Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent
Author: Veronica Roth
Source: Purchased
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
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Caution: Will contain spoilers from first book in series!

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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.

~synopsis from Goodreads

My Thoughts:

I was lucky to read Divergent a couple months before Insurgent came out. Why does that make me lucky? I didn’t have to wait too long. I have to wait much longer NOW, but that’s all part of falling in love with a series while the author is still writing it.

The story picks up right where it left off at the end of the first book, on the train. Tris is struggling with the aftermath of the losses in her life, and her role in them. At Amity, they try to find refuge and help, and come up dry. On the move to Candor, and things don’t seem to be looking up there either. The factions stay separate, except for the group of Dauntless that sided with Erudite. So the good group of Dauntless take over Dauntless headquarters again. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the end. The Erudite find a way to make this choice have repercussions.

Throughout the story, Tris jumps from being fragile and vulnerable to sometimes smart and daring. At times I wanted to smack her around and tell her, “Get over yourself!” Then I remind myself that she’s only human. She just lost both of her parents in one night, and killed one of her close friends. She did, however, make up for it with her selflessness and the ability to use her intelligence to her advantage. She made some risky moves, very risky. When it came down to it and Tris had to own up to what happened to Will, Christina was upset. It took some time, understanding the circumstances, but when she came around and forgave Tris, I appreciated this, especially the fact that it didn’t happen immediately.

I thought when Tris made the choice to surrender herself it was a poor one, but in the end, I loved the outcome. That moment when she breaks Jeanine, oh my god, I was literally beaming with pride. And then, the escape, aided by the most unlikely person, Peter. That blew me away. Brilliant.

Now let me tell you about Four. Our dear Tobias. He is tremendous. His feelings are so deep, you want to cry over how much he cares. His devotion to Tris is unparalleled. All men should look to him and tap into that wonderful mind. I love this man. I want to marry him. I really do. He’s just flipping awesome. The whole package.

Insurgent was unequivocally a masterpiece of epic proportions. Veronica Roth kept the story going in the best way possible. Every time all hope is lost you’re surprised by something unexpected that opens the way to moving on. By the time you reach the end, you’re just floored and amazed. Next year cannot come soon enough.

FAVORITE QUOTE (which I added to Goodreads, add it to yours HERE):

“Be careful, though."
"Aren't I always?"
"No, I think the word for how you usually are is 'reckless.'”

My Rating:

Exceptional: Stay up until at least 1 AM