Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Reviewed by Meygan 

The Divergent series by Veronica Roth is set in a world where people are divided up by personality into one of five groups:  Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, Amity, or Candor. People who do not fit easily into any category are called Divergents.  As the second book opens, Beatrice (now known as Tris), Tobias, Marcus, Peter, and Caleb are on a train that is making its way to Amity. The Dauntless have just killed the Abnegation; Erudite’s leader, Jeanine, is trying to take control of all factions; and it is up to Tris and her group to protect everyone. In Amity, they will be protected and have food and shelter, but it won’t be enough. Tris can’t remain in Amity knowing that Jeanine is still ruling the Erudite. After all, Tris is Dauntless and hiding in the background as a war breaks out is not in her blood. 

Tris hates Marcus, Tobias’ abusive father, but she knows that he has answers. Why is Jeanine so adamant about killing the Divergent? Why were the Dauntless put under a stimulation to kill the Abnegation? What exactly is Jeanine hiding from everyone? The Dauntless, including Tobias, are dedicated to killing Jeanine and the rest of the Erudite. However, Tris knows that Jeanine must be kept alive in order to answer the questions at stake. As much as Tris despises Marcus and loves Tobias, she knows that taking Marcus’ advice instead of following Dauntless will help her obtain the answers she needs. It is a race between Tris and the Dauntless to get to Jeanine, but who will get to her first?

In order for Insurgent to make sense, one must read Divergent first. This is a series and I would strongly recommend that the books be read in order. In my recent review of Divergent, I went on and on about how wonderful and action packed it was. However, I did have a disclaimer in my review because I have been warned by several people that the series tends to dwindle. Insurgent didn’t have nearly as much action as I anticipated. Also, I didn’t admire Tris in Insurgent as much as I did in Divergent.  

Now, I didn’t hate Insurgent, even though my review may sound otherwise. There were pros to this book. I liked that I got a better view of Amity, as there wasn’t much coverage about Amity in Divergent. But when comparing it to Divergent standards, I couldn’t believe that Insurgent came from the same series. The action doesn’t heat up until about page 300. Trust me, when you are reading a 525 page novel, you expect the action to begin by at least page 150-200-ish. Also, where is that deep, true, I-can’t-get-enough-of-you love between Tris and Tobias? I don’t particularly care for romances, but I do enjoy a good love story as long as it is not the premise of the book or movie. In other words, I read Insurgent because I wanted to know what happens to the characters and even though Insurgent fell short, I would still give it two and a half stars.