Book · in order

Divergent Books in Order

By the Bingerun team · How we choose the order →

The three Divergent novels read in publication order, no tricks: Divergent (2011), Insurgent (2012), Allegiant (2013). The parts worth planning are Four: A Divergent Collection, whose five stories sit at different points around book one rather than all before it, and the film series, which stops roughly halfway through Allegiant and was never finished.

0 / 14 done

This order covers 10 of 14 entries, and intentionally skips the rest.

  1. Divergent 2011

    Book 1. Beatrice Prior's aptitude test, the Choosing Ceremony and Dauntless initiation. Every other entry on this page assumes you have read it, including the 2026 alternate-universe restart, so this is the start no matter which lane you pick

  2. Four: The Transfer 2013

    First of the Four stories by internal chronology: Tobias Eaton's own aptitude test and Choosing Ceremony, two years before Tris's. Released as a standalone e-novella on September 3, 2013 and later collected in Four. A genuine prequel, so it is safe either side of book one

  3. Four: The Initiate 2014

    Second Four story: Tobias's own Dauntless initiation, still well before Divergent opens. Published as an e-novella on July 8, 2014, the same day as the print collection

  4. Four: The Son 2014

    Third Four story and the last of the pure prequels, set about two years before the novel, when Tobias learns the truth about his mother Evelyn. E-novella published July 8, 2014

  5. Free Four: Tobias Tells the Divergent Knife-Throwing Scene 2012

    Not a prequel: a single chapter of Divergent, the knife-throwing scene, retold in Four's voice. Released free as an ebook on April 23, 2012, which makes it the oldest of the short stories and the reason people wrongly assume the whole collection comes before book one. Read Divergent first

  6. Four: The Traitor 2014

    The story that stops Four from being a prequel volume. It runs alongside the events of Divergent, seen from Four's side of the Erudite plot, so reading it early gives away book one's central turn. E-novella published July 8, 2014

  7. Insurgent 2012

    Book 2, picking up straight after Divergent as the faction war widens. Nothing needs to be slotted between the two novels; the Four stories can wait until after book one or after the trilogy

  8. Allegiant 2013

    Book 3, where the wall comes down and the series explains what Chicago actually is. This is the one the films never finished: the third movie covers roughly the first half and stops, so the final act exists only on the page. Its ending is the most argued-over thing in the series

  9. We Can Be Mended: A Divergent Story 2017

    A short epilogue narrated by Tobias, set five years after Allegiant, around 30 pages. Awkward history: first given to readers who bought or pre-ordered Carve the Mark in January 2017, then sold as a standalone ebook on January 9, 2018. Optional, and absent from most trilogy box sets, which is why so many readers never hear about it

  10. The Sixth Faction 2026

    Out October 6, 2026 from HarperCollins. Not book four: Roth described it at its announcement as not a sequel and not a prequel, but an alternate universe in which Tris chooses a different faction than Dauntless. It rewinds to the Choosing Ceremony rather than continuing from Allegiant, and opens a planned duology whose second book is reported for February 2027

Check off what you've finished, it saves automatically · See all your lists → ·

Why this order?

Start with the honest part. The Divergent trilogy is one long story told in the order it was written, so publication order and story order are the same three books: Divergent (2011), Insurgent (2012), Allegiant (2013). There is no reshuffle, no prequel to fold in, no chronological toggle that changes anything. If someone sells you a complicated alternative for the novels alone, they have invented it. Read those three and you have the whole arc.

The first thing that actually needs a decision is Four: A Divergent Collection (July 8, 2014), and the trap is that people treat it as a prequel volume when only part of it is. It gathers five short stories in Tobias Eaton's voice. Three of them, The Transfer, The Initiate and The Son, really do sit before Divergent: Tobias's own aptitude test and Choosing Ceremony two years ahead of Tris's, his Dauntless initiation, and what he learns about his mother. The other two do not. Free Four retells a single chapter of Divergent from Four's side, and The Traitor runs alongside the novel's events from inside the Erudite plot. The print collection also adds three short bonus scenes that appear nowhere else, and those are drawn from Divergent as well. So reading Four cover to cover before book one hands you the first novel's central turn early. Read Divergent first, then read the collection straight through. If you want the strictest version, the three prequel stories are safe to read before Divergent and the rest are not, which is the order shown here.

One buying note on the same book: the stories were sold separately as e-novellas first. Free Four went out free on April 23, 2012, The Transfer followed on September 3, 2013, and The Initiate, The Son and The Traitor all arrived on July 8, 2014, the same day as the print collection. Buying the individual ebooks gets you the same five stories minus the three exclusive scenes, so for most readers the bind-up is the simpler purchase.

After Allegiant there is a small epilogue that is easy to miss. We Can Be Mended is a short Tobias-narrated piece set five years after the trilogy ends. It has a confusing history: it was first handed to readers who bought or pre-ordered Roth's Carve the Mark in January 2017, then sold on its own as an ebook on January 9, 2018. It is not in most trilogy box sets, which is why plenty of people finish Allegiant and never learn it exists. It is optional, but if Allegiant's ending left you unsettled, and for a lot of readers it did, this is the closest thing to a coda.

Now the part people actually arrive here for: the movies do not finish the story. There are three films, Divergent (March 21, 2014), Insurgent (March 20, 2015) and Allegiant (March 18, 2016). On April 11, 2014 Lionsgate decided to split the final novel into two theatrical films, with the second half to be called Ascendant. The third film therefore covers roughly the first half of the Allegiant novel and ends with the Bureau exposed, leaving the memory-serum plot open for a sequel that never came. Allegiant took about $179M worldwide against roughly $289M and $297M for the first two, Ascendant was pulled from the theatrical schedule and floated as a TV movie with a spin-off series, Shailene Woodley stepped away in early 2017, and Starz stopped developing the show by December 2018. Some listings still carry the third film under a Part 1 label, which is the tell. The only way to finish the story is to read Allegiant. Do not try to bridge from the third film into the back half of the book, though: Insurgent already invented its own central object, a five-test box holding the founders' message, which the novel does not have, and Allegiant rearranged the Bureau material on top of that. Coming from the films, go back to the novel of Divergent and read all three.

The newest entry is not book four either. The Sixth Faction arrives October 6, 2026 from HarperCollins, and Roth's own framing at its announcement was that it is not a sequel and not a prequel, but an alternate universe in which Tris chooses a different faction than Dauntless. It rewinds to the Choosing Ceremony and turns left, so it does not continue from Allegiant and does not need We Can Be Mended first. It does want you to know the original, since the whole point is feeling the swerve. It opens a planned duology, with a second book reported for February 2027. If you like this shape of dystopian YA, The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner and Shatter Me are the usual next stops.

Timeline 2011-2026

Every entry by release year: rows that share a year are a cluster, and the long droughts are called out on the rail.

  1. 2011 Divergent
  2. 2012 Free Four: Tobias Tells the Divergent Knife-Thr…Insurgent
  3. 2013 Four: The TransferAllegiant
  4. 2014 Four: The InitiateFour: The SonFour: The TraitorFour: A Divergent Collection(film)
  5. 2015 The Divergent Series: Insurgent
  6. 2016 The Divergent Series: Allegiant
  7. 2017 We Can Be Mended: A Divergent Story
  8. 9-year gap
  9. 2026 The Sixth Faction

Where to play it today

  • The three novels and Four: A Divergent Collection are widely in print from Katherine Tegen Books in paperback, hardcover, ebook and audiobook
  • We Can Be Mended is ebook-only as a standalone purchase (Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play) and is not bundled into most trilogy box sets
  • The Sixth Faction is available to pre-order ahead of its October 6, 2026 publication, including a deluxe limited edition
  • Libby or Hoopla through a library card usually carries the trilogy and the collection at no cost
  • The three films are reliably available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, the Apple TV Store and Fandango at Home; free and subscription streaming homes rotate often, so check JustWatch rather than trusting any fixed list

Availability changes often and varies by region - links search each platform for Divergent.

Frequently asked questions

How many Divergent books are there?

Three novels: Divergent (2011), Insurgent (2012) and Allegiant (2013). Around them sit Four: A Divergent Collection (2014), which gathers five short stories in Tobias's voice, and We Can Be Mended, a short epilogue set five years after Allegiant. The Sixth Faction, out October 6, 2026, is not a fourth novel but the first book of a separate alternate-universe duology.

What order should I read Divergent in?

Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant. Publication order and story order are identical for the trilogy, so there is nothing to rearrange. Slot the Four stories in around book one as shown above, and finish with We Can Be Mended if you want the epilogue.

Where does Four: A Divergent Collection fit?

Not entirely before book one, which is the common mistake. The Transfer, The Initiate and The Son are true prequels set before Divergent. Free Four and The Traitor sit inside the events of Divergent, and the collection's three exclusive bonus scenes come from the novel too. Read Divergent first, then read the collection through.

Do the Divergent movies finish the story?

No. There are three films, and the third, Allegiant (2016), adapts roughly the first half of the final novel before stopping with the Bureau exposed. The concluding film, Ascendant, was never made. If you have only watched the movies, the ending exists only in the book.

Why was there never a fourth Divergent movie?

Lionsgate split the final novel into two films in April 2014, then Allegiant grossed about $179M worldwide against roughly $289M and $297M for the first two. Ascendant lost its theatrical slot and was floated as a TV movie with a spin-off series; Shailene Woodley stepped away in early 2017 and Starz had dropped the show by December 2018.

Can I watch the movies and then just read Allegiant?

It works, but it is bumpier than it sounds. Insurgent invents a sealed box holding the founders' message as its central plot object, which is not in the novel, and Allegiant reshapes the Bureau material on top of that. Going back and reading all three novels is the cleaner fix.

Is The Sixth Faction a sequel to Allegiant?

No. Roth described it at its announcement as neither a sequel nor a prequel, but an alternate universe in which Tris chooses a different faction than Dauntless. It restarts at the Choosing Ceremony, so it does not continue the trilogy's plot, though it lands better if you have read Divergent. Book two of the duology is reported for February 2027.

What is We Can Be Mended, and do I need it?

A roughly 30-page epilogue narrated by Tobias, set five years after Allegiant. It was originally a January 2017 bonus for buyers of Roth's Carve the Mark, then released as a standalone ebook on January 9, 2018. It is optional and adds no plot you need, but it is the only official material set after the trilogy.

Is Free Four a different book from Four?

Free Four is one short story, released free in 2012, that retells the knife-throwing chapter of Divergent from Tobias's perspective. Four: A Divergent Collection is the 2014 volume that contains it alongside four other stories. Two other titles cause confusion here: The World of Divergent: The Path to Allegiant (2013) is a free companion of faction manifestos and extras rather than a story, and Seek the Traitor's Son (May 2026) is the start of Roth's Burning Empire series, unrelated to Divergent despite the familiar-sounding title.

</> Embed this guide on your site

Put the live Divergent order on your own site, blog, or wiki. It stays current as we verify and update it, with no upkeep on your end.

Last verified · Sources: en.wikipedia.org, goodreads.com, harperstacks.com, aol.com, deadline.com, thepopverse.com, winteriscoming.net, screenrant.com, bookstacked.com, orderofbooks.com, justwatch.com

← Browse all book orders