Review - Insurgent

Insurgent 

by Veronica Roth

Divergent #2
Category: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction - Dystopia, Fantasy
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Edition: Hardcover
Page Count: 535
Source: Library

 Goodreads Synopsis: 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 had high expectations for Insurgent before I even checked it out of the library. I read the first book in two days and completely fell in love with it. I just KNEW it was going to be one of those series that I would talk about over and over again. After enjoying the first book so much, I was a bit worried that book number two would not be able to stand up to the high standards I now have for Roth's work. However, I was thrilled to find that it was still very well written, and a good book. Sure, it was not as good as the first book, but I find that it is usually difficult for that to happen in any series. The first book opens you up to the world and characters, making it difficult not to enjoy it. 

As we start out the second book of the series, it is obvious that the characters have grown since book one. It would be impossible for them not to after what they went through in book one. Tris still seems to struggle with determining who she is though, especially when she sees what some of the Dauntless have been capable of. Along with that, Tobias is obviously struggling a lot as well. Dauntless has been his home for a bit now, and he has realized what people he lived with were capable of doing, and now he must figure out what to do about it. It is obvious that a lot of the characters are dealing with a great deal of stress in book two. 

The romance in this book is completely frustrating. While Tris and Tobias obviously still love each other, they are having a very tough time showing it. They are both so independent that it causes quite a few rifts between each other when they do not feel the need to share important information with the other. At one point, Tobias believes that Tris has become too careless with her own life, and gives and ultimatum. Their relationship is back and forth and very rocky throughout the whole book. While it makes perfect sense, it's still plenty frustrating for those of us who love their relationship! 

Ultimately, the only thing that really bothered me about Insurgent was how much the characters moved around through the novel; mostly happening at the beginning and quickly. It makes sense that it would happen, of course, since they are trying to stay safe from the Erudite and Dauntless. First, they use the train to make it to Amity in hopes of being safe, and meeting up with the others that managed to escape. Then they have a short run in with the factionless, stop by Candor headquarters where they stay for awhile, some of them end of at Erudite, and then ultimately they go back to their home at Abnegation. It's a bit of a whirlwind! Still, as long as you can get through the constant change of location, the book is still a very good read and leaves me satisfied with the series. 

Rating: 4.0/5.0