This book . . . I enjoyed it, and I thought it was a pretty solid second book; it drew me in, had me in suspense, and left me wondering what was going to happen next. And yet . . . I just didn’t like it as much as I did “Divergent.” Although, honestly I’m not sure I even like “Divergent” as much as I think I do. When I read that book, it was very much a case of reading it at exactly the right time, and if I had read it any other day, I’m not sure I would’ve loved it as much as I did. So I think “Insurgent” was a bit unfairly doomed before I even started it. But it’s not like I disliked it—not at all. Like I said, it was a pretty solid book. I just didn’t feel that level of investment that I had for whatever reason with “Divergent.”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.
Also, I thought “Insurgent” was a fair bit darker and more depressing than “Divergent.” Tris is pretty screwed up from what happened at the end of the first book—and rightly so—but she doesn’t ever seem to make much headway in terms of emotional healing. I mean, I appreciated that Veronica Roth doesn’t try to gloss over Tris’s post-traumatic stress, but at the same time, I thought it started to weigh down the book a little too much after a while. And in addition to that, a lot of people die in this book. I know that was realistic since their society is in the middle of a violent coup and all, but appreciating the realism didn’t stop me from thinking that the abundance of deaths was totally depressing.
And this book had a sad lack of Four. I love that boy.
Overall, a solid—but darker—second book. It’s probably a much better book than I made it sound in this review, but I just couldn’t love it as much as I did “Divergent.”
Rating: 3 / 5
I didn't like this book as much as Divergent either-it took me about 300 pages to get involved in it again. However I didn't like Divergent as much as a lot of other people seemed to so I figured that was part of the reason for my lack of enthusiasm.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean about liking a book because you read it at the right time. I think that's what happened with me and Insurgent. I really liked it, but it's definitely dark. I didn't even really like Divergent, but I think I was just in the mood for a book like Insurgent when I read it.
ReplyDeleteI'm another person who didn't like Divergent quite as much as everyone else (although I did like it). I want to read Insurgent, but I'm not in any great hurry to. It was interesting to read your thoughts on it. I'm disappointed by the lack of Four - second books always seem to make the love interest disappear! What's up with that? :-)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Insurgent as yet either. Mostly because I wasn't that huge a fan of Divergent. I liked it mostly because of Four and if he's not in it as much I'll prob never end up reading it.
ReplyDeleteEh, I think I'll skip this whole series.
ReplyDeleteI just finished Divergent and it was pretty incredible. I hope that Tris' emotional baggage doesn't get in the was for me in Insurgent. Yikes. I loved her character in Divergent. Thanks for the great review.
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