I was lucky enough to be able to pick up this book, Insurgent,
immediately after reading Divergent, the first in the trilogy. I’m glad I didn’t
have to wait too long to continue with the saga. This novel picks up right
where Divergent left off, and while Roth does do a lot of explaining and
refreshing of events for us, I’m glad the other book was still fresh in my mind
so I understood what was going on right from the beginning, as this book is
action packed right from the start.
In this book, Tris (Beatrice Prior), is faced with the task
of continuing to save everyone she cares about, while dealing with being
haunted from her previous choices, grief over those she lost, all while trying
to figure out who she really is. After her initiation day into the Dauntless
faction chaos erupted and the threat of war is in the air. Now more than ever
people need to decide which side they want to be on as the factions slowly fall
apart. It is very important now for Tris to embrace her identity as a Divergent
as secrets come forward and decisions must be made that can change everything,
including losing some of those she loves.
Tris is such a strong female character and I love how Roth
makes her out to be not only heroic, but also realistic. I think we can all
relate at least a little bit to Tris. Even though she is risking her life and
fighting with everything she has, it’s also very clear that she has her own
internal struggles, with love and grief, and this book shows us that even the
strongest people can’t be strong all of the time. With her divergence, she is
able to see things from differing perspectives, unlike some of the other
characters that are strictly stuck in one faction and they can’t see past their
own beliefs to put themselves in someone else’s shoes.
Roth has a way of writing that makes you wonder if what is
happening at that moment is the truth, or if there is something hidden. Some of
her characters bring forth surprising secrets of their own and we are left
wondering who we can trust. Loyalties are challenged. Even the love relationship
with Tris and Tobias is challenged and we are unsure if we can trust that it is
strong enough to last or if they can trust each other enough in the end.
The overall theme throughout I’d say has to do with figuring
out what is right or wrong, but it is not as clear cut as that. Something might
seem wrong, yet thinking logically, you would believe it to be right. We are
shown to trust our instincts and go with our gut feeling, even if that means
going against what we initially believe to be right. We also see a lot of
conspiracies within the novel. There are so many people working against others
that sometimes it’s hard to keep them straight.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has a lot of
action, almost too many different things going on, and different places in
which they find themselves in, that it was sometimes hard to remember it all. But
it flowed well and it all comes together wonderfully. The ending was well done
and sets up the next book perfectly. Although in the back of my mind I was
always thinking that it might go that way, you’re never sure until it happens.
There are so many possibilities that you are kept on the edge of your seat.
If you have read the first book I’d recommend continuing
with the trilogy. If you have not read the first book, Divergent, then you need
to get your hands on it and dive in!
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4039811.Veronica_Roth
