Insurgent (Divergent #2)

By Veronica Roth

After telling several of my friends about Divergent and how amazing it was/is (you can see my Divergent review here), one of them loaned me the second book, Insurgent, to read.  Too bad it was given during a time when I had several blog tours going on.  Sadly, I had to move it to the back burner.  As soon as I was caught up with my reading, I cracked open the book.  OMG, why did I wait so long? I'm kicking myself in the rear.  If you've read the first book, go ahead and continue on with the second book. I promise you won't regret it!

After Tris' initiation day turned into something nightmares are made of, she and her group must decide which faction(s) they can turn to for help.  With war looming on the horizon, every action counts, especially when the Erudite want to control everyone in each faction. When Tris learns that there is a secret about the reason for the Erudites attacking the Abegnations, Tris will stop at nothing to find out what that information is--even at the risk of betraying those that she loves.

Readers are thrust back into the action and chaos that they left in book 1, only this time it is a much darker world.  Tris and Tobias know that they must stick together in order to get through this ordeal, but learning who they can trust is a bit of trial and error. They also learn how true the mantra "faction before blood" is.

There is less romance in the second book than there was in the first book.  Tris and Tobias' relationship is tested.  Secrets are kept from each other and that means they question how much the other trusts them. Tris repeatedly defies Tobias and puts herself in harms way. It is only when she is near death that she learns to value her own life. It will be interesting to see how that plays out in the third book.

Insurgent is the type of book where you want to speed read to find out what will happen, and at the same time you want to read it as slowly as possible so you can hang on to the story and savor it. I kept thinking YES, only X amount of pages left while at the same time thinking NO, only X amount of pages left.  The reason is that Ross' writing style sucks readers in and her plot keeps them glued to the pages.  It is very difficult to put the book down.

Readers beware though, the ending will make you want to pull your hair out. You find out what the Erudites were hiding and it is definitely a bombshell. Just like the end of Catching Fire (Hunger Games #2), you will need the third book ASAP. I recommend getting the third book, Allegiant, at the same time you get Insurgent. You will thank me for this advice.

About author Veronica Roth:

Veronica Roth is from a Chicago suburb. She studied creative writing at Northwestern University, and wrote DIVERGENT (Katherine Tegen Books, May 2011) and INSURGENT (May 2012). The third and final book in The Divergent Trilogy, ALLEGIANT, came out on October 22, 2013. She  spends endless hours browsing Wikipedia in her pajamas as she eats corn flakes. (Or some other kind of bland breakfast cereal.)

Want more info about insurgent? Check out the book trailer below