Veronica Roth

Veronica Roth was born in New York City in 1988 and grew up mainly in Barrington, Illinois. After a year at Carleton College she transferred to Northwestern University for its creative writing program, and she wrote Divergent during winter break of her senior year, finding an agent by the following March. HarperCollins Children's Books published it in 2011. The novel is set in a post-apocalyptic Chicago where every citizen belongs to one of five factions, and follows Beatrice Prior, who joins Dauntless and takes the name Tris.

Insurgent (2012) and Allegiant (2013) completed the trilogy, which has sold more than 35 million copies and was adapted into a film series. Four: A Divergent Collection (2014) gathers five stories told by Tobias Eaton. Roth then wrote the science fiction duology Carve the Mark (2017) and The Fates Divide (2018), followed by Chosen Ones (2020), Poster Girl (2022) and Arch-Conspirator (2023), and the novellas When Among Crows (2024) and To Clutch a Razor (2025).

Start with Divergent and read the trilogy straight through; Insurgent picks up the conflict Divergent sets in motion, and Allegiant resolves it. Leave Four until after the trilogy. Roth described the stories as a Tobias-centered prequel with some overlap, and the first story retells a scene from chapter 13 of Divergent from his side, so it reads best once you know the main books.

For something after Divergent, Carve the Mark suits readers who want more young adult science fiction, with two protagonists, Akos and Cyra, from opposing cultures. Chosen Ones and Poster Girl are the natural next step for readers who grew up with Divergent and want her later work.