Insurgent (Divergent, #2)

by Veronica Roth

[Jo]

Originally posted on YA book blog, Once Upon a Bookcase.

Oh. My. God. There are absolutely no words to describe how I'm feeling right now, now that I have finished Insurgent. To say I loved it is to call a thunderstorm a drizzle. "Amazing" doesn't even come close to covering it! Insurgent blew me away - more than I was expecting after reading Divergent. How could Veronica Roth possibly beat Divergent when it was so incredible? I don't know how, but she bloody well did!

I said in my review of Divergent that it was complex and clever. I also said that you had no idea where things were going to go. Insurgent has both these elements, but takes them to a whole new level. Whereas Divergent focussed on Tris more than the dystopian society, after Erudite put the Dauntless under the attack simulation and all but destroyed the Abnegation faction, Insurgent focuses on both Tris and the society they now all live in. A society filled with chaos, danger, and the threat of war. And in a world where factions are kept separate, you have no idea what any will do, or what the consequences will be. You are constantly sitting on the edge of your seat while reading this book. It just doesn’t stop!

And by that I mean the characters never stop. Society as they know it is crumbling, and for those who were Dauntless, sitting back and waiting to see what happens isn’t an option. Erudite took control of Dauntless to destroy Abnegation. But what of Amity and Candor? Who’s side will they be on? And why did Erudite take control, anyway? Why target Abnegation? What do they want? And what will they do next? Insurgent picks up right where Divergent left off; with Tris, Four, and company on the train, and they have work to do – fight and protect. We find out so much more about all the other factions in this book, and it’s just fascinating. The internal politics of each individual faction, how they work together, how decisions are made, what they base those decisions on, and how others are treated, it’s just brilliantly worked out.

Tris suffers so much throughout this novel. With having to kill Will, and her mother and father sacrificing themselves for her at the end of Divergent, Tris is wracked with grief and guilt, to the point where she actually struggles to function normally. She becomes terrified of using a gun, throws herself into unnecessary reckless situations, and simply can’t get past what has happened. This puts a lot of pressure on her relationship with Four, who loves her beyond words, yet can’t seem to shake her out of her self-destruct mode. Add to that the fact that he's suffering from his own demons and seems to be hiding things from her too, and you’ve got yourself a hurting couple who need each other more than they can possibly say, yet can’t help spitting fire and venom at one another. It is so unbelievably sad knowing how much they feel for each other and just how much they desperately need each other’s help, and to then see them feel unable to simply reach out for the other’s hand. It’s incredibly sad. Saying that, when no harsh words are spoken, the fire that burns between them rivals that of any other YA couple going. The chemistry between the two of them is so intense, it crackles right off the page. This is what makes them one of the most believable YA couples going; they have the love, the passion, the devotion, but they have their issues too. No relationship is perfect 100% of the time, and the fact that these two have their problems makes it all the more real. Their relationship is so beautiful, it shines.

As in the previous book, Roth doesn’t shy away from hitting our favourite characters with major blows, but as there is a lot more life-threatening action in this book than in Divergent, those blows, in whatever form, aren’t reserved for just the end. I was close to tears on more than one occasion over the dirty tactics of the cold Erudite Jeanine. Knowing this from the previous book, it is foolish to get too attached to some characters you get to know better, yet impossible not to do. In more ways than one, this book is an incredibly hard and brutal read, but much like a car crash, you can’t turn away.

Then there is the ending! Oh my god, the ending! Such a cliff-hanger! And I have absolutely no idea where the story is going to go from there! What a curve ball! We thought everyone was all shaken up already, but it seems Roth didn’t think things were shaken up enough. Simply brilliant, and exciting, and wonderful! I have absolutely no clue what will happen next, but I can tell you one thing; it’s going to be one hell of a ride!

Insurgent; it’s impossible to read with your mouth closed. Prepare to be awed.