Insurgent (Divergent #2)
by Veronica Roth
Published May 1st, 2012 by HarperTeen
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.
~goodreads
Rating: 4.25 stars
Review:
I wonder if it’s possible to for a book to be too dystopian…
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not this dystopian world that I
didn’t like—in fact, this 5 faction world is one of the most memorable and
unique dystopian societies that I’ve read about.
It’s the overall tone
that rubbed me the wrong way.
I have somewhat of a love-hate relationship with this series,
so this review might be kind of confusing and/or scattered, but it’s really
hard to describe how I feel about this book!
I completely understand that Divergent ended horribly and traumatically. And since Insurgent pretty much picks up right
where Divergent left off, all the characters—especially Tris—would be dealing
with the trauma. And considering the things she did to survive, I’m not surprised
that she pretty torn up throughout most of Insurgent.
But here’s the thing: reading an entire 500+ page book where
the overall tone is bleak, morbid, angsty, and somewhat depressed can get
really…. Unpleasant. To say the least.
There’s really only so much PTSD and angst I can take in a
book!
While Tris is undoubtedly a pretty ballsy and admirable
character, I just couldn’t really relate to her. (Might be due to some of that
angst I talked about.) Sometimes, when
she talks about her emotions, her inner turmoils, I can’t help but feel that her
voice, while speaking of deep, devastating emotion, comes off as
somewhat…robotic. She talks about all the overwhelming emotions warring inside
of her, but I just don’t really connect with her emotionally. I couldn’t really
empathize because of her tone. And when it comes to her line of logic…sometimes
I understand it, but sometimes I don’t. In multiple instances in this book, she
figured out a plan that was supposed to be absolutely brilliant because it
would outsmart everyone else, but I just couldn’t help but think, really? It made me feel like some of the
other characters were maybe dumbed down a bit so Tris could seem so much
smarter when she figured out the solution. I mean, come on, just because someone isn’t Erudite doesn’t mean they can’t
be logical.
(well, apparently in this book, they can’t…)
At the same time, I can’t honestly say that I hate Tris as a
main character. Sometimes, I'm so impressed by her acts of dauntlessness and I love her for her bravery and selflessness! She’s also tough as nails
and not afraid to challenge what she believes is wrong. She exhibits a kind of
behavior that a lot of people admire and aspire to. In fact, I can totally see
why some people really love her as a heroine. I just happen to have a rather
bipolar relationship with her.
But here’s the super weird thing: I’m not crazy about Tris,
but I think Four is just about the hottest boy in Dystopia.
And he’s kind of like a male version of Tris… but, you know,
more leader-like and not so traumatized. And possibly tougher. And I’m kind of
in love with the dude.
Tris and Four’s relationship takes a more prominent role in
this book and I really liked them together.
I wasn’t totally crazy about the fact that Four NEVER “coddled” Tris—not
that I think coddling is a good thing in a relationship, but come on. It’s also not cool to expect a
girl to be superman all the time—but I supposed that given the way Four is and
what he’s gone through, it’s understandable.
And he more than redeems himself by the end of the book.
Trust me.
ALSO. Since this books takes place literally right after Divergent, I feel like Veronica Roth
might’ve expected me to either go back and reread book 1 before starting or
just remember every single character and their interrelationships.
But I’M SORRY MS.
ROTH (MRS. ROTH?), I read a lot of books in the time it takes for a sequel to
come out, and I really can’t be held responsible for remembering all those
little details. The fact that there was absolutely no backstory, no reminder
whatsoever about previous characters left me to be majorly confused for a big
part of the book. At most, I remembered two or three characters. The rest, I… I
wish I could say I later refigured out who they were and what their previous
relationships were with other characters…but no. Not really.
As for the plot of the book, the pacing was fabulous, there
was a lot of action (me gusta!) and running-from-bad-guys goodness, as well as
butt-kicking awesomeness, and I really liked the fact that we got to see more of
the other factions. And the Factionless. All the stakes are upped in the book
and it. Is . Intense. But if anything, this book has given me way more questions than answers! New revelations are made. New secrets are
uncovered. And the ending… Oh. My. Gosh.
That ending will leave you feeling unsure of everything you thought you knew about this series. Well done,
Veronica Roth, well done indeed.
