Saturday 12 May 2012

[REVIEW] Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Published: March 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Age Group: Young Adult
Series: Divergent #2
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.(From Goodreads)


Insurgent: "Noun.  A person who acts in opposition to the established authority, who is not neccessarily regarded as a belligerent."
Well now that explains the title.

Insurgent was as amazing as Divergent. The middle book of the trilogy, I often find, is the worst one, not because of bad writing but because there seems to be more explanation than actual action.  Insurgent is no different.  Divergent was the book that introduced us to this dystopic world while Insurgent is the book that explained the complexity of the world.

Tris and Four's relationship improves (of course!).  I loved the fact that their relationship seemed normal as well.  They had arguments and made up afterwards and that made it seem more like a relationship anyone could be in. I found it more relatable. Sadly, there were some parts that I felt were forced. As much as we all love a good romance scene between our two love birds, I feelt Veronica Roth included them just because the fans wanted it.  At times, it really didn't seem necessary, rather not even in the right moment.  It's just like intense battle or strategy time and then romance scene.  It just didn't seem to fit.

There comes a time when I'll stumble upon a book that leaves me too scared to read further, often because I don't want to know what's going to happen next.  Of course I'll cave and read it.  That moment happened while reading Insurgent.  300 pages in and getting more and more excited until I come upon one part where I just couldn't go forward.  I remember staring at one page for 10 minutes telling myself that everything was going to be okay and that I just had to keep reading but inside I just couldn't.  Guess I definitely wouldn't pass for being Dauntless, eh?  For a book to make me feel that way is absolutely amazing and I applaud Veronica Roth on that.

Now on to the negative, this book wasn't as exciting as the first.  Probably because I could sort of predict what was going to happen. Some parts seemed obvious (anyone else felt that too?) unlike the first where the entire book seemed like a completely different story.  I guess since this is dystopic lit, it had to follow the whole pattern of a somewhat utopic society turning dystopic through a rebellion/revolution of some sort.  Like the hunger games (but not the same!) it was clear that Divergent would get it's uprising in this book so some of the actions weren't that surprising.

It also seemed like Veronica Roth had planned an ending to the second book and wrote towards it because throughout the novel, there seemed to consist of several mini sub plots, more like arcs, that combined together helped in developing the main plot.  I won't say that's bad just that the last couple pages seemed more intense and suspenseful than the entire book.

Honestly thought, Divergent was my favourite book for 2011 but I can't say the same for Insurgent.  It just lacks some parts that made Divergent special for me.  Insurgent is amazing but just not as good as it's first. (BUT YOU SHOULD STILL READ IT BECAUSE THE SERIES IS AMAZING!!!)

BUY (although leaning very closly to the MEH side)

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