Theater Thursday: Divergent

If you've been paying attention to this sort of thing, this news will not be news.  It's been floating all over the place for about a week or so. Still, if you haven't been paying much attention, or at least not paying attention to the things I spend way too much time looking at, you may have missed it.  That is why, this week for my marvelous Theater Thursday, I am going to cover the breaking (or already broken) news that is Divergent the movie.  Here's a quick summary of the book.

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her. Quoted from Goodreads

Here's the thing.  I love this book, so I'm super excited that it's going to be made into a movie. This is the book I recommend to anyone who loves Hunger Games, though I really think it's more along the lines of Tamora Pierce books--small girl everyone underestimates who learns to kick everyone's butt. Sound familiar? So the first order of business, if you haven't read this book you need to read it now. Plus, the second book in the series is already out, so you can have twice the goodness. Unfortunately you'll still have to wait a year for the third one, but isn't anticipation half the fun? I mean, I talked about Harry Potter 10 as much before the last one came out. It isn't that I don't love the series still, because I do, but there's something about anticipating the next great thing that a complete series can never equal. So to recap: Read This Book.

Now on to the theater portion of this blog.  First, the movie has a director. The lovely Neil Burger, who directed The Illusionist and Limitless. Other than that, I don't know much about him, but feel free to do your own research ;)

Next, the have an actress to play Tris.  Here's the thing, I'm not actually sure how I feel about this, but I'm going to hope they know what they're doing.  I admit, my first reaction was NO.  But after reading numerous articles, I'm coming around to the idea.  I mean, she is pretty, but not too pretty to play the character, which is good.  Plus, according to people who have seen The Descendants, she did an amazing job.  Anyway, the actress is Shailene Woodley (who may also be MaryJane in the next Spider Man movie).

For more information, here's Veronica Roth's announcement on her blog.

Now, this movie isn't scheduled to come out until 21 March 2014, so until then, go enjoy the books.  They really are excellent.