Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent (Divergent #2)
Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release date: May 1st 2012
Pages: 525
Genre: YA; dystopian
Source: Bought
Add to Goodreads | Purchase from Amazon

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.

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Wow. I knew Insurgent was going to be good, but it completely exceeded my expectations - it was even better than Divergent! I don't even know what to say - Insurgent blew my mind!


Of course, the action is awesome. I didn't think it was possible, but Insurgent is even more fast-paced and action-packed than Divergent, and I loved every minute of it. Even though the book is huge, I read it in one sitting. I literally could not put it down, even though I really should have been studying. If tomorrow's final doesn't go well, it is totally Veronica Roth's fault.


But even though Insurgent is mostly action, I really appreciate that we got to know the characters better, too. I love Tris; she's one of my favorite YA heroines. And while she's definitely changed and is no longer the girl we met at the beginning of Divergent, she is still the defintion of a kick-ass character and just so, so awesome. But we don't only find out more about Tris - we get to know a variety of other characters as well, which I really enjoyed. I liked finding out more about Tris's brother Caleb and many of the Dauntless initiates we didn't get to know too well in Divergent. It was nice to see how Veronica Roth explored so many different characters and relationships and integrated that aspect seamlessly into the non-stop action.


The world-building is great, too. I enjoyed discovering more about the world Tris lives in - in Insurgent, we find out more about Amity and Candor, which I liked, since we didn't get to know too much about those factions in the first book. And we also get to know more about the factionless, which is great, since they fascinated me in Divergent. I really liked seeing the different factions represented in the characters' personalities, and how those different personality traits worked together in Insurgent.


And that ending. Wow. I had to re-read the last few pages because I simply could not believe it. My head is still spinning because holy crap I so did not see that coming. The cliffhanger has me dying for book three - that plot twist has huge potential to make everything even more amazing.


The only thing I didn't like quite as much about Insurgent is the romance. I loved Tris and Four in Divergent, but their chemistry isn't quite as great in Insurgent, in my opinion. It sounds stupid, but maybe it's the name thing - he was hotter when Tris called him Four. His real name is just... ugh. Tris and Four frustrated me a little with all their betrayal and secret-keeping and all of that. Of course they're still great together, but I missed some of the palpable energy, the amazing chemistry I felt whenever Tris and Four were in the same room in Divergent.


But even though the romance wasn't quite as good as it was in the first book, I still loved Insurgent. Insurgent was even better than Divergent, which I didn't think would be possible. This series is mindblowingly good, and I cannot wait for book three.

Any ideas for the title of the third book?