Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

You can tell how much Steph and I love this book because of how long this review is. We have so much to say about Insurgent! Veronica Roth's second installment to the Divergent trilogy rendered us speechless and mindblown! Insurgent is definitely not a disappointment. And also, because I love you guys, I added one of my favorite quotes from Insurgent in this review!

Insurgent(Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth Reviewed by Steph with Dani’s commentary in blue.
Steph’s rating: 5 stars Dani’s rating: 5 stars Total: 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

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

Review: *DIVERGENT spoilers*

Oh! Thank you so much Veronica Roth for giving a legitimately satisfying sequel to Divergent!!! A lot of series these days have a great debut novel, questionable sequels, and ending that makes an author seem like they’ve aged a hundred years because their ideas have lost their fire.

Divergent is not one of those series.

In Insurgent, the corrupt parts of the 5-faction system becomes very apparent. It’s not just the Erudite faction that is messing with people’s heads. You start wonder if every faction actually values what its manifesto says.  Lots of characters have begun to see the degrading of the rotten system, which leads rifts within factions and their eventual breakdown.

This book made me want to tear my hair out so many times, and at the same time it made me want to stick it up on an altar and worship it from my knees. You can say that I’m moody, or you can say this book was that good (FYI I only get severe mood swings from good books). I hated and loved at the same time that everyone expected so much out of Tris. I thought they truly believed in her ability to withstand difficult situations, but I also thought it was pretty cruel of them to put so much stress on her even though she’d recently lost her parents. I felt bad for Tris throughout this book because she was trying to meet everyone’s standards while dealing with her own psychological issues. Really, I just wished someone stood up and screamed, “GIVE THE GIRL A BREAK!” (actually, I was really hoping Tobias would do it because it might’ve lead to a cute moment). Just because I felt bad for her doesn’t mean that she became some locked up girl though. She’s still plenty open about her thoughts, and does what she believes is right even though she knows it could make people lose their faith in her. Her relationship with Four/Tobias was moving along pretty well at first. They do have some hurdles to jump over, but I think I will love Tobias forever for his choice at the end.

Suspense played a pretty big role in Insurgent too. I swear my heart was pumping faster than 80 beats/min during tons of moments. In case you are like Dani and are wondering “Um how fast does a normal heart pump?” a heart pumps about 60-70 beats/min. Many new characters are introduced, and several recurring characters from Divergent returns. However, these new characters are almost like a 50-50 wager throughout the entire book. You know innately that they could be a great alliance to the rising rebellion, but you are unsure if they’re trustworthy or not. You also learn about what really happened to Tobias’s family. Tris learns a lot about who she can put her trust in, and there was one shocking betrayal that totally threw me off course because it was like a fat pie-in-the-face out of nowhere. Perhaps faction does come before blood...There was also one character aiming for redemption, but no matter what I will still be suspicious of him or her from their previous actions.

I have so many questions about this series, especially after that dang ending! I was riled up by it but super content with it at the same time! I always knew Tris was, ahh, special. The reason for the creation of the 5-faction society is revealed in this book too, and you know things are going to go to hell in the next installment. I’m wondering how Veronica Roth plans to wrap up this series in one last book because there are just so many unanswered questions and ideas that pop up. With a 1000 page book. Perfect, amazing solution to this problem! The society that was supposed to be created for a good purpose is now in utter shambles, and I don’t know if it can be fixed. Well, maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll decide to write a third and fourth book instead. That way the series won’t end so soon :DDD. Or a 1000 page book...

A glimpse of a wonderful and insanely cute Tobias and Tris moment...

I don’t remember why I came here in the first place.

And I don’t care.

I wrap my uninjured arm around him, pulling him against me. My fingers find the hem of his T-shirt, and slide beneath it, spreading wide over the small of his back. He feels so strong.

He kisses me again, more insistent this time, his hands squeezing my waist. His breaths, my breaths, his body, my body, we are so close there is no difference.

He pulls back, just a few centimeters. I almost don’t let him get that far.

“This isn’t what you came for,” he says.

“No.”

“What did you come for, then?”

“Who cares?”

I push my fingers through his hair, and draw his mouth to mine again. He doesn’t resist, but after a few seconds, he mumbles, “Tris,” against my cheek.

“Okay, okay.” I close my eyes. I did come here for something important: to tell him the conversation I overheard.

Notice how long this “glimpse” of the book is. Normally we do not give out such large tidbits of books in reviews because we want YOU to read it, but we made an exception for this amazing book.

Now it’s time for DANI’S COMMENTS!

Pretty much everything that Dani would like to say has been mentioned above. So Dani’s got nothing to say besides that IT WAS AN AMAZING READ. There were parts that almost made Dani tear up (and you know that Dani doesn’t usually cry over books or movies) because of how much Four and Tris love each other. P.S. Dani’s favorite part is pages 310-313 in the hardcover normal size print edition of Insurgent. READ INSURGENT TO EXPERIENCE ITS ABILITY TO SUCK YOU INTO THE 5 FACTION WORLD AND TO READ DANI’S FAVORITE PART.