Title: Insurgent
Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Harper Collins Children’s
Re-release Date: December 31st 2015
Rating: 4 stars
“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.”
(I received a digital copy of this book in return for an honest review)
Read my review of Divergent here.
Let’s start off by saying I loved all the action. There were so many twists and turns on this little roller-coaster ride that I nearly fell off. But, by some twist of madness, I managed to keep up with everything going on. It was quite hard though. There were just so many things to keep track of and some things were just mentioned (like when Evelyn and Tobias were talking when tris was supposed to be asleep) that I felt were just said and we were meant to understand straight away? I don’t know if it’s just me being a distracted reader but everything became understandable at the end. I literally had a light bulb moment and felt like I was some sort of Einstein.
Which brings me to my next point. I actually quiet liked Jeanine. Not in the ‘fave character’ sort of way but wow she’s so clever. Her brain is exactly what I want my brain to be like. Just without the condescending way of talking, the complete lack of empathy and just her overall lack of a soul. I basically want to be clever. I also love the fact the the villain is female. Go Roth for standing up against those dastardly female stereotypes in the media (you know the ones that involve women being sexual objects no matter how heroic or, in this case evil, they are).
“People, I have discovered, are layers and layers of secrets. You believe you know them, that you understand them, but their motives are always hidden from you, buried in their own hearts. You will never know them, but sometimes you decide to trust them.”
But Tris was SO indecisive. I felt like she was just taking us round a merry-go-round in her hand and ugh it got boring. I could manage it in the first book but in Insurgent? It’s starting to drag. And her constant guilt over Will makes me want to scream too. It was either Will or her, he wasn’t even him when she shot him so why is this so difficult for her to get past. Even Christine and Cara could deal with it and they were really close to him. I would also appreciate it if someone could tell me why Tris and Four are even together in Insurgent. As far as I could see there was no romance at all. It’s literally like they are attracted to each other and they are therefore willing to get killed for each other. It just doesn’t add up. And I’m STILL struggling to see how the characters are the ages they are. They all seem so much older.
Anyway, despite all my frustrations with my emotions, I really did love the second book. And the plot is, and continues to be, intelligent. I know I said this with Divergent but still, Roth has this magical ability where she can keep everything a surprise until the last moment. Which is especially true for the ending in Insurgent. I can imagine her donning a (well deserved) smirk as everyone reaches the end before realizing that there was the sort of ‘middle of the sentence’ cliffhanger that would have killed me if it wasn’t for the fact I can start the next book straight away.
I just want to finish off by sharing my favourite lil’ bit that, I must admit, made me snort ever so slightly:
“‘Got that gun?’ Peter says to Tobias. ‘No’ says Tobias, ‘I figured I would shoot the bullets out of my nostrils so I left it up stairs.'”
The Argle Bargle 