3.5 out of 5 hearts
I had to read Insurgent after I read Divergent back in March. The gut-wrenching ending of Divergent had me yearning to find out what happened next.
Tris only has her brother Caleb left. Both of her parents are dead, sacrificing themselves to protect the secret information the Erudite and Jeanine Matthews are seeking. To save her own life, she had to kill one of her best friends, Will, while he was under the simulation. Tris is more than heartbroken; she is inconsolable. She is Dauntless and can't muster the courage to even hold a gun again, knowing very well the power of murder. Yet, it is not the time for grief because the Erudite are on a hunting mission to get rid of her, Abnegation, and all Dauntless loyal to their faction. The Erudite want power and submission. Tris must resist, run, and hide. She thought she found a safe place at Amity but their resistance towards violence is helping no one, not even themselves After the Erudite and traitor Dauntless (those who have sided and are helping Erudite) infiltrate Amity's campgrounds, the remaining Dauntless and Abnegation must flee. Tris and her friends find themselves in the last place they ever though they would end up at - a factionless safe house.
Tris and Four's relationship was put in the brink after all that has happened. But, Tris has not told him about Will for fear of Four's rejection. Their presence at the factionless safe house proves that Four has kept his own secrets from her, one to great to ignore. Another thing realized while with the factionless is that the factionless have been ignored for far to long and are more organized than they seem - organized enough to for an army to overthrow Jeanine Matthews. Tris has a gut feeling that the information her parents died to protect is too valuable to lose with this impending war. And she knows Marcus, Four's conniving father, knows the secret. Four is set on waging a war with the Erudite, with help of the factionless, but Tris isn't. She must commit the ultimate betrayal against Four to expose the truth before it's too late.
Divergent was awesome. Insurgent, not as great as its predecessor. While it did have its good share of action, there was a lot of running around. Everyone was just running around everywhere. A good chuck of the story was Tris & Co. running around from one place to the other, to the point that it was pointless. I felt that it took away from the story because it is supposed to be a very dangerous time and the characters were all up and through the streets like crazies. For instance, some of the more important parts revolve around Tris and Tobias going to the Candor headquarters. The entire time, I'm thinking to myself: What was the point? I figured Roth needed to demonstrate that all of the factions were in turmoil and she needed a way to bring in Candor. Meh. Had it been written that the Erudite used the truth serum (since they make it) onTris and Four finds out about Will that way....then that would completely eliminate the need to go to Candor and the single important thing that happened there.
Also the major death at the end was very flat. It was supposed to be this tremendous moment and it was very matter-of-fact. It was like: "Person B stabbed Person A and she died." I felt that it could have been built up more and Roth had the opportunity to build an emotional outpour from it - in Tris, Tobias, everyone else - and make you feel that way, too. But it was very unmoving and since it was one of the moments I was waiting for, it made the entire book feel like whatever.
With that being said, the Divergent series is entertaining and worthy of the read. I just want to set the expectation that the first book was much better than the second. And, the ending of this one will definitely encourage you to read the third, Allegiant, which is expected to be released on October 22, 2013. Roth knows how to write a good cliff-hanger ending. Hopefully, the series does not end like the Hunger Games series, which was very "wth".
-Mariela
“I have a theory that selflessness and bravery aren't all that different.” - Veronica Roth, Divergent
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Hardcover, 525 pages
Published May 1st 2012 by HarperTeen
ISBN 0007442912 (ISBN13: 9780007442911)
Edition language: English
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