Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: Harper Collins

Release Date: May 1st, 2012

Goodreads Summary:
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.

**I wrote this review about a year ago and just found it in my drafts. With the release of the movie I thought it would be appropriate to post this week**

You know when you're so excited for a book to come out and you even buy it the day of it's release, and then you put it aside for more than a year? Yeah? That was this book for me. So during Bout of Books 9.0 I thought it was about time to dust it off and jump right into it, and I'm glad I did. I was doubtful at first because I hadn't read Divergent in almost two years, but I had no problems with that because once I immersed myself in the world, there was no going back. I was right back into reading about the Factions and the war and the characters (Recaptains also helped out, of course).

There are people that have a lot of issues with this book and I can see why. For one, it's LONG and it seems a bit slow paced compared to Divergent, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Actually, there were several moments when I couldn't make myself put it down. For such a huge book, I flew through it.

Another thing were the characters. We get to meet up with some characters from before that I wasn't expecting and it was enjoyable. The one character that wasn't enjoyable was Tris. I think this is the book where a main character cries the most. Tris is always crying, sobbing or on the verge of tears. Tris is guilt ridden over the fact that she murdered one of her best friends, and she definitely should be, but there comes a moment where she should pick herself up and try to move on with the consequences. She has so many people willing to put up with her, and she just isn't the strong independent Tris we came to love in Divergent (even though she swears she can and puts her life at risk one too many times). Four is going through some things too. But opposite of Tris, you can see his character developing as he goes through each difficult obstacle in his life. Sometimes it's not the best decision, but he's working through them.

Plot wise, there's a lot happening, but since the book is so huge there are some down moments where it feels like nothing is happening. Insurgent opens up a new window into the different factions. We get to sort of explore the different customs of the factions and how they do the same things in different ways. For me it was a fast paced book but for others it might not be. I suggest you read the first hundred pages to see. I probably wouldn't have stuck with it if I hadn't had 3 free hours between classes to dedicate to the story line. 

That said, I enjoyed this book and am really looking forward to seeing what they do with the movie. I know there were some serious changes made but from the trailers I think the movie still has huge potential.

Rating:

                                                               ★ ★ ★ ★ ★/ 5 stars

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Hardcover, 487 pages                                             Published May 3rd 2011 by Katherine Tegen Books    Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger.

What if you had to choose what the most important aspect of life was? Would you choose peacefulness, honesty, bravery, selflessness, or intelligence? How do you even decide this when all of these are qualities everyone should have at least some of?

Beatrice, or Tris, has to decide to stay with her family and be something she's not or leave them for what she believes. Tris is one of the bravest characters I have ever read about. She is bad ass and is not afraid to stand up for the people she cares about, which also makes her a bit selfless at times. Throughout the book you see her develop from a small girl who doesn't know what she needs to do, to a young woman who follows what she believes and doesn't stop along the way to ask questions. Then there's Four. What can I say about him? He is just a great character. He is mysterious about so many things in his life and lets few people in. Four has his own opinions but doesn't speak them too often and is more reserved than Tris. He thinks things through where she acts on impulse (which I guess would make them a great couple ;D ). At first I wasn't too attached but by the end of the book I was completely emotionally invested in his character.

Divergent is one of those books that you will pick up to read for a few chapters and you end up sitting there for hours. The book is quick paced from the start with the initiation process all through the end of the book. The action doesn't lag and you just have to keep going to find out what comes next. The world building is great. There is so much detail put into this world, from the trains and the schedule, to the different sections of the city. Each section is so different but it is so well developed. If you are a true dystopian fan I highly recommend this book. There is so much going on that even though the book is close to 500 pages you won't even notice. And Insurgent is coming out May 1st so you'll want to read this one soon if you haven't read it yet.