Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent

Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 978-0-00-744292-8
Pages: 525
Series: Divergent #2
Type: Young Adult Dystopian
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Tris has survived a horrifying attack against all the odds but her survival has come with a heavy cost. Racked with grief for her losses and guilt for her actions, Tris is desperate to find a peaceful escape. But the factions are failing and society is crumbling and it is not only the truth of the night of the Dauntless initiation that must be revealed. Other secrets, deeper than imagining, have haunted the factions for generations. Is Tris brave enough to reveal the hidden truth?

This is the second book in the Divergent trilogy (after Divergent) and after being disappointed by Divergent I approached Insurgent with trepidation. There is definitely more tension in this installment as the faction system, and by extension the society, is beginning to crumble. Massive betrayals have been made and the shockwaves are rocking the city, both on a large scale and an individual level. The pacing is better in this book, but I figured out a major plot twist very early on which was a huge disappointment.

Tris has been left questioning the cause of the chaos and her role in it so she is now carrying a lot of emotional baggage as the events of the previous book have left her scarred. This means that Insurgent has a much more introspective feel with a lot of actions being preceeded by Tris's internal debate. I liked this aspect, although it did create a lot more difficulties for Tris and Four. Four is his usual strong-yet-caring self but this reveals more about his past and miscommunication abounds.

This installment gives a look into the world of the Factionless which was an element briefly touched on in the previous book that I wanted to know more about. These are individuals who have chosen to leave their faction or who failed initiation and end up being a cross between lower class workers (cleaners, bus drivers etc) and homeless. Now we get to see that just because the factions rejected them, doesn't mean they necessarily reject each other.

The reader also gets to see more about the different factions, especially Amity whose focus on peace becomes a much needed commodity. The other factor I really enjoyed was that the possibility of simulations means that everyone's loyalty is questionable at all times and trust has become a huge risk for anyone.

All in all this was an interesting read and I'm looking forward to the final book.

Plot: 8/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 8/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Cover: 8/10

Overall: 41/50

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 978-0-00-742041-4
Pages: 487
Series: Divergent #1
Type: Young Adult Dystopian
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


In futuristic Chicago society is divided into five factions: Erudite (the intelligent), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Candor (the honest) and Amity (the peaceful). Upon their sixteenth birthday everyone must choose a faction, either staying in the faction they were born into or breaking from their family and leaving for another. But when Tris makes her choice she cannot begin to fathom the ramifications or how drastically her life or the world around her is about to change.

This is the first book in the Divergent trilogy and is probably one of the most-hyped books I've read in a while. Having now read it, I'd actually say that it is overhyped to the point that I was left feeling let down by the storyline. The sheer level of "oh my gosh this is like the most amazing book ever!" meant that while I enjoyed the book, I was expecting something incredible and this isn't quite at that level. There is a lot of missed potential, particularly in the world building, and the book is overly long for the amount of storyline covered.

It is clear that this is set in a future Chicago which has been devastated but there is no explanation. Each faction has it's own areas of the city, but again these aren't really described. There are a lot of hints to the factions and their purpose but things are kept very vague, most likely to be revealed in future books (which is a plot device I dislike immensely). Even the conflict between the factions of Abnegation and Erudite is kept off the page which means that it only ever seems incidental. The other thing that bothered me was that the pace started off pretty quick and then slowed.

The entire book is basically set around Tris selecting and then joining a faction. While I liked Tris and the way she thought things through, she could be really immature and stupid at times which didn't fit well with the times when she was smarter or braver. As the book went on Tris became more confident and coherent within herself. Four is one of my favourite parts of the book. He challenges Tris, forcing her to become a better person while also being incredibly sweet and supportive.

I liked how the other initiates were shown as joining a faction includes some pretty serious hazing. There was a great spectrum from the horrible Peter to Tris's awesome new best Christina. As Tris is kept with the other faction transfers this does explain a bit more about each faction without info-dumping, and it also means that the concept of bullying can be handled in an innovative way.

All in all, this was a fun read and I'm looking forward to Insurgent.

Plot: 8/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 43/50