Insurgent

Veronica Roth

Average Rating 7/10 (1 Review)

The thrillingly dark sequel to No. 1 New York Times bestseller, Divergent.

Fighting for survival in a shattered world… the truth is her only hope.

One choice can transform you – or it can destroy you. Tris Prior's initiation day should have been marked by victorious celebrations with her chosen faction; instead it ended with unspeakable horrors. Now unrest surges in the factions around her as conflict between their ideologies grows.

War seems inevitable; and in times of war sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge and choices will become ever more irrevocable. Tris has already paid a terrible price for survival and is wracked by haunting grief and guilt. But radical new discoveries and shifting relationships mean that she must fully embrace her Divergence – even though she cannot know what might be lost in doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent trilogy is another intoxicating thrill-ride, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreak, romance and powerful insights about human nature.

Review by Chrissi (300414) Rating (7/10)

Review by Chrissi
Rating 7/10
This picks up immediately from the end of Divergent, Tris is almost overwhelmed with grief and guilt at what happened and she and her friends have to find a way to survive, so they seek refuge with the Amity faction, who have not been affected by the events within the city. Tris overhears a conversation regarding a great secret, and the attack took place to prevent the secret from being revealed. It shows that there is more going on in the manipulation of the population than had previously been thought and causes Tris to seek more answers.

This book is a good middle part to a trilogy, moving the plot from the first to the last book in the series. This is not always an easy thing to do, but here it is done well, the political ramifications of the faction are explored, and the use of the serums to control the populace is revealed to be much more widespread than initially suspected. The development of the disenfranchised factionless as a force within the changing society is pivotal to the storyline and as they wish to overcome the present government, they become a further armed rebellion for Tris and her friends to survive.

The relationship between Tris and Four takes a battering with secrets and lies, with trust and belief in one-another being tested but ultimately it does not split them up, although some of their actions and responses are decidedly questionable. Whilst the development of their relationship in the first book was nice, here it takes on greater emphasis within the narrative, not really a good thing as it results in too much teenage angst. I know that is what they are, but it can make them illogical and irritating. It also allows Tris to stop using her intellect to solve problems and instead put herself in danger.

I am not going to do a spoiler, as you already know the story does not end here, continuing to a third instalment. The end of this book gives us hope that there is a solution or a possibility of a better life for the group and hope that the answers will be worth waiting for. All-in-all another excellent story but not quite as good as Divergent.
Chrissi (30th April 2014)