Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Goodreads Summary: One choice can transform you, or destroy you.
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.

Goodreads / Amazon

Genre: Young Adult, dystopia
Pages: 525
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Source: Purchased physical copy

First Line: "I wake with his name in my mouth."

Favorite Quote: "It reminds me why I chose Dauntless in the first place: not because they are prefect, but because they are alive. Because they are free."

Review: 

Divergent was definitely one of my favorite books at the time I read it. I loved the world-building, the characters, and pretty much everything about it. When the sequel came out, I was super excited to get it. Sadly, though, when I got to the bookstore they informed me that they were out of copies. I had to order it online and wait a few days (which I wasn't too happy about), so I started other books while I waited. When Insurgent finally showed up at my doorstep, I put it aside for a while, just until I finished up with my other stuff. Somehow time got away from me and suddenly it was over a year later and the third one had already been released. I hate it when that happens. Anyway, I started seeing a lot of discussions about it around, and it reminded me how much I loved the first novel and so I decided to finally read the second one. Starting it was difficult at first, because since so much time had passed, I really only remembered the major, important parts of Divergent so I was a little confused at first. I probably should have re-read it, but I think I'm pretty caught up with the series now.

I don't really understand why the Amity symbol is on the cover. I mean, the main characters did spent some time at that compound, but they were also with the Candor for a decent amount of time as well (not to mention the Erudite). So honestly it just seems a little random. Pretty, but random. Although I can say without a doubt that I thoroughly enjoyed Insurgent, there were a couple things that nagged at me. The first is that Tris was hard to follow sometimes. I honestly felt bad for her, because she's obviously dealing with a lot of guilt for killing Will, and also a lot of grief since she just lost both of her parents. I liked that she wasn't feeling all that great after those things, because it would have been unrealistic if she was totally fine. After a while, though, I got kind of annoyed. At one point, Tobias scolds her for being reckless and constantly and stupidly risking her life. I thought he was being really harsh at first but then I started to see what he meant. Tris seemed to always forget her weapon - once or twice she didn't have a gun when she should have, and she left behind a taser that could have helped her. She didn't seem to care much at all if she died, so rooting for her became kind of a challenge. I'm hoping she finds a little more happiness in the future.

Another thing is the same thing that bothers me in a lot of YA romances. I really love the fact that Roth decided not to do a love triangle, because honestly it wasn't necessary at all, but Tris was always lying to Four about what she was planning to do. And he kept things from her as well. Their communication kind of sucked all around, which is really not something I expected from either of them. I still love them as a couple, and Tobias is still an amazing love interest, but I'd really like to see them work out their issues better. I was also a little confused about a fence that supposedly surrounds all the factions. It seemed a little odd that no one seems to have gone beyond it to see what's out there and come back to report. Obviously, the important government people knew, but others had to be a little curious, right?

Other than that, Insurgent was really hard to put down. Roth creates excellent pacing, and her writing style flows with ease. Although I had forgotten a good chunk of the side characters, once they came back into the story I gradually remembered who the heck they were. The whole book is basically geared toward finding out why the Erudite attacked the Abnegation for some information they had, but Tris thinking that it's life-changing. I was extremely excited to find out what it was, and honestly the climax of the novel satisfied me. The main villain, Jeanine Matthews, was an interesting character in the fact that she was so smart and hungry for knowledge and power but at the same time just cold and cruel on the inside. It's kind of fun to think about which faction I would be in if I lived in this world, but at the same time I don't think I'd like it. I had mixed feelings about the war to bring down the factions, mostly because I think it's a  really bad idea to force people into one way of thinking. I'm not really sure if the author intended for us to support that system or not, but I'd never want to live in it. Overall, I'm excited to read the last books in this series even though I've heard the ending is sad.

4 stars 

Books in this series:
1. Divergent
2. Insurgent
3. Allegiant 

Other Opinions: 

Dear Author
Dreaming in Books
Words on Paper