Day: January 6, 2026

Book Review by Bryan C.

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Divergent series, book 1
(2011) 487 pages

Divergent: In the world everything is split into 5 separate factions. They are Erudites(which is evil) and are intelligent ones. Dauntless which are the fearless, Amity which is the peaceful, Abnegation the selfless and Candor the honest. Each person has an affinity for one faction. Divergents are people that have an affinity for more than one faction and are immune to serums. The main character is named Beatrice and belongs to the faction Abnegation. However, she and her brother Caleb change factions. She changes to Dauntless and he changes to Erudites. At this time no one knows they are evil yet. Beatrice then changes her name to Tris and has to take an introduction that not everyone will make. Only the top ten will make it. It also turns out her mother used to be part of dauntless. Her two friends Will and Christina start dating. She also starts to have romantic relationships with Four her instructor whose real name is Tobias. Then, one night, everyone gets injected by a shot by an evil Erudites faction person named Jeanine. They then kill a bunch of the Abnegation which are also like the government. Tobias is then controlled by a new serum and all of Tris’ family dies except her brother. They then all go to the Amity faction which is peaceful

Book Review by Kathleen C.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter series, book 1
(1997) 223 pages

Harry Potter, age 12, is absolutely miserable. Between his constantly nagging Aunt Petunia, temperamental Uncle Vernon and spoiled cousin Dudley, Harry knows that he doesn’t belong. Despite this, Harry never expected that the eve of his 12th birthday would change his life. While I have read the entire Harry Potter series (and the extras too), the Philosopher’s Stone is, in my opinion, the best of the lot. Even skimming through the book, the brilliant worldbuilding is evident. A deeper analysis reveals details that showcase the staggering dedication and amount of research J.K. Rowling did for this book. For example, the names of all the spells, plants and even characters all hold a special meaning, either in their origin or in history. As such, I rate this book five stars.