Insurgent (Divergent, #2)

by Veronica Roth

The thrillingly dark sequel to New York Times bestseller, DIVERGENT – a major motion picture franchise.

One choice can transform you – or it can destroy you. Tris Prior's initiation day should have been marked by victorious celebrations with her chosen faction; instead it ended with unspeakable horrors. Now unrest surges in the factions around her as conflict between their ideologies grows.

War seems inevitable; and in times of war sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge and choices will become ever more irrevocable. Tris has already paid a terrible price for survival and is wracked by haunting grief and guilt. But radical new discoveries and shifting relationships mean that she must fully embrace her Divergence – even though she cannot know what might be lost in doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent trilogy is another intoxicating thrill-ride, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreak, romance and powerful insights about human nature.

• ISBN13: 9780008167912
• Publish Date: 31 December 2015 (first published 1 May 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 21 February 2024
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Harper Fire
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 576
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[thepunktheory]

Full Review on: my Blog ThePunkTheory

Well, those of you who read my last post know that I was no exactly thrilled. However, as the series was so popular, I decided to give it another shot.
I'll kick off with the novel. Veronica Roth's idea for a dystopian world seemed interesting and I had expected some development, but the world she created is just as shallow as all of the characters. There is not much added in comparison to the first novel and honestly, you could have cut most of Insurgent anyways. In fact, the whole system seems to make less sense with every page you read.
Furthermore, I can't even begin to tell you how much I loath the main character, Tris. She's beyond annoying. There's nothing she doesn't whine about and I honestly don't know what constitutes her as heroine.
Then there's this whole love story thing between her and Four. He's almost as anti as her  - so the two really deserve each other.
Finally the book ends with a plot twist you could see coming for miles (as it is probably the first point in dystopian writing 101).

[CrowNoYami]

With everything going on in this world I was surprise with how easy it all was to follow. This was a wonderful sequel to Divergent and I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

[Joséphine]

Actual rating: 1.5 stars
Initial thoughts: I used to not understand people who don't reread books because they're afraid they won't like a book as much as before. Now I sort of understand why. Insurgent was a book I previously thoroughly enjoyed. I can't say that anymore. It has its moments but there were so many elements that annoyed me during my re-read and I noticed flaws I couldn't overlook. Perhaps in my haste to find out what would happen next, I skipped over these parts too quickly when I first read it. I will still finish off with Allegiant, which I've never read before, in a bid for closure. Not because I care a lot about about Tris or Four. In fact, I don't even like them much now that I'm walking away from my re-read of Insurgent.

[sstaley]

I really liked Divergent,the book. It was exciting and had a lot of movement in the story. I wish I could say the same for Insurgent. It just seemed that the plot moved along at a donkey's pace. The last 1/4 of the book was really good and I wished that the rest had felt the same. It wasn't horrible by any means, but when I can put a book down for a few months and read other things in between, that is a book that definitely is a "2nd book in a trilogy" book that could have been a lot better. I'm going to start reading the third book soon and hope it carries me along faster than Insurgent did.

[Berls]

This review first appeared at Fantasy is More Fun.

4.5 stars.

I was thrilled to read Insurgent finally, because (1) I want to see the movie and have a strict rule about reading books BEFORE watching the movie and (2) I'm already into the series. Now that I've read Insurgent I'm equally glad it won. I devoured it in just 2 days time and I've already downloaded Allegiant to start on as soon as I'm done writing this review :)

Even though I read Divergent back in November of 2014, I had no trouble picking up where the story left off - although I did have to try and separate in my head the book's version versus the movie's version since they are slightly different. I felt like the pacing in Insurgent was pretty non-stop, which I loved. Even in the lulls there was a lot going on mentally - Tris was either trying to figure out her own feelings, what was happening on a larger scale, or there were developments within the different factions.

There were so many twists and turns in the story, I don't think it's possible to call all the twists - I did call one of the biggest ones (*mental high five* lol) but I wasn't 100% sure of it until literally the last moments of the audiobook. The story just keeps you on your toes. One of the things I really liked was the stress in Tris and Four/Tobias's relationship - particularly because it wasn't caused by the introduction of third person. No love triangles here - just the stress a new relationship would understandably go through in the midst of a rebellion/war/revolution (it's kind of all three) where both partners are deeply involved and don't always agree 100%. I don't necessarily dislike love triangles, but this was still a refreshing change for a YA dystopian.

Needless to say I did really enjoy the story and I can't exactly tell you why I'm not giving it the full five stars, except to say it wasn't quite five stars. *shrug* But 4.5 is pretty damn good, right? Oh and I should totally mention that Emma Galvin does a really good narration - I listened at 1.5 speed and it still sounded really good, with a variety of voices and clear male voices. Not all narrators can handle that increased speed in my opinion, so I'm putting her down on my list of pretty great narrators.

Can't wait to see how this trilogy wraps up (please don't let it have the YA dystopian third book kiss of death....)

[pamela]

If you could see me now, I am literally shaking my head in disbelief at this book. What brief but ultimately redeemable features Divergent had is completely turned on its head in Insurgent. While the premise of the dystopia didn't make sense in the first, at least Tris was a relatable and strong character, and while there was a romance blossoming between her and Four, it took a back seat to the rest of the plot which was a blessed relief.

Not so in Insurgent. Instead, in this instalment, we are treated to characters who are virtually unrecognisable from their originals in Divergent. Gone is the strong willed yet conflicted Tris who is brave yet selfless, gone is the darkly brooding but passionate Four who would protect Tris at all costs. Instead we are given some generic angsty teens whining about love and trust. Lots of kissing, embracing and whinging instead of the bravery I'd come to expect from the first book.

While everyone is having a good old cry and Tris has a completely cringeworthy 'God' moment in the Amity compound, not a lot else is happening. Roth gives the illusion of an action packed romp to uncover a mystery that will challenge their very existence, but apart from am all too brief attack on an enemy compound and a near death experience for Tris which all works out a little too conveniently, not a lot happens apart from Tris feeling guilty and Four being a bit of a Douche.

And the ending...oh god the ending. Jeanine's entire plot of evil revolves around keeping one very specific piece of information secret. This information is meant to change the world, and is so life changing that Tris allies herself with a person she has no reason to trust against a person whom she has every reason to trust. Makes perfect sense right? Apparently this secret is so huge that it can't possibly be told, it has to be seen! So they go on an epic adventure to storm the castle where they will finally be able to see this great mystery for themselves...on a video. Which explains nothing, and serves only to highlight the ultimate stupidity that is the basic premise of this completely lacklustre trilogy.

I don't know why I'm doing it to myself, but I will be reading the third. I really am a sucker for punishment.

I enjoyed Divergent. It was an amazing story and because of this I had high expectations for Insurgent. Unfortunately, Insurgent was a let down and destroyed most of the things that I loved in the Divergent.

Tris
Divergent Tris was totally different to Insurgent Tris. In Divergent, Tris was a cool character who allowed no-one to define her and control her.In Insurgent, Tris is trying to come to terms with her parents death and the fact that she killed Will. I understood that these occurrences would affect her and change her, but I didn't expect it to destroy her. It made Tris seem weak and I was extremely frustrated with her. At some point, I screamed at the book and told Tris to get over it. What angered me was that she continued to do stupid and impractical things and she hides the truth from the people that she loves by lying to them, when it's totally unnecessary.

Tris and Four's Relationship
Tris and Four's Relationship was something that I rooted for in Divergent. Tris and Tobias treated each other as equals, believed in each others strength and protected each other. But in Insurgent, Tris and Tobias started arguing over petty things, mainly because they were keeping secrets from each other. To mend their quarrels, they would make-out, which annoyed me to no-end. At some point, I just couldn't take it anymore and wanted them to break-up.

Being Divergent
In Divergent, being Divergent was like being a rare species. People who were Divergent were dangerous, feared and special. In Insurgent, it seemed as though being divergent was a chemical in the air that people breathed in. I do understand that people won't always fit a certain personality trait, but it made being Divergent seem cheap and common.

The Awesomeness that occurred too late
Even although Insurgent lacked Divergent sass, it picked up at about the 300 page mark. All the action (which Roth knows how to write), twists and turns, fights, betrayal, friends made, friends lost and a huge body-count was crammed into these last pages.

A brief summary of how I felt
The first half of the book annoyed me and made me want to scream, but the last quarter of the book, even with all its faults, reminded me why I loved Divergent so much. Hopefully Allegiant will be able to turn my feelings of Insurgent around.

OMG!!! WHY HAS IT TAKEN ME SO LONG TO FINALLY READ THIS BOOK?! FEELINGS! TRIS!! FOURRRRRR (who I absolutely refuse to call by his real name).
Full review coming soon.

[Sarah Says]

I did like this book, but not as much as Divergent (which i gave 4 stars). Tris annoyed me a fair bit in this one and i was relived when she woke up to herself near the end and went back to using her wonderfully divergent brain. Even though i didn't enjoy it as much as the first i still flew through it and am very much looking forward to reading the third, Allegiant.

[tweetybugshouse]

Loved this story and the way we get to see deeper into how this society is slowly falling apart, you really get to see how much things where so tightly controlled and all the little plot secrets that are slowly revealed through the story. This book did not drag at all for me and kept me devouring and then ending wow totally did not see it coming. Bring on book 3.