REVIEW: DIVERGENT SERIES 2 - INSURGENT ~ VERONICA ROTH

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.  

 

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. 

 

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. 

 

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

 

Related posts:

Review: Divergent ~ Veronica Roth 

Divergent movie

 

REVIEW: CHESAPEAKE VALOR 2: STILL LIFE ~ DANI PETTREY

Still Life by Dani Pettrey is the second book in the Chesapeake Valor series.  Each book in the series will be loosely connected to the others in that it will feature the same group of characters and an independent, but will function well as standalone stories in that each book will have different main characters.  While it is not necessary to read all of the books or to read them in order, enjoyment of the series will obviously be enhanced by reading all of the books in order.

 

Still Life takes place a few months after the conclusion of Cold Shot.  Parker Mitchell’s assistant, Avery Tate, has resigned her position with him as she has accepted both the fact that she loves him, and that he still loves Jenna, his deceased first love, and she finds being close to him every day, bearing the burden of her supposed unrequited love too difficult to bear.  When Avery’s childhood friend, Skylar, goes missing and Avery suspects foul play, she however has no option but to turn to the best crime scene analyst she knows and Avery and Parker’s paths cross again.  With Avery back in his daily life and the void she had left behind once again filled, Parker can no longer deny his feelings for her; but where does that leave his devotion to Jenna?  Can he still honour her memory if he allows himself to love another?

To Avery’s horror her hunch soon proves correct and Skylar turns up dead.  In order to find answers, Avery must navigate the life she had left behind, exposing her dreaded past to the man she most wants to impress.  Facing the ugly truths and painful memories of her past forces Avery to confront her demons once and for all, and she must expose her deepest hurts and greatest regrets to Parker if she hopes to have a future with him.  As the team begins to investigate Skylar’s murder, Avery and Parker’s mutual attraction becomes the least of their worries when it seems Skylar’s killer has set his sights on Avery.

 

 

My review of Cold Shot made it clear that I found Parker and Avery to be a much more interesting pair than Griffin and Finley, and Still Life did not disappoint.  Where Cold Shot made Finley a sidekick, Avery is very much an integral part of the investigative team.  As opposed to Finley and Griffin in the first book, Avery and Parker spend the majority of the book together as they face all obstacles as a team. 

With the murder investigation on the forefront, the book also takes the time to delve into Avery’s insecurities stemming from a past she is struggling to make peace with, as well as Parker’s struggle to move on from loving and losing Jenna.  Both issues are beautifully explored and the character development for both Avery and Parker is realistic and satisfying.   

As with Cold Shot, the religious elements in Still Life add to the story without being overwhelming, sure to satisfy believers, yet not exasperate non-believers. 

I very much enjoyed Still Life, and will certainly continue the series with both Blind Spot (Declan and Tanner’s story), and Dead Drift (Luke and Kate’s story).  Declan and Tanner uncovered a terrorist plot in Still Life, and I believe this story will develop even further in Blind Spot, and perhaps even in Dead Drift as the long lost Luke finally proves to be alive as Kate has always believed, and comes home to face the ones he left behind.  When Kate learns he disappeared and left her behind voluntarily to become a secret operative, will she finally let him go, or will he give her a reason to hold on? 

Product Information:

Title: Still Life

Series: Chesapeake Valor (Standalone)

Author: Dani Pettrey

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Year: 2017

Pages: 352

ISBN-10: 0764212958

ISBN-13: 978-0764212956

ASIN: B01M6W47W7

Related posts:

Review: Cold Shot ~ Dani Pettrey

Review: Submerged ~ Dani Pettrey

Review: Shattered ~ Dani Pettrey

Review: Stranded ~ Dani Pettrey

Review: Silenced ~ Dani Pettrey

Review: Sabotaged ~ Dani Pettrey

 

REVIEW: IN TOO DEEP ~ TRACEY ALVAREZ

Fido Publishing has graciously provided me with a complimentary copy of this book, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

She vowed never to return.

To save her brother from financial ruin, Piper Harland must do the one thing she swore she'd never do - return to the tiny island hometown where Ryan "West" Westlake crushed her heart. Piper is tough, resilient and a little wild - much like the remote and beautiful Stewart Island where she grew up. As a cop who's part of the elite New Zealand Police National Dive Squad, bringing the dead back to their families still doesn't stop the guilt she feels over her father's drowning death. Now, nine years later, she's obligated to return to a hostile community as the outsider, and forced to work with the man who was once her best friend and first lover.

She's a risk he can't take.

West is an Island man, through and through. As owner of the local pub, he lives and breathes the local community, and sure as hell can't imagine living anywhere else. But most of all he refuses to ever fall for a woman like his flighty mother. He lost Piper once to give her the chance to fulfil her dreams of becoming a cop. But now she's back for an unexpected six week visit to help her brother - his best mate. Maybe West wants her a little bit, maybe he can't resist the temptation to tease and touch her, but can he fall in love with such a flight risk?

Saying goodbye for the second time might just destroy them both.

In Too Deep is the first book in the Due South series by Tracey Alvarez.  The story concludes, there are no cliff-hangers, and the book can be read as a stand-alone.

Straight off the bat I loved Piper.  She’s a tough cop, facing her worst nightmare every time she takes part in a search and rescue or recovery dive.  When Piper was a teenager she was best friends with her brother, Ben, and his best friend, West.  She, however, made the mistake of falling for West, and after a few blissful weeks of secret hook-ups, West broke her heart in the worst possible way – telling her he only slept with her because she was convenient and willing, that he wasn’t even attracted to her.  I don’t care what his motivations were (leaving her before she left him, letting her go to follow her dream of becoming a cop in Wellington), once I read this I had a really hard time warming up to West.  Piper and I both learned, however, that it is very hard to stay angry with West.  His treatment of Piper does improve throughout the book, and you truly find yourself rooting for these two.

I didn’t like Piper’s family much at first.  Her brother, Ben, is such an ungrateful jerk, willfully hurting his sister time and time again.  Her sister, Shaye, actually throws things at Piper because she’s mad at her for leaving home.  The thing is Piper has never felt welcome in her own family, always feeling like the outsider; her family don’t try hard to make her feel otherwise, either. On top of that Piper blames herself for her father’s death, and so does Ben.  The author does a really good job of explaining everyone’s motivations, and Piper’s conflict with her family is skilfully handled throughout the book.  It takes several weeks for them to repair their family ties, and this whole thread was very realistic – as was the community’s treatment of Piper.  At first treated very much like an outsider, Piper is gradually reclaimed by the community. 

I was emotionally involved in Piper’s journey right from the start.  Everything she felt, I felt.  Piper's guilt, doubts and fears are all legitimate and the way she handles all of them, and comes to terms with them, leads to wonderful character development.  West also has to face the issues keeping him from the woman he loves, and the author does a good job of seeing both of them through their trials.  As far as romance novels go, this one is very realistic, which makes it that much better.  Everything isn’t perfect, everything doesn’t magically work itself out and a happily-ever-after for Piper and West is never a certainty. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book – especially the ending where everyone finally realises that relationships are give and take.  Piper and West are each willing to make major sacrifices for the other, and everything wraps up as it should.      

Product information:

Title: In Too Deep (Due South Book 1)

Author: Tracey Alvarez

Publisher: Fido Publishing

Year: 2014

Number of pages: 309

ASIN: B00HEZR8V8

REVIEW: DIVERGENT ~ VERONICA ROTH

After a terrible war the dystopic society of what we know today as Chicago divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue they consider the one that could have prevented the war.  Each faction values the opposite trait of that which they blame for causing the war in the first place: 1) Abnegation, the selfless who blame selfishness; 2) Candor, the honest who blame deceit; 3) Amity, the peaceful who blame war and fighting for human nature's faults; 4) Erudite, the intelligent who blame ignorance; and 5) Dauntless, the brave who blame cowardice.

Every year the sixteen year-olds in this society must take an aptitude test determining which faction they are best suited for.  Then they must make the most important decision of their lives: will they remain with their families in the faction they were born into, or will they forsake their families and transfer to another faction?

For Beatrice Prior the decision is more difficult than most.  While she loves her family and respects the way of life of Abnegation, Beatrice has never felt like she truly belonged.  Selflessness had never come naturally to her, like it is supposed to.  She is naturally curious and sarcastic, totally unacceptable in Abnegation.  When Beatrice’s aptitude test is inconclusive and shows that she has equal aptitude for three factions (Abnegation, Erudite and Dauntless) Beatrice is labelled “divergent”.  The volunteer destroys Beatrice’s results and warns her to never reveal this information to anyone, not even her family, as being divergent endangers her life.  There is, however, no time for further discussion without raising suspicion and Beatrice is sent home.  Confused instead of reassured, Beatrice has less than 24 hours to make her choice.  Will she remain with her family in Abnegation, or will she transfer; either to Erudite which will embrace her curiosity, or to Dauntless – the thrill seekers whose total freedom and abandonment has always pulled at her?

If you don't want to know what faction Beatrice chooses, stop reading now

A film version of Divergent is currently in the works, and if you have seen any of the released stills it is quite obvious what Beatrice chooses.  My favourite moment in Divergent is during the choosing ceremony when Beatrice has to choose her faction.  Will she perform the ultimate selfless act and prove herself worthy of Abnegation by staying solely to comfort her parents?  “I am selfish.  I am brave”.  Beatrice chooses Dauntless.

Tris' first look at the Dauntless compound

Life in Dauntless is not at all what she expected.  A new life deserves a new name, but unwilling to completely deny her previous life, Beatrice renames herself Tris.  Once inside the compound the new initiates learn a terrifying truth: Only the top ten initiates will ultimately become Dauntless, ten will become factionless, rejected from society and forced to live on the street.  Tris is by far the smallest initiate, physically her chances don’t look good.  Will her bravery be enough to secure a place in the top ten? 

Tris doing fight training during the first phase of initiation 

Tris’ choice to transfer to Dauntless is considered to be quite radical as Abnegation transfers to Dauntless are extremely rare – while not as hostile as the relationship between Abnegation and Erudite, Abnegation and Dauntless can’t seem to see eye to eye.  This complicates Tris’ new life even more.  Members and initiates of other factions are hostile towards Tris, especially the Dauntless born as they have little respect for the peaceful and selfless way of life of the Abnegation, which they interpret as weakness and cowardice.  The Dauntless provides the military defense for all the factions, and the Abnegation in turn do not approve of violence or weapons, as weapons (even when used in self-defense) are self-serving.

While Tris does make some friends among the transfer initiates, she is not secure in these friendships as her new friends alternate between exploiting what they know to be her weakness (her physical strength), and deeply resenting her strength (her mental strength) and progress.  When an unplanned encounter and test of bravery leads to Tris being the only transfer to befriend Dauntless born initiates and members alike, and enters the dining hall among Dauntless born who have obviously accepted her into their ranks, her fellow transfer initiates grow even more resentful and Tris soon finds herself in danger from friends and foes alike. 

Tris also forms an unlikely friendship with the transfer initiates’ instructor, Four, even though he seems to have just as much of a problem with her Abnegation roots as everyone else.  While they seem to have a connection, Four’s behaviour is unpredictable.  When he and Tris are alone he is unguarded, compliments her and gives her advice; in front of the other initiates, though, Four seems to be harder on Tris than any of the others.  Despite this, Tris can't help but react to him.  "Then I realise what it is. It's him.  Something about him makes me feel like I am about to fall.  Or turn to liquid. Or burst into flames".  Having spent her life in Abnegation, where couples don't even hold hands, Tris finds her attraction to Four confusing and unnerving.  Figuring out what exactly is going on between her and Four is, however, the least of Tris’ problems. 

Tris and Four

Abnegation, despite being peaceful, neutral, and calm, have a fierce ongoing rivalry with the Erudite.  Abnegation is the faction in charge of the Government, and the Erudite, who seek power, believe that Abnegation are in fact selfish people who only provide for their own faction.  When Erudite starts releasing reports heavily critising Abnegation, Tris seems to be the only one onto the seriousness of the matter.  She suspects that Erudite is planning to overthrow Government and destroy Abnegation.  But how can one lone, lowly initiate prove it?   And more importantly, how can she stop it?

Divergent by Veronica Roth is the first book in the Divergent Trilogy.  The second book, Insurgent is already available and Allegiant, the final book in the trilogy will be released in October 2013.

The Divergent trilogy has frequently been compared to Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games Trilogy.  Are they similar?  Yes.  Are they on the same level?  Not quite – in my humble opinion.  I enjoyed Divergent, but it doesn’t have the same pull or intensity that I experienced with The Hunger Games trilogy.  While I was reading I enjoyed it, but once I put the book down I never experienced the urge to get back to reading as soon as possible.  Don’t get me wrong, the book is not bad at all, and I look forward to the movie (which will be released in 2014) and I will definitely continue reading the series.  It’s just not the best YA series I’ve ever read.  Yet.  There is a lot of potential for this series and I look forward to continuing the story in Insurgent.  It is very possible that this series could turn out to be exceptional by the end.  

I really like Tris as a character.  While small, she is strong and brave.  Tris is an excellent protagonist for this story and the supporting characters are well drawn and diverse.  Four is also a very interesting character and the progression of their relationship is very natural and a pleasure to follow. 

The film version of Divergent has completed filming and will hit theatres March 2014.  Shailene Woodley has been cast as Tris and Theo James has been cast as Four.  Some big names have jumped on board with this one:  Kate Winslet is playing Erudite leader Jeanine Matthews, and Ashley Judd is playing Tris’ mother, Natalie.  Tris’ father is played by Tony Goldwyn and Tris’ tattoo artist and confidant, Tori, is played by Maggie Q.  An interesting Hunger Games connection is that Zoë Kravitz, the daughter of Lenny Kravitz who plays Cinna in the film version of The Hunger Games, is playing Tris’ friend, Christina.  I very much look forward to the movie; if the released movie stills are anything to go by it will do the book absolute justice.

I almost loved it, but not quite

Product Information:

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Pages: 487

Publisher: HarperCollins

Year: 2011

ISBN:978-0-00-742042-1