Monday, May 21, 2012

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

[Insurgent is the sequel to Divergent, so it is suggested that you read Divergent before reading this review so nothing is spoiled for you!]

"Part of me wishes I could burn them from my mind, so I would never have to mourn for them. But the rest of me is afraid of who I would be without them."

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.







If you've discussed Divergent with me, you're probably very tired of hearing me sing its praises. (Especially since my singing voice is something you get tired of very fast.) But in case you didn't know, I adored Divergent, and I'd been very eagerly awaiting its sequel.


Oh, Veronica Roth. She sure can write a story.

First off, I have to say that this book has a completely different tone than Divergent. I've found that's usually the case with books that are in a series, though, and especially with books that are in trilogies. Insurgent launches straight into the story and picks up—literally—right where its predecessor left off. Seriously, if these two books had been grafted together into some monstrous (but extremely engrossing) Franken-novel, I would never have guessed where they were supposed to be split.

Okay, character-wise, I was pretty pleased with this book. In the first book, I was completely taken aback by Tris and how she didn't follow the usual YA girl stupidity pattern (that I've mentioned before). In this book, I sometimes thought she was making a generally reckless choice, but here's the thing:

1. She thought each of those decisions was a good idea at the time
2. She was making those choices because of recent events that tied into the plot (yay plot!)
3. And (the clincher!) she learned from her choices and became a better person

So hurrah for character development! 


In other news, I'm glad that Four got a little more fleshed out, because I think he needed it. Still, I don't really think much of him as character, which is odd since he's one of the central ones.

Okay, something I love right here: I am absolutely fascinated with the simulations in the story. They are just about the coolest things ever! I love how they're used in all different ways: by the Dauntless for training and as a layer of security for Erudite, for example.

As bad as it sounds, my favorite part of the book was the ending. Everything got so exciting and I just couldn't flip pages fast enough. I'm actually really satisfied with how it ended and I'll definitely be reading Divergent #3.


All right, if there's one thing I want to stress, it's this: you better have Divergent fresh on your mind.

There were a few months and a couple dozen other books between when I read Book #1 and Book #2, and while I usually can remember books to a T, I blanked on this one.

This was a huge reason I wasn't enjoying the book. I didn't remember most of the characters by name or how the factions specifically worked, or where exactly the plot was left in the last book. It's my fault I didn't re-read Divergent first, because I know I would've liked this one more if I'd read the books back to back. Veronica Roth didn't write it in a way that helped you remember what had happened before, which isn't a bad thing, but in my case, I just kept getting confused: 

Is Christina that girl she used to know from Abnegation? Nope.
Isn't Johanna from The Hunger Games? Yes, but also no.
I don't think that kid's name was Edward in book 1. Um, no, it definitely was.

The list goes on and on.

My other complaint was that it took it's time getting started. I read another review with the same opinion, so it's not just me. I really didn't get into until about two hundred pages. Also, whereas in Divergent, I didn't have a problem with the length, I think this one could've been condensed a lot and it wouldn't have hurt the story.


If you enjoyed Divergent, and your memory doesn't fail you like mine failed me, I think you're guaranteed to like this one as well. And if you haven't read Divergent yet, you better get to it before I start singing.

(By the way, thanks for hanging in through this insanely long review. I could have written a review to rival Insurgent's length with all my thoughts, so be grateful for my summarizing skills!)

Read other reviews for Insurgent here:

40 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for the comment on book blogs! I immediately followed your blog when I saw this review! We think alot alike! Here's my review of Insurgent. Let me know what you think.
    http://flyingonsilverwings.blogspot.com/2012/05/insurgent-divergent-2.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by! I'm going check out your review. (:

      Delete
  2. Thank you so much for this wonderful post! I found you through book blogs and am now following you! I think I may have to read the two books you reviewed here for they seem interesting. Hopefully, I will understand them (lol). Wishing you abundant blessings on your journey and I look forward to your new posts,
    Kimmy
    HTTP://www.withoutalabel.me

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome! I hope you read this one and enjoy this one as much as I did. (:

      Delete
  3. Love your blog! I got a message from you on bb and thought I'd stop by your blog. I love this review and have been thinking about starting this series soon. I'm following you now and I'd love to have you follow me here's my blog http://bookburp.blogspot.com/ and fb page for the blog http://www.facebook.com/TheBookBurp

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by! I definitely recommend this series. (:

      Delete
  4. Thanks for getting in touch. I am following you as Queen B.

    Queen B
    http://blogsbybree.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  5. i loved Divergent, I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this one!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you enjoy it as much as you enjoyed Divergent! (:

      Delete
  6. I seriously have to go read this! I can't believe I haven't yet! I'm disappointed to hear this one has just as slow of a start as the last, I was hoping that would improve with the second one. I'm definitely going to have the same problem as you though because I read Divergent soo long ago and don't remember many details...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, I'm usually the last one to get around to reading newly released books in series I'm reading. (I still haven't finished The Son of Neptune.) So don't worry, you're not the only one behind. (:

      It took me a little bit to get in to Divergent too. I hope you remember more about it than I did!

      Delete
  7. My daughter just bought this book yesterday! I'll tell her what you thought. THanks for the welcome on Book Blogs. It's much appreciated.

    Margaret Finnegan
    http://margaretfinnegan.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope she enjoys it!

      Thanks for stopping by—I'm off to check out your blog. (:

      Delete
  8. Hi there!

    Came over here from your message in Book Blogs! :)
    Hopefully I'll get to read this soon! I've been reading rave reviews. :)

    Following you now! :)

    <3
    Leah
    www.whiteskyproject.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you get to read it soon. Thanks for following! (:

      Delete
  9. Great review! I'm still trying to get my hands on a copy. New follower :)

    Cierra @ Books Ahoy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you get a copy soon! Thanks for following. (:

      Delete
  10. I have heard a lot about these series and I really should put this on my wishlist. Great review!

    Hi, I am a new follower via GFC, Twitter, and facebook. I would love it if you could stop by my blog sometime.
    curseofthebibliophile.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for all the following! I'll check your blog out. (:

      Delete
  11. Hi Cheyenne
    Love ur blog, I am following you as Shahnila Shafiq. please check out my blog if you get a chance:
    www.bookishtimes.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm following your blog now—thanks for following! (:

      Delete
  12. Great review! I'm ashamed to say I haven't started reading this series yet - terrible, I *know* I'll start soon, promise! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Haha, it's alright, I haven't read the Delirium series yet, so I think I'm just moments away from getting kicked out of the YA book community. ;)

      I hope you like it! (:

      Delete
  13. There should be a sequel called detergent

    reddkaiman.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi there!
    Thank you for following me at Dragonscale Clippings.
    Just wanted to let you know that I've moved my blog to: -
    http://dragonscaleclippings.wordpress.com
    Hope to see you there soon!
    Much love
    Freya
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hello! :)
    I've tagged you for the Liebster blog award. For details please follow this link:
    http://www.fortheloveoffilmandnovels.com/2012/06/leibster-blog-award.html
    Thanks!
    Marissa :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I really appreciate the award: I've added a link to your blog on my awards list!

      Thanks again! (:

      Delete
  16. Awesome sauce review, Cheyenne! LOL this comment is really late so sorry. I loved Insurgent!! Sorry to hear that your memory kind of failed you, that's been happening to me all the time lately - it's starting to slightly freak me out. O.o Anyhoo... can't wait for the third book to come out!! <33

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    1. It's totally cool that your comment is late—this review was completely late. ;) I'm glad you loved it! I'm always for people enjoying good books. Oh, I hope my memory isn't failing, I'm too young for that!

      Totally agree with you on the third one. (:

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  17. Since I haven't read Divergent, I should refrain myself from reading your review!! OMG I MUST READ THIS SERIES SOON LIKE NOW GAAAH <3

    -Alicia
    bookaworld.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I totally agree! Make some time for this series. (:

      Delete
  18. hi cheyenne i have just given you the liebster award check the rules and what you have to answer on my blog cantbeatbooks.blogspot.com

    hugs and wishes
    candi

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  19. I'm glad to hear that this one was good. I still haven't read it yet because it's so large, but I really should start it soon. Thanks for the review! :)

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  20. Hi,
    stopping by to say hello. This book is on my TBR. I liked the first one, and I hope to get to this one soon. Follow back? www.myfictionnook.com

    See ya there.

    ReplyDelete