Veronica Roth’s Insurgent is the second book in the Divergent series and
picks up where it’s predecessor, Divergent, left off; Tris, Tobias,
Caleb, Marcus and Peter fleeing the aftermath of the Abnegation attack, on the
train, out of the city. Along their
journey they attempt to rejoin the remaining loyal Dauntless and seek safe
haven with other factions, but with Erudite and the rebel Dauntless out for
blood, allies are few and far between.
Tris’ guilt over her parents’ deaths and killing Will is pulling her
into a darkness she has not known before and Tris finds herself having a bit of
a death wish, placing extreme pressure on her relationship with Tobias.
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| Shailene Woodley nails this heartbreaking scene in the film |
With major secrets and tension between them,
and Tris and Tobias find their still fragile relationship on very shaky ground.
While navigating troubles of their own,
they must unravel the more important mystery of why Abnegation was attacked in
the first place and why Jeanine Mason is dead-set on identifying all the
divergents. Danger and mystery abound,
friend and foe is indistinguishable. A surprise
return, a shocking betrayal and an unexpected ally are just some of the things
keeping the reader off balance, and the unpredictable journey Tris takes the
reader on makes Insurgent a very satisfying continuation of the series.
Shortly
after finishing Divergent, I innocently and accidentally came across a major Allegiant
spoiler on Pinterest, which
unfortunately doused my interest in continuing the series. My delay in continuing the series therefore
had nothing to do with my enjoyment thereof, or the quality of Roth’s
work. Time and distance has reawakened
my curiosity and I am finally ready to see how Tris’ journey reaches its inevitable
conclusion. I very much enjoyed the
action and adventure Insurgent provides, and I think the
series is playing out very cleverly.
While in Divergent I admired Tris’ bravery, I found myself frustrated
with her in Insurgent. I had a hard
time understanding why she made some of the decisions she did. I absolutely respect the fact that she has
lost both her parents and that the uncertainty of her current situation must be
overwhelming, yet I found Tris making (in my opinion) very stupid choices in
this book.
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| Tris cuts her hair in mourning |
I believe Roth wanted to
illustrate Tris’ death wish, in which she succeeded, but the problem is that
Tris’ rash behaviour placed not only herself in danger, but those around her as
well, and this disregard for the safety of others is very unlike Tris. Lying, keeping secrets and breaking promises also
come much too easy. More than once I
also felt that Tris had zero regard for her relationship with Tobias, and she
continued to make choices she knew would hurt both Tobias and their
relationship, without attempting to have a mature conversation with him first.
The thing I liked least about Insurgent
is that I struggled to identify with Tris this time around. It was easy in Divergent, but I did not
connect with Tris all that well in Insurgent. I do, however, commend Roth for her bravery
in taking Tris on this emotional rollercoaster and not shying away from the
darkness inside of Tris; it makes Tris’ ultimate epiphany that much more tangible
and satisfying.
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| Tobias with the Factionless |
We do
discover why Abnegation was targeted, what Tris’ parents were willing to die
for (besides Tris and Caleb), and a whole new world is opened to us, ready to
be discovered in Allegiant. All in all
Insurgent makes for a very satisfying read.
Product Information:
Title: Insurgent
Series: Divergent (not standalone)
Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
Year: 2012
Pages: 545
ISBN-10: 0062024051
ISBN-13: 978-0062024053
ASIN: B0070R41G0
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