Review for Insurgent by Veronica Roth

I have done things. Bad things. I can't take them back, and they are part of who I am.

Tris has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. but she has paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes ever more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.

Yet if Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she much be stronger than ever... because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead.

Finally. Finally, finally, finally. That was all I could say when I clutched this book to my chest. A week past release date before any of my local bookstores got it in (honestly, do they WANT me to shop online?) and my mum immediately snapped up one of those five copies. Unfortunately, I had a major essay to work on so it's taken me until NOW to read and review.

BOOK REVIEW FOR INSURGENT

At Face Value: This cover is amazing. Another turned back (again) butt he roof tops, the leaves, and the faded birds actually HAVE A REASON. And that's the main point. I just hate that I now have two non-matching covers. 

Immediate Reaction: I hate to say this but... I was pretty satisfied by the ending. I guess I missed the massive cliff-hanger reaction that everyone else felt.

High Five: Here's the thing. I loved Divergent beyond words. It was an amazing book that just had that something else. That said, this book could never live up to my expectations. So, it's partly my fault but it gets a 3.5.

Favourite Quote: To be clear, I love Christina. And this is why:

Tris: "Let me get this straight. So you left the Dauntless compound to get ready or war... and you took your makeup bag with you?"

"Yep. Figured it would be harder for anyone to shoot me if they saw how devastatingly attractive I was."

And again: "Has anyone ever told you about the miracle of eyebrow tweezing?"

And AGAIN: "Where's Marcus, Destroyer of Lives, going to meet us?"

Her sarcasm was one of the most enjoyable things in this book.

When it comes to Insurgent, there are three main parts that I remember as having the 'Veronica Roth Spark' that filled Divergent to the max. The first one, the part I absolutely loved, was the truth serum in Candor. There was so much emotion in this part from both Tris, and the heavy nature of the situation. There's a point where Tris realised how easy it would be to get carried away in the truth. So, so true. 

The second main part that I absolutely loved was the imprisonment in Erudite. It was great to really see the inner workings of Janine's lackies and the growing relationship between Tris and that ass-wad Peter. As much as I want to hate him, he's an interesting character. 

The third part I got that happy feeling was when Marlene and the other simulated characters threw themselves off the building. Yeah, that's morbid, but it made for an interesting choice for Tris. And I think the choice could have gone either way really. It was a tough one. Her friend, or a kid she's just met. 

Now for the reason this book didn't hit the high notes I was expecting. There were parts of the book that were just plain unclear. The main one being when the Dauntless-traitors attacked. I'm still kind of unsure where this happened and who was who. What happened was cool, but I got lost. It happened again with small parts like Tris being in one place and then suddenly in another, and it left me feeling a bit out of it. 

The Caleb-twist and ending really weren't as shocking as I would have liked either. Hard to say if it was because I kind of expect this from reading a lot of Dystopians and YA, or if it the signs were written into the books. While waiting for Insurgent, I've been pondering what could be outside that fence; and I picked it. The main surprise for me was hordes of factionless and their rise to grace.

BUT WHAT ABOUT FOUR? 

He was there. He was a lot deeper than in Divergent and he grew as a character in his own right. It was interesting to see him break away from Tris and the part where he gives his dad what's coming to him was just awesome. For the Four-fans out there though, there was a lack of swoonworthyness that filled the first book. 

Tris was as awesome as ever too. We can't forget that. The parts where she just rushed off into crazy land were intense and I didn't even stop to think about her actions either until Four pulled her up on it. This got me wondering - is there a trend where YA protags just don't think their actions through? And the rest of us don't even realise it?

Hmm...

Anyway, great book. I'm looking forward to the next one but I can wait. Roth left it in a good place and I'm just hoping that she steps it up for the finale, because if anyone can do it, she can.

And clickly here if you want to check out my Divergent review. 

So guys, what did you all think?

I'm-a, I'm-a, Deviant

Book review for Divergent

 

One choice decides your friends, defines your beliefs and determines your loyalties... forever.

When sixteen-year-old Tris makes her choice, she cannot foresee how drastically her life will change. Or that the perfect society in which she lives is about to unfold into a dystopian world of electrifying decisions, stunning consequences, heartbreaking betrayals and unexpected romance. 

One Choice can transform you.

To be honest, I saw this book non-stop on shelves a few months back but it never piqued my interest. The blurb was kind of vague, the cover was overly dystopian, which I love now, but really wasn’t into back then.

Then I started to read on quite a few blogs about a book with five factions, a hero called Tris and a schmexy teacher dude called Four and you couldn’t keep me away from the shops for long enough.

Too bad when I finally went to buy it, the book was nowhere to be found.

Well, Amazon delivered last week after a fortnight of waiting and then… Veronica Roth happened. And ho-ly cow. I’m so glad I read those blogs.

My Review: 

At face value: The Dauntless symbol on the front is pretty cool however the city across the bottom and two people in the corner screamed MG for me.

Immediate Reaction: I can wait for the next one only because it comes out this year. Until then, bring on more dystopians.

High Five: Had to give it a four. No thumb. Everything just measures up to Cinder now.

Favourite Quote:

“Four! Three!”

What did Tobias tell me? Selflessness and bravery aren’t that different.

“Two!”

I release the trigger of my gun and drop it. Before I can lose my nerve, I turn and press my forehead to the barrel of the gun behind me.

Shoot me instead.

“One!”

I hear a click, and a bang.

Divergent is so obviously, OTT, dystopic. There is no way Roth had a problem trying to place it in a genre. The characters, whilst maintaining the strength of most dystopic characters, are what really drives this story. Tris, coming from Abnegation, keeps her morals and even though she is tough to the maximus, she still feels human emotions and knows the difference between right and wrong. I heart her for that.

Now, because the blurb gives practically nothing to go on, I’ll do my own little recap of the book. Tris, or Beatrice (blah!) as she’s originally known, has been born into Abnegation, one of the five factions of Chicago. The other four are Dauntless, Amity, Erudite and Candor. These all stand for different personality traits. Everyone at the age of sixteen takes a test, the test tells them where they fit best and then, they get to choose anyway. SPOILER. (Like you didn’t already know it was coming) Tris chooses Dauntless. These guys are the badass fighting league of the factions who have very little-to-no people skills in my opinion. There is a lot of power and greed in this faction and more than one person ends up getting a boo-boo. MOVING ON, in comes Four, or should I say, Phaw, to distract me with his ‘I’m so badass, I’m really good’ type of thing that he does. And then, like all dystopians, we jump ahead a little and there’s fighting and rebellion and what-not. Sound good? Mmk, moving on.

Roth has developed this futuristic view of Chicago so deeply it’s hard to believe it doesn’t exist already. The five factions are so completely devoid of any human deviance from the norm that you pretty much start to doubt these people are humans at all. The belief systems are established early on, but the way each faction holds its citizens to these beliefs so completely, feels forced. I’m glad Roth brought in the factionless because otherwise, I may not have been able to get past the idea that with only five factions, there really should be more Divergents. 

 

THAT SAID, the end comes along and I’m proved right. So there.

The characters I’d like to give a little mention to are Christina, who I really liked in the beginning and then not-so-much at the end, Al, poor, poor Al. Will, who was all kinds of cute. And Eric. This guy was like a five year old playing grown up. Dang he was annoying, and played his part perfectly. As for what happened between Tris and Will, holy moly I wanted to TEAR THAT DAMN PAGE OUT AND PRETEND IT NEVER HAPPENED. Ahem.

 I loved (and at the same time hated) the parts with Peter. To me, he was the one I really felt sorry for. What he did to Edward was just… And then what he did to Al and Tris… That is one screwed up character. And man, did he make things interesting! I loved that Four was a deep character and not just someone dancing about on the sidelines. I loved the part where he threw knives and Tris’s head. I loved when they climbed the Ferris wheel together. But mostly, I loved the two parts in the simulation room. They were AWESOME!

 Now, the nitty gritty stuff that stopped this book from getting a high five really weren’t that big of a deal. Firstly, the OMIGOD moment that was supposed to happen with her brother (I don’t even remember that kid’s name) really wasn’t very shocking. I think I saw it coming in the second chapter and was positive by the third.

 A few times there were scared people mentioned and I still have no idea what that was about. And the part with TRIS and WILL that I cannot mention and am still pretending DIDN’T HAPPEN, also made me not like this book, although I appreciate that Roth went there.

 Mostly though, it was the ‘climax’ so to speak. Whilst reading it, I enjoyed it. But it didn’t get my heart rate going. It didn’t make me never want to put the book down again. I guess, in a sense, I didn’t feel the danger. And that’s a big problem for me. Looking back on it, it seemed too easy. What happens with Four could have been taken into the realms of so damn disturbing but it was like Roth just wanted to get to that last chapter. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed reading it, but it really had the potential to be that much more.

 Still, this book got a Four off me. I loved it, I loved the concept and I especially loved Tris. There are plenty of people out there that have given it a five but for me, a five is a massively high honour, and I refuse to give it out until I find a book I deem perfect. Divergent was close. Bring on Insurgent!