Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Spoiler Warning: This is the second book in the Divergent Trilogy. You can read my review of the first book, Divergent here: 

Synopsis from Goodreads:
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.

My Review: 
I have conflicting emotions about this book.

I LOVED "Divergent", the first book in this trilogy. Its the only 5 star read ive given in quite awhile, and easily the best book ive read this year. I love the characters, the world and its factions, the sweet little romance between the leads and i loved sitting on the edge of my seat in excitement and suspense.
So i had very high hopes that "Insurgent" would be more of the same. I really wanted to LOVE it. But im left a little disappointed.

So,bad stuff first, then the good.

Tris and Four barely speaking to each through half the book. Seriously, just feels like such an overused, 2nd book plotline. It bugged me. They're such a strong team together, that they kind of annoy me when they're apart.

Tris has a touch of the Bella Swan's for awhile. "oh noone could ever love me, so ill just go sacrifice myself to the vampires". Or in Tris' case, to Jeanine and the Erudite. To say i wanted to slap her down for a bit there is an understatement.

It has a slowish start, especially compared to Divergent. I didnt really get into it until about halfway through the book. The first half just felt like a bunch of little battles thrown together for no reason, that didnt really go anywhere. It pretty much went like this- Tris and Four go to Amity, for not really any purpose, get shot at. Tris and Four go to Candor, for not really any purpose, get shot at. Tris and Four go to the Factionless...did they get shot at here? cant remember. Probably. None of it was overly exciting. None of it was very memorable. None of it was very interesting.

In the books defense, maybe the first half would have been better if I'd had time to just sit and read it in one sitting. Reading 5 mins here and there, i never really felt like i was getting into it.On the other hand, if it had been really good, i wouldnt have been able to put it down and i probably would have been reading it with one hand while i cooked dinner, or played with my kids. When a book is that good, i do that.

So yeah, the first half was a bit of a write off for me. But around 60% in i realised that my whole body had tensed up, I had scooted over to the edge of my seat and was frantically reading through the chapter to find out what was going to happen. Without giving anything away, theres a scene in the Candor compound where a character dies unexpectedly, and leads Tris into making a big decision. It felt like a turning point for Tris, and a turning point for the book. And the whole thing got better from here on.

The action in the second half is way more interesting than just the odd gun battle that happens in the first half. Its back to Tris having to use her brain and instincts. Theres twists and turns that i didnt expect and thought were great.

The character development of some of the supporting cast was cool, but it did feel a little like the author built them up just to make it hurt when she killed them off. Some of the supporting characters have really started to interest me tho.Like Peter! Surprisingly, i really like this character. I love that Tris hates him (and so do i for the most part)but Im always surprised by him, and im always wondering if somewhere along the line he'll turn into the standard third person in a love triangle. And Caleb! Big twist with him that i totally didnt see coming

The ending is A little predictable, but I like where it left off. Insurgent probably started out as a 2.5star read, and ended up a 4 star. So a pretty big turn around. Its a definite must read if you loved Divergent, and ill definitely be waiting for the third book, and to find out more about "whats beyond the fence"!

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