Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent
Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent #2
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

525 pages
Published May 1st by HarperTeen
Review may contain spoilers for the previous books in the series

Goodreads | Author | Publisher | Amazon | Book Depository

Just as awesome as the first book.

As you might remember, I was completely at loss for words after reading Divergent. That book was just perfect for me. I had high expectations of Insurgent, and fear that it would all blow up in my face. I'm glad it didn't.

Insurgent begins where Divergent ended. Here is one of the only annoyance I experienced when reading the book - I had no clue who all the characters were again. It's been months since I read book one, and I'm not that good with remembering names. There was no recapping at all. I know I will be very glad of this when I read them back to back, but since it had such a gap between reads I had troubles getting straight who was who.

But after that, oh boy. The world Tris knows is falling to pieces. Factions are split, broken up, fight from within. There are more and more Divergent showing up. And of course, in the final pages, the proverbial shit is hitting the fan.

In this book Tris and Four have some relationship troubles. They are completely logical and life-like, but I don't want my favourite book couple to have relationship troubles. I was a bit scared Ms Roth was going to break them up - but I'm glad she found a way to make them work things out in a believable way.

Maybe this series isn't the best series out there. Insurgent might not be the best book in the series. All I know is that I read the damn thing in two days, and that I absolutely cannot wait for the next one.

Blurb

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.

Other reviews you might be interested in

• Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth (5/5 Stars)
• Review: For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund (5/5 Stars)
• Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (4/5 Stars)
• Review: Eve by Anna Carey (3/5 Stars)

The Hunger Games Readalong: Chapter Fifteen

Running up to the release of the movie, Larissa from the Howling Turtle and Sharon from Obsession With Books are co-hosting a Hunger Games Read-Along! Every other day a blogger will share a little story, a picture, a video or something that has to do with that day's chapter. To see the full readalong schedule, go here.


Today we are going to talk about Chapter Fifteen. For those of you who need a reminder, in this chapter Katniss wakes up after the tracker jacker stings. The nightmares are fading and the reality of the Hunger Games is coming back. She makes a pack with the little Rue, and they share food and comfort.

I found a still of Rue (played by Amandla Stenberg) in the movie on IMDB. Click on the photo to go to the source. She looks nothing like how I pictured Rue. For me she has a way more angular face, a bit more bird-like.

Chapter Fifteen is a very mellow chapter as far as that is possible in The Hunger Games. After the horror of the nightmares the tracker jacker venom induced, it's time for a little bit of friendship during the Games. It really helped for me to establish the character of Rue more, and it was nice to see Katniss's softer side.

Because nothing controversial happens in this chapter, and I still would like to create some conversation, I have thought of a game to make it a bit more interesting. I always love discovering new good books, and I'm sure you guys know of a lot of books that I have never heard about! So, let's play...

If you like The Hunger Games, you probably also like...

I'll go first. If you like The Hunger Games, you probably also like Divergent! In Veronica Roth's debut the future city of Chicago is divided in five groups, each with their own characteristics. It reminds me a bit of the district system in THG. Also, the mean character Tris in Divergent is one strong lady, just like Katniss. It doesn't have a love triangle, but since I don't like love triangles at all, I don't mind that one. If you're interested in this book, you can check out its Goodreads page, or my review.

Have you read Divergent? Did you like it? Or do you have a way better recommendation? Leave a comment!

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth
(Divergent #1)

5 out of 5 stars

Published by HarperCollins Children's Books

Divergent was so incredibly fast-paced that I finished it within two days. Even though it has close to five hundred pages, it doesn't feel like so long a read. From the moment we meet Beatrix, later shortened to Tris, I was hooked.

I like this book so much that I don't have enough words to write a full review. There is not one piece of Divergent that I didn't like. I loved the romance between Tris and Four. I was swooning after fifty pages, which is a record for me. I love the sense of community in the Dauntless. I loved Tris as a character, I loved that she wasn't a total goody-goody. I loved the simple and clean writing style. And I loved the holy-crap-the-world-is-going-down exciting ending.

The most incredible thing about Divergent is that it's a debut novel. That means Ms Roth is only just getting started. There is going to be so much awesome in her future...

Blurb

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Other reviews you might be interested in

• Review: For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund (5/5 Stars)
• Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton (4.5/5 Stars)
• Review: Feed by Mira Grant (4/5 Stars)
• Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (5/5 Stars)

More links

• Author page
• Press
• Goodreads