Insurgent

Publishing her award winning trilogy Divergent in 2011 Veronica Roth has gone on to write the rest of the series including Insurgent. The author has written with integrity showing readers consequences of their actions, revolutions and how our society could end up being with corrupt government officials. This book analyzes how the government can affect the society in tremendous ways but also displays how one person can change everything. Shown in the late teenage protagonist Tris Prior is the mental health effects caused by revolution and how bad it can be face punishment. Because she creates Tris and Tobias as complex characters while showing their developments throughout the story, Veronica Roth accomplishes informing the readers about consequences of making wrong choices and how future society can be while entertaining them with revolution. The novels starts with Tris Prior with Tobias Eaton and the rest of the remaining council members on the train heading to the welcoming arms of Amity in post apocalyptic Chicago. After surviving the Dauntless attack lead by Jeanine, Tris has to find shelter where she will not be exposed. But instead Tris forced to leave Amity in search for a new home. Throughout this time she struggles with her mental health and her relationship with her brother Caleb and boyfriend Tobias. She finds herself with the Candor and Factionless who leaders she can not seem to trust. Being attacked again by Jeanine and her minions she finds out that all the citizens were hit with a simulation serum. While under the simulation they let out a message saying for the Divergent (Tris) to surrender herself or everyday three new people will die. Tris is left with the choice to give herself up and be executed or continue leading the revolution she started. Roth relies on major character development to show just how bad it can be to deal with the effects of your actions and that it can get better. The novel shows how badly Tris’ mental health is affected by her killing her friend. She explains on her way to her execution, “ I felt assured of my long lifespan, if nothing else. Now there are no reassurances, except that where I go, I go because I choose to” (Roth 318). Killing Will and having the rest of her family be dead forces her to no longer care about her life and in fact disregard it. Saying “I felt assured of my long lifespan” tells the readers just how much she disregards her life. However, on the execution table Tris finally realizes that her life is worth living and that she must finish was she started. Laying on the table she internally screams, “I don’t want to die!” (Roth 383). She finally grows into the fighter she is supposed to be and realizes she has to live in order to finish what she started. Having her thoughts change shows the mental development she goes through in order to change the way she thinks. Roth teaches readers the effects the actions they can do can affect not only others but themselves too by using major character development. Despite what Tris is going through, Roth changes the story by having her brother Caleb switch over to the side Tris is trying to destroy. This entertains the readers with a thrilling an unexpected plot twist but also shows minor character development. In the beginning while talking to Tobias, also referred to as Four, Caleb questions “And you don’t think you’re too old to be with my little sister?” (Roth 17) By using the word “little” Caleb displays how much she cares about the well being of his sister and that she isn’t ready for everything because of how young she is. Having this protective sense over his little sister shows just how much he cares about her. Unfortunately, later in the book Caleb ends up helping Jeanine in using and killing his little sister. In her cell, Caleb walks in and is talking to Tris about how she is helping with the advancement of science. He tells her how her death is for the greater good to which Tris replies with, “I’ll still think delivering your sister to be prodded and executed is evil” (Roth 386) Using the words “delivered” and “evil” shows just how much Caleb has changed and that he willing gave up his sister instead of protecting her like he did earlier in the book. This shows just how majorly minor character development affects the plot of the story and how entertaining it is for the reader. Without having major family drama and plot twist, the story would have been just like any other Young Adult Dystopian novel. To add to the story Roth uses Text to Text and Text to World connects to make the story more exciting. Connecting to other stories and to what is happening makes the reader feel that the book is relating to him. On the train on there way to Candor, Tris and Tobias run into the factionless and describe how they act towards others. Tris explains, “A factionless man with an eye patch has a gun pointed at Tobias” (Roth 89). The factionless are basically the equivalent of the homeless in our society....

Cut to the Chase:This is the second novel in Roth’s dystopian trilogy with rhyming titles (which Lauren Oliver has also done with Delirium/Pandemonium/Requiem, leaving me to wonder both who is copying whom and what the title of the third in this series might possibly be; the best I can come up with is Detergent). It picks up right where Divergent left off (I’ll save the spoilers for the next section) and continues to follow Tris as she struggles to understand what being Divergent means for her and where she fits in. This book has some of the same problems as Divergent, namely leads who are less-well characterized than the excellent supporting cast and too much time spent on the trying, repetitively conflictual love story between them. And like its predecessor, it has a lot of violence, some graphic, and some light teen sexuality (kissing and touching). It earns a half-star higher review from me because Roth really comes into her own here; unlike her first book, no one could accuse Insurgent of being a The Hunger Games wannabe. The plot is all hers, and it’s excellent and well-executed. I can’t wait for the third in this series, whatever the name may be.Greater Detail (Spoilers):Tris has, in one very bad day, lost both her parents and shot and killed a close friend while he was under the influence of the Erudite simulation. A recurring theme from this book is her difficulty processing this trauma, and Roth seems to be trying to depict her as having PTSD — except Roth doesn’t seem to know what PTSD actually looks like, which is irritating for those of us who do. At any rate, Tris finds herself unable to fire guns, which is a bit of a problem given that she’s now in the middle of a war.Tris and the other survivors of the Erudite attack spend some time regrouping in the Amity and Candor headquarters, which gives us a chance to see parts of the world that weren’t as well described in Divergent. World building continues to be a strength for Roth; each compound is unique and not at all flat. Tris et al. also encounter the factionless, who are not at all the miserable, lost souls advertised. We get more of Tobias/Four’s backstory, including a greater role for both of his parents (oh yeah…mom’s not actually dead after all…). He and Tris are both dealing with some heavy emotional baggage, which Roth takes as license to have them continually hide things from one another in a very tiresome way as they each try to decide where their loyalties lie and struggle to believe that their partner would still love them if they only knew X.The main plot of the book is the war between the factions and the attempt to end the Erudite hold on the city, and it’s extremely well executed and not at all predictable. Tris becomes a bit stronger as a character and undergoes some growth as she tries to decide whom to trust and what’s worth fighting for, but I still really struggled to like her. Roth is clearly capable of writing good characters, as she does so throughout the book, but Tris and Tobias remain somewhat empty, most likely because the love story forces them to behave in ways that just don’t make sense for intelligent people — even teenagers in love.The ending, like Divergent’s, is satisfying, but leaves you wanting more. It’s not a cliff-hanger, and much of the conflict from this book is resolved, but the mystery of the factions and the Divergent deepens and it has left me very impatient for the third in the series.Comparisons to Other Authors:This isn’t The Hunger Games — really doesn’t even hold a candle to it. I would say the world and the characters are much better written and more engaging than those in Lauren Oliver’s Delirium trilogy. The world is less intriguing and believable than that in Ally Condie’s Matched series, but the characters are much more real and multidimensional than Condie’s, and have individual agendas which are consistent with their characters. Roth also seems to be building strength as her trilogy advances, whereas I’m not so sure about Condie. All three of these ultimately make the same mistake of the female lead spending too much time woozy over some boy.

"Insurgent" begins almost exactly where "Divergent" left off, with the protagonist Beatrice "Tris" Prior and her boyfriend Tobias "Four" Eaton riding the train to an uncertain future in the aftermath of a surprise attack that devastated two of the five personality-based "factions" that reside in what was once Chicago. They turn to the peaceful folks of Amity for a safe haven, but there's really no time to recover from the physical and psychological wounds of battle. There are secrets to uncover, alliances to be made, enemies alert for another chance to attack.I didn't enjoy "Insurgent" quite so much as I did the first volume of Veronica Roth's dystopian trilogy. Although there was plenty of action in "Divergent," it was on the whole a much more thoughtful and character-driven novel. The first few chapters were concerned primarily with exposition, worldbuilding, and Tris's soul-searching as the day approaches when she must choose her faction. There are hints fairly early on that there's some kind of trouble brewing on a societal level, but most of the novel concerns Tris's initiation into Dauntless and her relationships with both other members of her chosen faction and the family she left behind. "Insurgent" is much more plot-driven. That's not to say it's a mindless sequence of action scenes; Tris finds herself struggling to live with the aftermath of all that she witnessed and performed at the end of the previous book, and it takes its toll on her relationship with Four. Guilt, grief, and sacrifice are recurring themes, and Tris rarely makes it through more than a day or two without facing a new devastating ethical dilemma. However, the characters feel a bit more contrived and manipulated here, occasionally acting in ways that contradict everything we know about them so far when it's convenient to the plot.One of the central conflicts of "Insurgent" - certainly the one most important to Tris - concerns the possession of a dangerous, potentially devastating, piece of information. Unfortunately, Roth commits the authorial sin of building suspense by openly withholding information "just because." At least two major characters know exactly what the big secret is, and a third may or may not know everything but certainly knows much more than Tris. She is told again and again just how crucial this piece of information is. A character she has no real reason to trust seeks her aid in recovering the information from what he insists are the wrong hands, but refuses to tell her what it is - "but not because I don't want to. It's because I have no idea how to describe it to you. You have to see it for yourself." No character even attempts to tell Tris anything substantial, no matter how desperately they wish to persuade her of the rightness of a particular course of action. Even worse, Tris, usually so determined and resourceful, never once puts her foot down and says "Tell me what it is or I won't help you." By the time I started the last chapter, I figured Roth was going to carry the mystery over into "Allegiant." I was wrong. The final three pages of the novel are devoted to the Big Reveal, which was pretty much the kind of thing I was expecting it to be based on the few hints other characters had dropped. There were still a few surprises in store, but they would have had much more of an impact if there hadn't been such a huge buildup to something so utterly ineffable even the person who knew it best couldn't find a way to describe it.My favorite thing about "Insurgent" was that, whereas "Divergent" took place almost entirely within two factions, the sequel finds Tris and Four spending time in each of the factions, and even passing a few chapters in the company of the factionless. I don't think a dystopian novel could ever contain too much worldbuilding for my taste, and I set down "Divergent" longing to learn more about the other factions and their values and ways of life. Of course, with society descending into chaos, "Insurgent" doesn't offer quite the pure slice-of-life descriptions I craved, but there's definitely enough to get a feel for each faction, to understand its strengths and weaknesses, and to confirm my suspicion that Roth never meant to portray any faction as entirely virtuous or entirely villainous. Probably what tipped this book firmly into four-star territory for me, however, was Roth's venture into the relationship between neurology and personality, long a favorite subject of mine, when Tris submits to a series of medical scans and tests in an attempt to learn more about her Divergence: "I did not know that my entire personality, my entire being, could be discarded as the byproduct of my anatomy. What if I really am just someone with a large prefrontal cortex . . . and nothing more? . . . I feel like my mind is cracked open, its secrets spilling over the floor for me to finally see.""Insurgent" ends with a plot twist that, upon reflection, raises more questions than it...

Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica RothReviewed by Steph with Dani’s commentarySteph’s rating: 5 starsDani’s rating: 5 starsTotal: 5 stars Review: *DIVERGENT spoilers*Oh! Thank you so much Veronica Roth for giving a legitimately satisfying sequel to Divergent!!! A lot of series these days have a great debut novel, questionable sequels, and ending that makes an author seem like they’ve aged a hundred years because their ideas have lost their fire.Divergent is not one of those series.In Insurgent, the corrupt parts of the 5-faction system becomes very apparent. It’s not just the Erudite faction that is messing with people’s heads. You start wonder if every faction actually values what its manifesto says. Lots of characters have begun to see the degrading of the rotten system, which leads rifts within factions and their eventual breakdown.This book made me want to tear my hair out so many times, and at the same time it made me want to stick it up on an altar and worship it from my knees. You can say that I’m moody, or you can say this book was that good (FYI I only get severe mood swings from good books). I hated and loved at the same time that everyone expected so much out of Tris. I thought they truly believed in her ability to withstand difficult situations, but I also thought it was pretty cruel of them to put so much stress on her even though she’d recently lost her parents. I felt bad for Tris throughout this book because she was trying to meet everyone’s standards while dealing with her own psychological issues. Really, I just wished someone stood up and screamed, “GIVE THE GIRL A BREAK!” (actually, I was really hoping Tobias would do it because it might’ve lead to a cute moment). Just because I felt bad for her doesn’t mean that she became some locked up girl though. She’s still plenty open about her thoughts, and does what she believes is right even though she knows it could make people lose their faith in her. Her relationship with Four/Tobias was moving along pretty well at first. They do have some hurdles to jump over, but I think I will love Tobias forever for his choice at the end.Suspense played a pretty big role in Insurgent too. I swear my heart was pumping faster than 80 beats/min during tons of moments. In case you are like Dani and are wondering “Um how fast does a normal heart pump?” a heart pumps about 60-70 beats/min. Many new characters are introduced, and several recurring characters from Divergent returns. However, these new characters are almost like a 50-50 wager throughout the entire book. You know innately that they could be a great alliance to the rising rebellion, but you are unsure if they’re trustworthy or not. You also learn about what really happened to Tobias’s family. Tris learns a lot about who she can put her trust in, and there was one shocking betrayal that totally threw me off course because it was like a fat pie-in-the-face out of nowhere. Perhaps faction does come before blood...There was also one character aiming for redemption, but no matter what I will still be suspicious of him or her from their previous actions.I have so many questions about this series, especially after that dang ending! I was riled up by it but super content with it at the same time! I always knew Tris was, ahh, special. The reason for the creation of the 5-faction society is revealed in this book too, and you know things are going to go to hell in the next installment. I’m wondering how Veronica Roth plans to wrap up this series in one last book because there are just so many unanswered questions and ideas that pop up. With a 1000 page book. Perfect, amazing solution to this problem! The society that was supposed to be created for a good purpose is now in utter shambles, and I don’t know if it can be fixed. Well, maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll decide to write a third and fourth book instead. That way the series won’t end so soon :). Or a 1000 page book...A glimpse of a wonderful and insanely cute Tobias and Tris moment...I don’t remember why I came here in the first place.And I don’t care.I wrap my uninjured arm around him, pulling him against me. My fingers find the hem of his T-shirt, and slide beneath it, spreading wide over the small of his back. He feels so strong.He kisses me again, more insistent this time, his hands squeezing my waist. His breaths, my breaths, his body, my body, we are so close there is no difference.He pulls back, just a few centimeters. I almost don’t let him get that far.“This isn’t what you came for,” he says.“No.”“What did you come for, then?”“Who cares?”I push my fingers through his hair, and draw his mouth to mine again. He doesn’t resist, but after a few seconds, he mumbles, “Tris,” against my cheek.“Okay, okay.” I close my eyes. I did come here for something important: to tell him the conversation I overheard.Now it’s time for DANI’S COMMENTS!Pretty much everything that Dani would like to say has been mentioned above. So Dani’s got nothing to say bes...

Another great addition to the Divergent series, Insurgent begins where Insurgent left off. After the Erudite decision to use the Dauntless against their will as a killing army, the faction system seems to be in chaos. Tris and Tobias find themselves trying to find allies to help them stop the Erudites from their plan to use serums to control the population. Seems straight forward, right? Well, not so much. This book is a collection of events that seem to throw whatever reality the characters come to accept into question over and over again. The Amity seem to be a safe ally ... until they aren't. Enemies seem to be enemies ... until they aren't. By the end of the book it seems as if the horrible enemies who Tobias and Tris have fought the entire book are not quite as evil as we originally believe them to be. If I had to pick a theme from this second book in the Divergent series, it would be this: The world is not so easily defined as we would like it to be. There is a complication to our actions and intents that make it impossible to label everyone. That is why the Divergent, the individuals in this faction divided system who do not fall easily into any one faction, are so important to this story.My thoughts on Insurgent:Well, I have to admit that this book is not quite as good as the first book in the series. It was still gripping and interesting ... just not quite as good. I think that the main reason for this was because this story has fallen into typical "book two in a trilogy" territory where the main characters spend a lot of time in a funk, waiting until book three to come out of their weirdness to bring justice back to the world. That is definitely the case in this story. In Divergent Tris was the strong, practically fearless girl who fought her way to the top in a ruthless Dauntless initiation system. She was flawed, but she found a way to overcome and fight for the things she believed in, even if it went against all that she had grown up to believe. In Insurgent she is just a mess for most of the book. She is suffering a lot of post traumatic stress due to her experience killing Will in book one. This takes away a lot of the courage and power that she showed in Divergent. Tobias is wonderful in this book, but he seems to have lost some of his strength in this book as well. Much of this book involves the two of them bickering with one another. It got a bit old after awhile. This is just me, but it drives me crazy in stories when two characters who supposedly love each other keep important secrets from one another, when they are so concerned about upsetting the other person that they refuse to be honest with each other. If you truly love each other, then say what you mean, mean what you say, and work through things. Tris and Tobias don't do this for most of this book, so they have some rocky moments. Too many rocky moments, in my opinion.There is some question about the motivations of the leaders of the various factions. There is information that is being hidden from most of the population, information that will change the way that everyone views their society. Some people want that information destroyed. Some people want it opened to everyone. Who is right? At the end of the book I still don't know. This information seems to be the driving force behind so many decisions, but for 99% of the book it is spoken of in veiled discussions. Marcus explains that once it is discovered people walk around in a daze because the knowledge is so disturbing. Because I didn't know what this knowledge was, it made it hard to pick sides to root for. I guess that was the point. I was on the edge of my seat as I read most of this book because I was never comfortable with any of the alliances. But then at the end, when the knowledge was revealed? Well, maybe I was exceptionally dense as I read the ending, but I have to say ... I didn't understand what was so unnerving about it. I couldn't understand why this needed to be so guarded. I am sure that I will understand things better when I read the concluding novel later this year. For now I feel like I ended this second book needing a lot more information before I could be comfortable with any of the action of this book.Having said all that, this is still a quick and exciting read. I left this book still loving Tobias and Tris. I was worried for a minute that I would not feel that way, but they managed to come through for each other in the end. Hurray! While this book is a notch below the first book in the series, it is still a very good book. There are lots of themes to think about at the end of the book, and I can't wait to see how the world of factions responds to the events of the last chapter. I do recommend it as a great continuation of a wonderful series. Four stars!