Questions About Free Four: Tobias Tells the Divergent Knife-Throwing Scene (Divergent, #1.5)

by Veronica Roth (Goodreads Author)

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Cassandra

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Is the story 'Free Four' supposed to be in the book 'FOUR a divergent collection'? because my dad bought me the book and it only contains -The transfer, the initiate, the son, first jumper tris, careful tris, you look good tris.

Katy Theis No Free Four was an e-book published April 23, 2012
Four: A Divergent Collection was published July 8, 2014
They are 2 different books. …moreNo Free Four was an e-book published April 23, 2012
Four: A Divergent Collection was published July 8, 2014
They are 2 different books. (less)

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Is this better than Four: A Divergent Collection? People didn't really like the stories from Four's perspective. Is this any better???

Bethany h I really enjoyed reading this book! I can't say that its better than Four: A Divergent Collection because this book is pretty much just an add-on to i…moreI really enjoyed reading this book! I can't say that its better than Four: A Divergent Collection because this book is pretty much just an add-on to it. I love reading it from Four´s perspective even though some people prefer him to be as mysterious as he is in Divergent.(less)

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I have seen four (I think) different 'Four' books. In what order do I read them? I haven't read the Divergent trilogy yet, so please no spoilers.

Jens Raab So, there are several "Four" publications.
First of all, Four is the (nick)name of a character in the series so the "Four" in the title doesn't necessa…moreSo, there are several "Four" publications.
First of all, Four is the (nick)name of a character in the series so the "Four" in the title doesn't necessarily indicate the number of stories found inside but rather stories that are written from the point of view of this character. (I guess you already knew that.)

"Free Four" is the shortest of the bunch, it's also the first one to be published. It's not really a complete story but an extended scene from the novel Divergent but told from the point of view of Four.
I don't think this is
The best time to read this is directly after Divergent.
It doesn't make sense to read it before because there's very little explanation of the context as the author clearly wrote this for people who are already familiar with the novel's scene. And while you don't have to read it after Divergent, doing so seems best to me because you'll have that scene still relatively fresh in your mind and there are a few pieces of information that Roth picks up again in the next novel.

Then, there are the stories "The Transfer", "The Initiate", "The Son", and "The Traitor", which are episodes that take place before and during the novel Divergent.
Taken together they are a bit like Four's "Divergent", the story of how he got where we meet him (trying to avoid spoilers here) and his view on certain events. You should read them in the order I listed them, which is also the order they appear in Four: A Divergent Collection.
That said, I do not recommend to read this before the novel Divergent. The way these stories are written presuppose knowledge of how things are. It will also spoil important events from late in the novel.

I read these in publication order, i.e. "The Transfer" (which had been published separately before being collected) after Insurgent and the remaining three directly after Allegiant but I'm not quite sure myself whether I'd recommend this to others.
I see an advantage to read these all together after the novels because the four linked stories form somewhat of a cohesive narrative (the gaps of which we fill with our knowledge from what took place in the novels).
I think, I like this better than splitting them up.
Even though they all take place before Insurgent, they spoil a surprise from that novel. But if you read them in publication order as I did, Insurgent will have spoiled this surprise in the stories. So I don't think it makes much of a difference; you either find out about this surprise when Tris (the POV character from the novels) does or when Four does.
At the same time, I feel like they would have made another surprise from Allegiant more impactful so there's something to be said for having read them before the third novel.
I guess, the two best spots to read these four stories in one go are either directly after Divergent or after Allegiant. Each option comes with pros and cons. Reading them after Divergent will disrupt the flow of the main story as Insurgent continues immediately after the moment Divergent ended (because unlike "Free Four" which is really short, these four stories will take some time to read).
However, reading them after Allegiant means you're reading about a time that is already far removed and maybe Four's story seems less relevant then. Or it might be a welcome trip back to the beginnings. I guess, it depends on the reader.
I think, I'd tend to recommend one read these between Divergent and Insurgent but maybe others would see it differently.

There are also three short scenes that are included in the Four collection as deleted scenes. These really aren't short stories, just some scenes, again from Four's POV. They don't even have proper titles; their titles are just quotes from the text (like "Careful, Tris.").

Finally, there's "We Can Be Mended", which carries the subtitle "A Divergent Series Epilogue". And that's exactly what it is, an epilogue to the series. I definitely should not be read before the final novel.

A last word of caution, and this may come far too late given that you asked this question 3 years ago but maybe it still comes in time, if not for you, then perhaps for someone else:
Stay clear of anything related to the series on the internet. Do not do any Google searches about characters or anything like this.
There are some huge spoilers floating around that it is sadly far too easy to come across that will spoil the ending of the series.
Unfortunately, many people are inconsiderate of other readers and don't give a hoot about spoiling those surprises.(less)

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How do you read this book on this site right now?

Jens Raab Goodreads does not host books. You cannot read them here.
Check out this page to read how Goodreads sees the purpose of their site: https://www.goodrea …moreGoodreads does not host books. You cannot read them here.
Check out this page to read how Goodreads sees the purpose of their site: https://www.goodreads.com/about/us (less)

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