Insurgent Review

Insurgent (Divergent #2)

-       Veronica Roth

Publisher: Harper Collins

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

I liked Divergent but didn’t totally get the romance or the massive change in story towards the end. Insurgent picks up right where Divergent ended with Tris, Four and some survivors escaping to Amity’s quarter. Unlike Divergent there is no slow burn introducing characters and situation. There is no ‘previously’ catch up so if you aren’t aware of the characters or situation it can all be a bit confusing – it’s only been a couple of months since I read Divergent and it took me a while to remember who Peter, Caleb, Sharon and others were. However, once I did I was much more involved in the story than before.

This is a true exploration of Tris’s world – rather than focus on the difference between Dauntless and Abgenation that was Divergent, we get to follow Tris as she spends time with Amity, Candor, Eruite, the Factionless and the newly divided Dauntless. This meant there was a lot of moving from place to place and questioning of loyalty which was much more involving than simple training. Tris is still struggling with the result of her decisions in Divergent and it added layers to her character that Tris didn’t simply forget about her parents death or the people she had to face to escape. She makes some big decisions here and willing throws herself into danger continually, but is she doing it for the right reasons or because she can’t live her decisions?

There is plenty of action and excitement with Tris and friends continually on the run or under attack. I found myself swept up in events and on the edge of my seat and as a result I swept through the pages always wanting to know what was coming up. Veronica Roth isn’t afraid to kill or injury her characters – emotionally as well as physically which does mean you can never completely relax. If Divergent was about coming of age, then Insurgent is about trusting yourself and living with your decisions. Veronica Roth also has a horrible habit of finishing stories on plot-changing cliffhangers which will have huge implications on the next book. I’m really curious at what Tris and the others will face next - it's going to be a long wait for the next book!

Recommended for fans of Suzanne Collins and Veronica Rossi. 8 out of 10

Divergent Review

Divergent
-       Veronica Roth

Publisher: HarperCollins

Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger.

This book has had a lot of hype in the blogosphere – first when it was originally released last year and more recently with the release of the second book in the series, Insurgent. And...I think I got pulled into the hype. While I liked it, I didn’t love it.

Tris has to make the choice of which of the five factions she wants to live in. After growing up in Abnegation, the selfless one, she finally chooses Dauntless the brave and starts her initiation training. The training was interesting and liked the hints at the differences between learning to face fear and bullying – it’s a subtle but important difference. The emotional journey as Tris comes to terms with who she is and what she wants from life was intriguing and I loved the way she bonded and competed with her fellow initiates. There is a romance which I confess I didn’t really buy into as it happened a little too quickly – the initiation was only a month long!

Then about 70 pages from the end the tale of self-discovery suddenly changes entirely into a full revolution action adventure. I don’t want to give too much away but the final part of the book is a full on adrenaline rush which rushes about at break-neck speed. While I liked the pace and could tell that something big was building, it still felt like a very sudden change from the book style up to then – I nearly got whiplash!

Overall, this was a nice, diverting read but I didn’t really fall for Tris, Four and the others as much some people have. I will read Insurgent but I think I will try to borrow it off Sarah rather owning a copy! I might have liked it more if I didn’t know much about it before hand though...

Recommended for fans of Veronica Rossi and Suzanne Collins. 7 out of 10.