Insurgent (Divergent, #2)

by Veronica Roth

[Amanda]

Somewhere between 3.5 and 4. I DON'T KNOW.

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2012/09/05/review-insurgent-by-veronica-roth/

I am so conflicted about this book that it took me ages to semi-decide on a rating. There were a lot of aspects that I liked in Insurgent, but there were also a lot of aspects that I disliked. Rather than doing a traditional review, I think I’m simply going to break it down into a list of likes and dislikes, as well as what I was so conflicted about. I promise to do my BEST to speak in the vaguest of terms to avoid spoilers. I assume the comments section will abound with them, though, so watch for that.

Dislikes

1. Tris, throughout approximately half of the book. *shakes Tris* I hate the “I’m so alone, I can’t tell ANYONE ANYTHING” angst.
2. THE CLIFFHANGER. I honestly had to reread the last few pages because I was all like, “WHA….???”
3. Insurgent didn’t grab me and pull me in the way Divergent did. If I hadn’t been reading with Kristilyn, I think I would have put it off more.
4. Feeling as though I had no idea what we real and what was not.
5. It was often difficult to keep up with ALL THE CHARACTERS.

Likes

1. Feeling as though I had no idea what we real and what was not. (Yes, this is both a like and dislike.)
2. Tris, for the other half of the book, where she finally “got it” and was being the strong, determined Tris I wanted.
3. THE KISSING, and how the “to do more than kissing or not” aspect was dealt with.
4. Getting MOAR INFORMATION at the end.
5. Despite what I didn’t like, I still read this in a single day. The book did recover itself.
6. The ending. Despite my dislike of the cliffhanger, I really feel like the ending saved the book for me.

My Conflicts

1. Tris and Four’s relationship.
2. The number of deaths.
3. What Divergent and divergence really mean for the world.