Thursday, May 10, 2012

Insurgent by Veronica Roth


Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Release Date –  May 1, 2012
Publisher Website –  Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader
Pages -  544 pages
My Rating- 5/5
**purchased**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

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.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

Veronica Roth’s Divergent hooked me. Insurgent destroyed me. Veronica Roth has managed to create not only a realistic future, but realistic characters that are so well developed and flawed.

Veronica's writing keeps you on the edge of your seat, turning the pages waiting to see what will happen next. Her pacing is excellent and the book reads rather quickly considering it's 500+ page length.
Tris is different in this book. She’s shattered, changed and haunted. Taking someone’s life has deeply impacted her and we see immediately that it’s not something easily brushed off. It feels authentic to her character and provides a new side to Tris that is nice to see. She’s still strong, sacrificing and capable but so much has happened and she’s forever changed. I liked that she is changed so drastically because of what happened. It’s something that should have a huge impact on her and I am thankful Veronica didn’t sweep past it.

With alliances being formed, choices being made, and a war brewing Tris has to determine who she can trust and what that means going forward. Insurgent is filled with secrets being revealed, crosses, double crosses and intriguing faction relationships. You see how someone’s choice can define and change them forever. A faction can mean more than family, and sometimes choosing yourself can be the only choice left. Learning about the factions and how they operate was fascinating. We learned so much about Dauntless in Divergent and we learn a lot about Amity and Abnegation in this one. The inner workings and politics within each faction are fascinating. I am looking forward to learning even more about them.

The relationship between Four and Tris is so well developed and intense . Their relationship is not easy for either of them but the genuine feelings between these two jump off the page. They are both committed to making it work even in the bad times. The steamy scenes are off the charts hot and the fight scenes are laced with feeling and longing. Tris and he have a lot of issues that need to be worked though (most of them stemming from events in Divergent) but you can see how important it is to the two of them that they work on it.

The ending, quite simply, changes everything. Everything you thought you knew is seen anew thanks to a revelation. The final twist will leave you with your jaw dropped, questions spewing out of your mouth and you giddy with excitement to get your hands on the third and final book in this stunning trilogy.

3 comments:

  1. I'm not reading your review, since I haven't even started the series yet... But I see that you gave it 5 stars! Glad you enjoyed it! I must start it soon. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. YES! YES YES YES YES TO THE POWER OF YES. Everything you said was SPOT ON. I loved that Tris had to face the consequences of what she did in Divergent. I hate when a character does something big, something that would ordinarily change your life, but then the author just pushes it aside. Veronica has an amazing talent at crafting her characters and putting them through all kinds of delicious hell. That we enjoy haha.

    OMG Four and Tris *swoon* Hell, they had me swooning when they were ARGUING. Because I just loved how realistic it felt, not the typical sequel with 'guy being distant and broody. Shuts out MC for no damn reason that oh, apparently is a VERY good reason at the end' I'm tired of it. But this? I want MORE Four and Tris in YA.

    Le sigh. I love this book. And your damn review has me wanting to run to my bookshelf and reread it all over again :) BRILLIANT, KATHY! And gah, after that ending.... we need book #3 asap!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. INSURGENT was an incredibly strong second book. It did not at all fall into the dip that some second books in trilogies do with too much exposition or explanation or not enough happening and seeming to just set up the third book. There is an intelligence (thanks Erudite) to this book and the political upheaval that is going on, and it's interesting to see how the factions play into the behaviors of the people. This book never stops, and just enough information is released as we need to know it, and it definitely feels like a strong book in it's own right. There were so many moments where I couldn't put it down or stop reading because I had to know what was going to happen next. The ending is a game changer-what is revealed in the last few pages is going to affect this entire world, and I, for one, am really excited to have that little clue to what is coming in book three, and can't wait to see how Veronica Roth writes the rest of Tris and Four's strength and story in this world. Although it is shocking and unexpected, it is done in such a masterful way because of Veronica Roth's deft hand at giving us a sense of closure to the major questions for this book, but leaving us with a hint of what is to come in the next one, and yet everyone is at a place that I feel that I can leave them while I wait for the next one to come out (although I wish I didn't have to!).

    ReplyDelete

I love comments. Thank you for stopping by my blog and thank you even more for leaving me a comment.

I have decided to make this an awards free blog. I appreciate the gesture, and love that you thought of my blog, however I simply can't pass them along as required.