Review: Insurgent

Title: Insurgent
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Pub Date: May 2012, HarperCollins Publishers
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased from BN.com

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

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 Thoughts

I'll open by saying I CANNOT WAIT FOR BOOK THREE!!! I enjoyed Insurgent every bit as much as I did Divergent, maybe even more, so I hope I'm not getting my hopes set up to high for the last book in the trilogy. In my opinion, the characters and the premise make these books what they are -- Roth is just brilliant in bringing Tris and Four to life, not to mention some other key players like Jeanine Matthews, Marcus Eaton, Caleb (Tris's brother), and several others. Before you continue reading, please be warned, there are some spoilers if you have not yet read Divergent.

I went back and forth feeling very frustrated with Tris in this book and then happy with her, in terms of her relationship with Four and the decisions she was making that affected it. Now, perhaps it's because the ultimate outcome was a happy one, but looking back I think that Roth was spot on with the way she portrayed Tris's actions in this book. The faction drama also comes to a head in this book and the action is pretty much non-stop. Trust me, you won't want to put this book down, either, once you pick it up, so plan to set aside some time when you start reading.

Something I really appreciated about Insurgent: bits of humor interjected to lighten the mood.  There were a good handful of times that I laughed out loud at the lines some of the characters said and I thought Ross timed the lines perfectly so that you don't get too bogged down in some of the darker scenes. Truthfully, I am having a difficult time remembering anything that I didn't like about Insurgent. It's definitely a cliffhanger -- and since I've heard the third book is not due out until Fall of 2013, I've got quite a wait (sigh).

If you enjoy YA dystopian fiction, I can't recommend these Roth's Divergent series highly enough.

My rating:

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