Book Review: “Insurgent” by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent (Divergent #2)

Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: Young Adult – Dystopian
Release Date: May 1st, 2012
Published by: Katherine Tegen for Harper Collins Children’s

With thanks to HarperCollins Children’s books for the eBook copy of this novel! As always, my reviews are non-bias and fair.

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Fighting for survival in a shattered world… the truth is her only hope.

The thrillingly dark sequel to No. 1 New York Times bestseller, DIVERGENT.

I have done bad things. I can’t take them back, and they are part of who I am.

Tris
has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has
paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes ever
more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.

Yet if
Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she must be stronger
than ever…because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead.

If you read my review for Divergent, then you’ll know I said; “Veronica Roth is a genius, and has created a storyworld that I would stay in forever” which is what I did, returning with Insurgent for some more dystopian Chicago time in one of the most iconic YA series I’ve ever read, and is still everywhere I go, meaning it’s not just me who knows this series isn’t going to quit it’s incredible twists and turns, gripping plots and daredevil characters.

Do you know what Insurgent means? There’s this quote in the book that says Insurgent is; A person who acts in opposition to the established authority, who is not necessarily regarded as a belligerent.

Isn’t that Tris in a sentence?

Insurgent picks up pretty much where Divergent left off, where everything is still sort of hanging in the balance of craziness. The group of characters, including Tris and Tobias, are bewildered and confused by the events happening in their factions and wounded, they struggle to piece together some of the facts they know. One thing that was apparent was how not only a shift in the balance of how they thought about the factions, but about each other as well. Tris and Tobias’s relationship was if anything stronger for what they had been through together in the beginning, but other relationships were on the rocks or already plummeting to the ground at a steady speed. Tris and Caleb weren’t on the best terms considering his actions, and Marcus and Tobias were as always, never going to be close as some of the other fathers and sons.

They are seeking safety for the most part in the beginning, and find that with the most peaceful of factions; Amity. It’s there though, that quite a lot of un-peaceful events happen. Although we do get a more detailed gaze into the Amity way of things, and how very different they are to Dauntless. We also see a lot of the Candor headquarters, the honest faction. That’s where everything starts to crumble and one of Tris’s painfully kept secrets comes to light.

One of my favourite things that had progressed since Divergent was how we learn more about the characters that we always thought we knew fairly well. Tobias’s past wasn’t always crystal clear, and at times it still isn’t because it’s part of that mystery behind the years Tris didn’t know him. Though we get a peak behind the curtains at some closeted secrets that get dug up toward the middle of the book that startles Tris at the honesty she thought they shared. But as always, Tris and Tobias are a lot alike, and where one has a secret, the other has one to match. Even though they’re not really on “bad” terms by the end of the book, they are far from perfect which is ultimately what makes them seem so real. They are always a work in progress, but one thing that’s always been clear is that they’re meant for each other.

As for the book as a whole, it was unbelievably addictive and I couldn’t put it down. I always had to find out what was in the next chapter and found it matched my high expectations following Divergent and in some places, exceeded by miles. The plot was so fast paced, full of everything that made me love the series in the first place, reminding me just how talented Veronica is. She made me fall in love with the world, the characters and connect with them on a level that not every author can with such an action-packed, suspenseful plot.

Tris shows me once again how naturally fearless she is. She may still have those fears, but she is still that impulsive, protective and smart girl from Divergent. She would do anything to save the people remaining that she loves, including sacrifice everything she is and herself. That’s overall what makes her such a unique, iconic character. Maybe my favourite of all time.

Every last remaining non-Dauntless traitor, and even other factions involved alike, aren’t willing to put faith and trust in each other since the events that have unturned in Insurgent, including that FIRECRACKER of an ending!

I am in such high anticipations to read Allegiant, and although there are spoilers pretty much *everywhere*, I’m still going into it with an open mind about what lies ahead and how things will wrap up after they are unturned.

The Divergent series is one of those that make you forget the world around you and find yourself a first-row seat in the epic, dystopian-Chicago and love it with each new chapter and revelation.

5 stars+ for another powerful, magnificent book by Veronica Roth!