Barr, because they didn’t seem that “old” to her.

Classroom application: This is definitely a book for middle grade students as I think students older than 8th grade would share my annoyance at Julia’s naïveté. Animal lovers will particularly like this book as Julia spends much of the book saddened by the recent loss of her beloved dog.

After reading, students could research other famous short people or the medical issues related to delayed growth. Students could also participate in a service learning project with a senior citizen group or nursing home.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Short for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.