The Divergent books in order include Veronica Roth’s original dystopian trilogy, Tobias’s companion stories, an epilogue, and an alternate-timeline duology. The story begins with Beatrice “Tris” Prior, a teenager whose society divides people into factions based on the qualities they value most.
Roth expanded the series through Four: A Divergent Collection, shorter fiction, and The Sixth Faction. The original trilogy also inspired three feature films. This guide covers the novels, novellas, companion material, and movie watch order.
Jump to:
- Recommended Divergent Reading Order
- Divergent Books in Publication Order
- Divergent Books in Chronological Order
- Divergent Movies in Order
Recommended Divergent Reading Order
I recommend reading the original trilogy straight through before moving to Tobias’s stories. Four takes place earlier, but it assumes that you already know the characters, factions, and major conflicts from Tris’s story.
- Divergent (2011)
- Insurgent (2012)
- Allegiant (2013)
- Four: A Divergent Collection (2014)
- We Can Be Mended (2017; standalone ebook 2018)
- The Sixth Faction (2026)
- The Sixth Faction #2 (working title) (2027)
Free Four can be read after Divergent. It retells the knife-throwing scene from Tobias’s point of view. The World of Divergent: The Path to Allegiant is an optional companion with faction material, quizzes, manifestos, and a preview of Allegiant.
The Sixth Faction duology begins from a different version of Tris’s Choosing Ceremony. I’d save it until after the original trilogy and its companion stories so the changes to the familiar world have more meaning.
Divergent Books in Publication Order
Publication order shows how the Divergent world expanded from the original trilogy into Tobias’s stories, companion material, and the alternate timeline. This is also useful if you want to see when each piece first became available.
Main Series Books and Extras
- Divergent (2011)
- Free Four (2012) (Extra scene)
- Insurgent (2012)
- The Transfer (2013) (Found in Four: A Divergent Collection)
- The World of Divergent: The Path to Allegiant (2013) (Companion)
- Allegiant (2013)
- Four: A Divergent Collection (2014)
- We Can Be Mended (2017; standalone ebook 2018) (Short story)
Four: A Divergent Collection brings together four novellas about Tobias. It also includes three scenes from Divergent retold from his point of view.
- The Transfer (2013) (Found in Four: A Divergent Collection)
- The Initiate (2014) (Found in Four: A Divergent Collection)
- The Son (2014) (Found in Four: A Divergent Collection)
- The Traitor (2014) (Found in Four: A Divergent Collection)
Depending on the edition you own, Free Four and We Can Be Mended may already appear as bonus material. The World of Divergent: The Path to Allegiant remains a separate companion rather than a story in the fictional timeline.
The Sixth Faction Duology
The Sixth Faction duology reimagines Tris’s story from the Choosing Ceremony onward. It is an alternate version of the Divergent world rather than a direct continuation of Allegiant.
- The Sixth Faction (2026)
- The Sixth Faction #2 (working title) (2027)
Divergent Books in Chronological Order
The chronological order begins with Tobias before Tris joins Dauntless. It is approximate because several Tobias stories take place during Divergent, and Free Four retells a scene from that novel rather than adding a separate event.
I recommend this order for a reread. First-time readers will get more from the reveals and character introductions by beginning with Divergent.
- The Transfer (Found in Four: A Divergent Collection)
- The Initiate (Found in Four: A Divergent Collection)
- The Son (Found in Four: A Divergent Collection)
- Divergent
- Free Four
- The Traitor (Found in Four: A Divergent Collection)
- Insurgent
- Allegiant
- We Can Be Mended
The three additional Tobias scenes in Four: A Divergent Collection also overlap with Divergent. The World of Divergent: The Path to Allegiant is not included here because it is a reference and promotional companion rather than a narrative story.
Divergent Alternate Timeline (Sixth Faction)
The Sixth Faction books branch from a different outcome at Tris’s Choosing Ceremony. They belong in their own timeline, so I’d read them after finishing the original trilogy and companion fiction.
- The Sixth Faction
- The Sixth Faction #2 (working title)
Divergent Movies in Order
The Divergent movies should be watched in release order. The three films adapt the original trilogy, although the screen story moves farther away from the books as it continues.
- Divergent (2014)
- The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015)
- The Divergent Series: Allegiant (2016)
Divergent adapts the first novel, while Insurgent makes substantial changes to the second book. Allegiant uses characters and ideas from Roth’s third novel but follows a noticeably different storyline.
A fourth film called Ascendant was planned but never released. As a result, the movies do not complete the storyline from Roth’s trilogy. Readers need Allegiant for the author’s original ending.
Divergent Movie Companion
Divergent Official Illustrated Movie Companion by Kate Egan (2014) is an optional behind-the-scenes guide to the first film. It includes production photos, interviews, costumes, sets, and details about adapting the factions for the screen.
Looking for more books like Divergent?
If you want more science fiction authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Science Fiction Books in Order index.