Book Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth
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.
New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.
I liked this more than Divergent. The action is still non-stop and intense. Even the calm moments are interesting and don't slow the story down. I know there are not many people Tris can trust and new pieces of the puzzle of their society are gradually revealed. Or are they? The end has me scratching my head.
I'll go into more detail below about what I liked and didn't:
In Divergent Tris killed her friend Will, which really bothered me. So it was good to see how much Tris feels guilty about it and ask herself why she didn't just wound him. I was glad to see her struggling with that stupid, hasty action. As sadistic as this sounds I enjoyed the fact that she couldn't shoot a gun because of the PTSD. Now in the next book she needs to move forward because seeing her go into these battles without a weapon is crazy and suicidal.
There is one moment when the Dauntless refugees are in the Amity compound and Tris sees a sign near the showers to conserve water. Then why does Dauntless have a waterfall? Still makes no sense. I also can't stand how pacifist most the Amity are. Innocent people are dying and they want no part of the fight, even if that means other factions killed off entirely. I cheered Tobias on when he was speaking to Johanna and telling her like it is.
I was so amused when Amity drugged Tris with the peace serum and she was on this ridiculous high. I know how that sounds, and I don't like or approve of what Amity did. It was her behavior when she high that made me laugh out loud. Also, there was this point where Tris says, "I don't really know why he likes me so much. I'm not very nice, am I?" Well, that is not something I see a lot in stories, where the female mentions her personality rather than her looks. Usually it would be a line about, "I'm not very pretty, am I?"
I really, really liked the way Tris and Tobias's relationship evolved in this book. There is a lot of fighting about the issues between the factions and there is mistrust. I think having them work through that makes them learn to be stronger. One of the fights they had was so enjoyable to read I bookmarked the section on my nook. This was my favorite part when Tobias says to Tris, "First of all, don't use that name [Four] like a weapon against me. Second, I was not making plans to ally with the factionless; I was just thinking it over. If I had made a decision, I would have said something to you. And third, it would be different if you had actually intended to tell me about Will at some point, but it's obvious that you didn't."
I got so pissed off when Tris decided to surrender to Erudite. I was about to put the book down because of her decision. Just listen to your friends. Their plan is better than yours. Obviously I kept reading. There is a third book so I knew she couldn't die.
Still no explanation about why the trains run when we're told Erudite is violating the energy conservation laws by keeping the lights on all night.
Like I said, the cliffhanger has me scratching my head. I have no idea what to expect in Allegiant. Which I am waiting for a digital copy to become available through the NYPL.
3.5 out 5 personality markers
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.
New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.
I liked this more than Divergent. The action is still non-stop and intense. Even the calm moments are interesting and don't slow the story down. I know there are not many people Tris can trust and new pieces of the puzzle of their society are gradually revealed. Or are they? The end has me scratching my head.
I'll go into more detail below about what I liked and didn't:
In Divergent Tris killed her friend Will, which really bothered me. So it was good to see how much Tris feels guilty about it and ask herself why she didn't just wound him. I was glad to see her struggling with that stupid, hasty action. As sadistic as this sounds I enjoyed the fact that she couldn't shoot a gun because of the PTSD. Now in the next book she needs to move forward because seeing her go into these battles without a weapon is crazy and suicidal.
There is one moment when the Dauntless refugees are in the Amity compound and Tris sees a sign near the showers to conserve water. Then why does Dauntless have a waterfall? Still makes no sense. I also can't stand how pacifist most the Amity are. Innocent people are dying and they want no part of the fight, even if that means other factions killed off entirely. I cheered Tobias on when he was speaking to Johanna and telling her like it is.
I was so amused when Amity drugged Tris with the peace serum and she was on this ridiculous high. I know how that sounds, and I don't like or approve of what Amity did. It was her behavior when she high that made me laugh out loud. Also, there was this point where Tris says, "I don't really know why he likes me so much. I'm not very nice, am I?" Well, that is not something I see a lot in stories, where the female mentions her personality rather than her looks. Usually it would be a line about, "I'm not very pretty, am I?"
I really, really liked the way Tris and Tobias's relationship evolved in this book. There is a lot of fighting about the issues between the factions and there is mistrust. I think having them work through that makes them learn to be stronger. One of the fights they had was so enjoyable to read I bookmarked the section on my nook. This was my favorite part when Tobias says to Tris, "First of all, don't use that name [Four] like a weapon against me. Second, I was not making plans to ally with the factionless; I was just thinking it over. If I had made a decision, I would have said something to you. And third, it would be different if you had actually intended to tell me about Will at some point, but it's obvious that you didn't."
I got so pissed off when Tris decided to surrender to Erudite. I was about to put the book down because of her decision. Just listen to your friends. Their plan is better than yours. Obviously I kept reading. There is a third book so I knew she couldn't die.
Still no explanation about why the trains run when we're told Erudite is violating the energy conservation laws by keeping the lights on all night.
Like I said, the cliffhanger has me scratching my head. I have no idea what to expect in Allegiant. Which I am waiting for a digital copy to become available through the NYPL.
3.5 out 5 personality markers