Book Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent

by Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent #2
Published: May 1, 2012
Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover (525 pages)
Source: Purchased

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.

Spoiler free even if you haven’t read the first book in this series. 

Insurgent picked up right where Divergent left off which made it nice to read them one after the other. Divergent was good and set up the world really well, but I liked the conflict in Insurgent much better. The factions are so interesting and we get to learn more about the factions Amity and Candor. I love how the factions are this weird combination of a gang, an entire culture of dress and style, mannerisms and education training for a job. The books only skim the surface of all there is to know of this complex and detailed world. This is one of those worlds where they could write an encyclopedia about it and you’d still want to know more. The writing style was much better in this book. I didn’t notice the word “I” glaring at me so much.

Tris doesn’t always make good decisions. In fact, she makes some really, really bad decisions but I felt like I understood her so well that I got why she did the things she did even if it’s not what I would do. My favorite thing about Insurgent was how well the author messed with your expectations of who is good and who is not. And it’s not based just on who Tris likes. I kind of saw the twist at the end coming, but it still gave me chills when I read it. This was a fast read and I couldn’t put it down. It left me with some deep thoughts about how easily your virtues can become a vice if you’re not careful. I loved the complex idea and story arc.  It was an intense, action packed ride that had me saying “Wow” when I closed the book.

Content Rating: Medium, for violence.