“One choice can transform you – or it can destroy you. Tris Prior’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration; instead it ended with unspeakable horrors. Now unrest surges in the factions around her as conflict between their ideologies grows. In times of war sides must be chosen and secrets will emerge. Tris has already paid a terrible price for survival and is wracked by haunting guilt. But radical new discoveries and shifting relationships mean that she must fully embrace her Divergence – even though she stands to lose everything…”
What is the book about?
Tris Prior made a choice that changed her life and once she completed initiation she should have celebrated but instead it ended in horrific events. Now more conflict grows between factions as new discoveries are made and more become controlled by the faction that seeks complete control. Sides are chosen and many traitors are identified. More people prepare for a war that not many will come from. Tris is already haunted by a terrible guilt that she feels she cannot come back from. Secrets and strange findings around every corner, which threaten to destroy everything Tris thought was true. Tris must focus on who her friends truly are and if the people who have always been the enemies are really that bad. In order to adapt to the shifting relationships and developments around her, she must fully embrace her Divergence despite all the effort she put in to keep it hidden. Even though there is a possibility she might lose everyone and everything, Tris must try and accept her real identity, before it is too late…
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
Insurgent is the second book of a series so of course I had to read it. Reading Divergent had left me so attached to Tris and her life and I wanted to know more. Insurgent started right where the first book had left off and I was incredibly glad because I would have hated to miss out on any second of wat was happening and would have also hated for there to be a long summary of what had happened in the previous book. The events of the book all felt really important in Divergent, as though they were all going to affect something that the book was leading up to something so I didn’t want to skip anything that might have an affect later on and could change something. I was very much attached to Insurgent like I had been to the first book and I loved how all the action started immediately.
Who was your favourite character and why?
Like in Divergent, my favourite character was Tris. I really liked a lot of other characters but Tris was my favourite because the books are written from her perspective. Getting to see her point of view lets me as a reader understand her more and read her inner thoughts which make her an even more likable character. I liked Tris because she was selfless, brave and smart which shows who she truly is and why she is Divergent. Tris was willing to sacrifice herself to save others and was brave enough to take action. I liked how she always did what she said she would. Many people say they will sacrifice themselves or are willing to take action but not many are actually brave enough to do so but Tris was. Despite all her likable qualities in Insurgent, I think that I liked her a bit more in Divergent because I feel like she was only willing to die for people because she just wanted to die. Even though it is still selfless to die for someone, it’s a bit less selfless as she wanted to do it for her own gain, to finally be able to get rid of the haunting guilt that she holds. But overall, Tris was an amazing character who made the books even better.
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
My favourite part was at the very, very end of the book. This is because it is when the enemy is finally defeated and the truth is revealed. In Divergent, there was a secret mentioned – some information only the Abnegation knew. I was so desperate to learn what this secret meant and why so many people were willing to die protecting it, and why others were willing to kill in order to get it. At the end of Insurgent the information was revealed and the truth was finally known. I loved receiving the truth but of course it raised many questions and made me even more intrigued to begin the last book. I also liked the end of Insurgent because it was when they finally defeated the enemy that had ruined everything. It was nice to know that it was the end of being controlled by that person but also shocking to see that now they would have a new leader that was just as bad – or worse – and could have the freedom they thought was possible.
What was your overall impression of the book?
As a whole the book was incredible! I absolutely loved everything and didn’t really find anything I didn’t like. One thing that I found was very strange for the books was that many side characters die. Although the deaths are sad, they aren’t really as effective as many of the deaths in other books that have emotionally destroyed me and, although I seriously do not want to go through the pain of losing a character, I think that there should have been more time to really go through what had happened. It isn’t the death that kills me, it’s the reaction of the other characters, and this is why I think it would have probably made more people enjoy the books if the deaths had been more significant. I’m not saying I wasn’t sad, I just think that it wasn’t what I was expecting, especially when a people very special to certain characters die as you expect them to feel more upset. Another unexpected thing was that the ending was a cliff-hanger, but strangely enough I didn’t feel at all annoyed. The first book, Divergent, also ended in a bit of a cliff-hanger and definitely left you wanting to read more. However it wasn’t as obvious as the ending in Insurgent as it was more of a conclusion of the book with a sort of recap on what had happened. On the other hand, Insurgent left you with tons of questions but it didn’t frustrate me as much as many of the other books I have read. Fortunately, there is a third book and I cannot wait to grab it and continue with Tris Prior’s story which so far I have really enjoyed.
Which book did you like better, the first or the second?
Even though I loved both books and adored every moment of them, I believe that Divergent was a better book. Both books were filled to the brim with action and thrilling adventure and obviously they both followed Tris and her life after the life changing decision she had to make, so really Divergent and Insurgent aren’t that different. However, I think that Divergent had a bigger effect on me. The reason for that is probably because it was the first book so it was all very new to me when I read it. This meant that I was shocked to read such an amazing book and became much more attached. Another reason is because the chapter always left me wanting more. This wasn’t in the same was as a cliff-hanger and definitely didn’t have the same effect as it wasn’t wanting an answer it was more like wanting the rest of the story. Divergent, and some of Insurgent, kind of made me think that the author just wrote the whole book and then chose where to separate the story for chapters afterwards and made me never want to put down the book.
Would you recommend this book?
I would absolutely recommend this book for readers over the age of 14 who enjoy action and thriller novels. Although I know that anyone who reads it will loved it I think that it is better to read Divergent, which is the first book, before trying to read Insurgent as it will be far too confusing.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
An explosive read full of action and mystery.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
