Insurgent

I have an unwritten policy (as most of my policies are) that I don't review sequels if I have previously reviewed another book in the same series.  Today, I'm ignoring that policy.  I just finished Insurgent, and I want to write about it.

I tip my hat to Veronica Roth for keeping the momentum going and following up her debut novel Divergent  with a *can't put it down* sequel.  I did not read it in one sitting.  It is, after all, 544 pages and I have to sleep, work and take care of those two adorable and demanding kids of mine.  Until my clone is spawned, I have other things to do besides read and write.  Bummer!

Here's what I liked:

• The factions are still important to the story and plot, but Roth did a great job of building up the role of the Factionless and the Divergent.
• Roth blurred the line between bad and good.  I like that.  Her characters, even though they belong to strictly-defined factions, aren't one dimensional.  Some of her *good* characters do bad things, and some of her *bad characters* do good things.  
• Veronica Roth painted a landscape with words.  When I read her descriptions, I can see the setting.  She gives readers enough to visual a faction's headquarters or an Erudite laboratory.  
• I like to be surprised, and there's no better surprise than death.  Roth doesn't have a problem killing off her characters, large and small.  For an added twist, she doesn't mind bringing a character back from the dead either.  That's just the right amount of soap opera drama for YA fiction.
• Tris isn't beautiful.  It's a YA novel, and the lead character isn't a knock-out.  Enough said. 

So, if there are things I liked, there are bound to be a couple of things I struggled with.  They weren't game changers, but I have two small issues.

Here are my issues:

• I grappled with faction identity.  There are five factions, the Factionless, and the Divergent, and it was hard keeping track of who belonged where.  It was especially hard to follow who was Divergent, and while I understand the reason behind revealing the characters who chose different factions other than the one they were born to, it made things a bit confusing.  Add to that the alliances and faction traitors, and things got messy for me.
• I love Tris!  I love Tobias!  I didn't love their relationship in this book.  Too much lying and none of the unconditional trust from Divergent.  I appreciate that conflict needed to be created to maintain the YA love angst, but I hope Roth returns to the original Tris and Tobias in book #3.

If you haven't read Insurgent, read Divergent first ~ then read the sequel.

Blog you later!

Ali B.