Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent is the second book in the Divergent series. I highly suggest anyone interested in this book to read Divergent first. This book would struggle as a stand alone in my opinion. Veronica Roth continues the story of Tris and her battles caused by her being Divergent (which means she fits into more than one faction.)

Tris, Four, and the rest of the group flee to the Amity farms outside of the city in order to hide from Erudite/Dauntless. Tris is understandably troubled by the things she done, and the loss of both of her parents. She had become more aggressive. Their respite doesn't last long at Amity and they catch a train back to the city.

It's hard to tell anyone much more past this point without spoiling anything. Almost every chapter reveals something new to the reader. Tris is put through some really terrible ordeals, and I could feel her struggle. Veronica Roth does a great job of putting the reader into Tris' shoes.

Tris and Four find solace in each other, but they are both keeping secrets. When some of the secrets come out, Four attacks Tris for not being honest and upfront with him. I became very frustrated with him for that because he had been doing the exact same thing to her... hypocrite.

In comparison to the movie, there are a lot of differences. They follow the same general sequence, but some of the specifics or reasoning is changed. I don't know how to explain any better without spoilers. I will say that I preferred the movie's version better than the book, but I did watch it before reading the book so I'm probably biased. To me it just made more sense.

Overall, I really liked the book. It was nowhere near as good as Divergent, but it was in no way a disappointment. I do find myself torn as to if I should read the last book before the movie comes out, or continue as I have and read the book after I see the movie. I know most readers will always say to read the book first, but then I will most likely be disappointed in the movie. Personal struggles, anyways, the book was great and I highly recommend to most audiences.

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Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

I have become so completely obsessed with this book/series. I must admit that I watched the movie before reading it (I know, I know, I can’t believe I broke such a huge reading law). After watching the movie I wasn’t crazy about it. It wasn’t horrible, but nothing to write home about either. Then I watched Insurgent at the theatre, and I was blown away! It really urged me to read the books. I am so glad that I did because this book was much better than the movie. The whole time, I thought, “Oh they should have put that in the movie!” or “This makes so much more sense, now!”

Beatrice is at the age where she will take a test that will help her decide which faction to join in her community. She was born into the Abnegation faction which mainly focuses on acts of selflessness. She has always struggled with their ways and doesn’t know if it is where she belongs. It’s a huge decision in this dystopian society since if they choose a faction different than the one they’re born into, they must leave their families. Or if they choose wrong and fail, they could become factionless (which is shown to be poor and awful).

To make everything more confusing, Beatrice’s test results come back inconclusive. The test won’t be able to help with her choice, and the test proctor explains that her results indicate that she is Divergent which is dangerous in this world. Beatrice ends up choosing Dauntless which is the faction for Bravery and Courage. This decision only contributes to unrest between the Abnegation faction and the Erudite faction over which is the optimal faction to govern their city.

Beatrice goes through some serious changes when becoming a Dauntless. Her lifestyle is very different and she struggles a bit through training. Throughout it all she makes some friends, and an attraction forms between her and her teacher, Four. It wasn’t weird though if your nervous about a huge age difference. She is 16 and Four is 18. There are some very sweet romantic scenes, and a lot of kick butt action scenes as well. I really enjoyed learning about the politics of this book which was a very bizarre experience for me.

Tris (Beatrice) is the sole point of view in this book. It is also written in the first person. Normally I shy away from this, but because of all the hype I thought I should still go for it. First person narratives tend to come across whinny to me. I got that vibe when reading The Hunger Games. Tris didn’t give me that impression at all. She never complained through her struggles, inside her head or verbally. She is very smart. I liked her a lot, and I loved this book. I’ve already bought the next one.

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