"Faction before blood"
Four: A Divergent Collection
Written by Veronica Roth
In the wake of Allegiant (book three of the Divergent series by Veronica Roth) comes a new installment of the series, in which Tris Prior leaves the spotlight and gives the mic over to Tobias Eaton. The latest addition serves as a prequel to the existing trilogy and focuses on the thoughts, feelings, and actions of Tobias in a four-part story collectively referred to as Four (pun intended). I was skeptical of this publication at first. What more was there to add to the story? However, I was pleasantly surprised at the symmetry with the first Divergent book and the development of Four as a character.
The four stories contained in Four are called (in order) The Transfer, The Initiate, The Son and The Traitor. The first of which occurs two years before the main trilogy and then overlaps with part of Divergent in the natural progression of Four’s story. This book is an entertaining glimpse back into the utopian world created in Divergent.
Four proved to be a fascinating and well-developed character. He was a perfect counter part to Tris’ character. Tris had a natural strength that was brought out with her initiation into Dauntless and continued throughout the series. Tobias had strength as well, but for so long he was repressed. It’s true that he only had four fears in his fear landscape, but his fears ran deeper and stemmed from an abusive childhood. His pain set him apart from the other characters, and when the time comes to choose his future faction he makes a decision to transfer to Dauntless. He escapes from his past and finds his strength apart from it.
If you loved Divergent for the imaginative world that Veronica Roth wrote into existence then this is a book worth your time. It’s a short read, but in it contains another Dauntless Initiation experience unique in its own right. And Four’s story is not the only one that is expanded. You will also see more of the supporting characters like Zeke and Shauna that gave such a good impression in the main trilogy. It is imperative to read Divergent before Four otherwise you won’t understand the gravity of subtle game-changers that will alter the way you think of Four and events throughout the entire series.
