Book Nerds Across America

Book Summary
Fans of the Divergent series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth will be thrilled by Four: A Divergent Collection, a fourth volume in the Divergent series. Readers first encountered Tobias Eaton as "Four" in Divergent. His voice is an integral part of Allegiant. Readers will find more of this charismatic character's backstory told from his own perspective in Four: A Divergent Collection. When read together, these long narrative pieces illuminate the defining moments in Tobias Eaton's life. The first three pieces in this volume--"The Transfer," "The Initiate," and "The Son"--follow Tobias's transfer from Abnegation to Dauntless, his Dauntless initiation, and the first clues that a foul plan is brewing in the leadership of two factions. The fourth story, "The Traitor," runs parallel with the events of Divergent, giving readers a glimpse into the decisions of loyalty--and love--that Tobias makes in the weeks after he meets Tris Prior.

Flo's Review
I had already read The Transfer when it was first released, but I decided to wait to read the other ones until I could read them all together. I'm glad I did. This collection of stories was fantastic! I really enjoyed seeing things from Four's point of view, but even more than that, I enjoyed learning more about the past of Dauntless. I was not expecting the events that went down in The Son, and reading The Traitor made me want to go back and read Divergent again. This volume did a great job of showing more about Dauntless. In Divergent, Four talks about how the faction is changing from what it used to be, but that's all he says. When I was reading it, I was so caught up in Tris' story and the her initiate class's drama, that I didn't stop to think about how Dauntless was different. Like how the initiates used to do combat training with pads, and the idea wasn't to beat each other but to build camaraderie among them. So cool! And how the current system with Tris and the eliminations came around? Fascinating. I just really enjoyed this book, and if you enjoyed the Divergent trilogy then this is a great addition. 

Our Divergent Reviews
Flo's review of Divergent: http://www.booknerdsacrossamerica.com/2011/03/divergent-by-veronica-roth.html
The rest of the Book Nerds' review of Divergent: http://www.booknerdsacrossamerica.com/2011/05/divergent.html
Book Nerds review of Insurgent: http://www.booknerdsacrossamerica.com/2012/06/insurgent-by-veronica-roth.html

The first of four new short stories told from the perspective of everyone's favorite Divergent love interest! More Four! Fans of the Divergent series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth will be thrilled by "The Transfer," the first of four new short stories told from Four's perspective. Each brief story explores the world of the Divergent series through the eyes of the mysterious but charismatic Tobias Eaton, revealing previously unknown facets of his personality, backstory, and relationships. (from Goodreads)

Flo's Review
Short and sweet story, so short and sweet review. By "sweet" I mean awesome, not sweet as in "Awww..." Because Four had some rough breaks. I really did enjoy getting to see more of Four's past and explanations of things that are just mentioned in the Divergent trilogy. I have not read Allegiant yet, and this was a perfect little morsel to ready me for jumping back into this world. 

A side perk of this story is that I kept seeing Theo James in my mind and that also made me super excited for the movie! 

If you like the Divergent world, then this is definitely worth the read. I'm looking forward to the next one, The Initiate. 

Bet you are wondering what 700/400/100 is?  The Book Nerds recently went to RT Book Lovers Convention and were able to get a signed copy of Divergent from Veronica Roth.  Now that is the prize BUT THE SURPRISE TO THAT IS:

If we reach 700 followers on Twitter, 400 followers on the site and 100 likes on Facebook we  will ADD A SPECIAL SURPRISE TO THE GIVEAWAY WINNER!! The "catch" is if we do not make those goals then the winner will only get the signed copy of Divergent. Be sure to tell everyone about the giveaway and good luck!

Along with our Divergent Giveaway you might want to know which Faction you would be in.

On the Divergent Facebook Page there is a quiz to take. The staff at BookNerds blog all took the quiz and came up with the following results:

We all read Divergent by Veronica Roth and LOVED it! Now (thanks to Teri) we are going to give one of a followers a chance to love it as much as we do.

The book is not a new book.  This book has been used but is in very good condition.

Jacque's Review:

Flo posted an extensive review of Divergent a couple of months ago.  I could not agree with her more.  This book was AMAZING.  There is no other way to describe it.  The storyline was very original and the characters were constantly evolving.  I simply did not want to put it down, nor did I want it to end.

Since Flo left a gaping hole in her review on purpose, I will attempt to fill it.  Four was by far my favorite character.  He was strong and appeared to be fearless, as the Dauntless are described to be, but as the story progressed I learned that there is a lot more to him.  He helps Tris and the readers to discover what is really going on within the factions and why being Divergent is a desirable quality.  The interactions and dialogue between Tris and Four are what captivated me the most.  Without Four, I guarantee I would not have felt the same way about this book.


Mary's Review:

This book was a very quick read for me and I loved it after the first two chapters.  The first couple chapters were a bit of a template for me.  Let me explain, I did not enjoy the book MATCHED by Ally Condie and the first two chapters were showing simialites to it.  However, after Tris chose what faction she was going to live in, the book to a dramatic turn and I loved it! 

Jacque is very correct in saying that Four made this book.  The book would not be the same without Four.  (I think this is the first time we all are on the same "Team")  Within this book you can actually see Tris grow into a strong and determined person and that is because Four is there to help her with that.


Teri's Review:

Divergent is my very first book with the blog. I excitedly went to the book store, (Im old school and do not download books yet..) and picked up the book skimming the jacket. I have to admit I felt a bit disappointed and thought " this is not for me.." It seemed futurist. The only futurist thing that crosses my mind is who will be wearing what in the next season. But like a trooper, I paid for my book and carried on. Like Mary, I struggled though the first few chapters. They held little interest to me and my perceptions on the Abnegation bordered on Amish like. It was Tris's apparent act of rebellion in choosing Dauntless that caught my attention and I was hooked from then on. The characters suddenly became real to me, as did their struggles to want to fit in where a lot of them obviously didn't belong. Like my fellow bloggers, I was totally Team Four. His darkness appealed to my love of bad boys, and I cherished the relationship between him and Tris and wanted it to be real. I found this book a easy enjoyable read, one that deals with our desires to belong , and our need for acceptance .

I have been hesitant to write this review for awhile now. How can I possibly convey to you all how much I love this book a) without spoilers and b) without sounding like a meaningless waterfall of gushing words?

But I can simply tell you that I loved this book. I can tell you that I did not want to leave the main character Tris' world. When I was reading this book, I could not wait for my day to end so I could curl up with it again and see what would happen to Tris next. And after I was done with Divergent, I returned again and again to Tris' world in my mind.