You know how there are sometimes quotes on the covers of books that praise them that are said by book reviewers & other authors? Well, if I was lucky enough to have a quote on the cover of Insurgent it would say "Insurgent is an intensive read." It really is. It was
intense. It is a fast paced, "I don't want to put this book down" type of book. In other words, I
loved it.
It was amazing. Scratch that. Insurgent is more than amazing. Amazing does not even begin to describe how good Insurgent is.
This is not how I normally review books. I will am going to discuss many different things about this book. So heads up,
there are spoilers in this post!!
While reading this book I truly felt a lot of emotions. I felt exhilarated, anguish, anger, laughter, and terror to name a few. One moment I was laughing and the next moment my eyes were filling with tears. That's definitely a good thing though.
Things I loved about Insurgent:
1.
Tobias--Most girls love him & I'm one of them. I mean come on, he's perfect but not perfect if you know what I mean. He can be a jerk, but that just shows that he is
human. He can be romantic and lovey, dovey, but he isn't that way always just like it is in real life. I love that. I also love how his relationship with Tris isn't perfect either which again is realistic. It doesn't make girls who read it expect unrealistic things. I also love his selflessness especially when he risked his life to save Tris from Erudite. Oh my gosh. I also found some of the scenes with him to be hilarious! It's funny to think that I originally didn't like him when I read the first few chapters of Divergent and now he's my favorite character.
2.
More Romance--I felt as though Insurgent had more romance in it than Divergent. Divergent had a lot of romance in it but only near the end (obviously because Tobias & Tris weren't together till later in the story). Insurgent had a
ton.
3.
No love triangles--As I have said frequently, I
hate love triangles. (For more information, click
here.) Many stories I read these days have them & I'm forever grateful that the Divergent Trilogy is not one of them.
4.
Tobias/Caleb "Fights"-- All (or most of) the fights between Tobias & Caleb were truly hilarious. I was laughing out loud (literally) during those scenes.
5.
Moving from Faction to Faction--I really liked this. The story didn't take place in just one faction or one specific setting. I liked that. It changed around a lot. I also enjoyed learning more about Amity, Candor, & the factionless.
6.
Christina--I really misjudged her. When I started reading Divergent and Tris is introduced to her, I thought Christina would end up betraying her or something and I was wrong then. I also thought that in Insurgent she would try to seek revenge and try to kill Tobias because Tris killed Will but I was so wrong. Instead, Christina actually forgive Tris and things returned to normal between the two of them. I'm so glad I was wrong. Christina is definitely one of my favorite characters.
7.
Lynn--I like Lynn. I really do. I like how she claims that she isn't Tris's friend but she is. Sometimes I like the stubborn characters, like Johanna in Mockingjay. I was sad that she died in the end.
8.
Things that happened that you least expect: Peter & Caleb-- First while reading this book, (and before I read it-- I waited 5ish months for this book) I wanted Peter to get killed. I mean I
hated Peter. Then suddenly he saves Tris. I was like...um...why? (He did try to kill her in Divergent, after all.).
I was starting to tell that Peter was a teeny, tiny bit good before he did so, but still! His motives behind what he did are hilarious! Also, while reading this book, (and before I read it) I wanted Caleb to live. I liked Caleb. He was Tris's only family left so, of course, I wanted him to live. However, we find out that he is a traitor. He put faction before blood. Crazy.
So now, I feel the same way about both guys. I don't hate Peter anymore but I don't love him. I don't care if he lives or dies in book 3. As for Caleb, I don't hate him either and I don't care if he lives or dies. But if he lives, I hope he ends up good in the end.
Overall, though, I like how I expected Peter & Caleb to behave a certain way and yet they didn't. I really like that. I love when things happen that we least expect. It causes more surprises.
9.
The Peace Serum Scene--This part was utterly hilarious! Oh my goodness! I loved how Tris acted so...giddy. Yeah, that's the right word. This scene made me realize how Tris truly is. I never thought of Tris as mean and I still don't, but this scene made me really think about her personality. I can't really describe it.
Tobias's reaction to Tris was hilarious! I love how Tris said something like "I know why you like me! You're not very nice and I'm not either!" haha And then, later on, after the serum wore off, Tobias says the same thing to Tris as a joke. It was so funny!! I really enjoyed this scene.
10.
The Truth Serum Scene--I enjoyed this scene as well. I especially liked hearing the truth come out of Tobias. It was really interesting to hear what he had to say. I definitely felt bad for him though. He had to reveal all of his secrets that he kept deep within him and had only revealed to Tris. I didn't like that. I also didn't like how afterwards, everyone kept calling him a coward.
11,
The Intense Scenes--I felt as though Insurgent was more intense than Divergent. Don't get me wrong, Divergent was intense, but Insurgent was more so. I felt as though there were more action and suspenseful scenes. There was action in one of the first few chapters after all when the Erudite and the Dauntless Traitors went to the Amity compound to search for Tris, Tobias, Marcus, and all the other Abnegation who were taking refuge there.
12.
The Ending--Oh my gosh. I LOVED the ending. After Tris got in trouble for "defending" Jeanine, I thought it was a failed mission, that everything Tris did was for nothing. I thought it would end with Tobias being very angry with Tris and that their relationship was over (at least till the middle of book 3- I was already guessing what page in book 3 they would end up together again). I thought it would overall be a very sad ending to a great book. Then all of a sudden, Tobias sits near Tris and tells her that she was right about the information file that she was looking for and that he was able to convince Caleb to get it for him. I remember being so shocked and very,
very happy while reading that part. Tobias and Tris's relationship did NOT end. I thought it would!! Plus, he was able to get the information Tris had been looking for in the first place! When I read the part before that part when Tobias made Caleb go up into Jeanine's lab I thought he was going there to gain access to Jeanine's computer to delete the information. I remember thinking that maybe Caleb will want to give the information to Tobias (unlikely) or that Tobias could get the information or something, but having extreme doubts that that would happen. But I was wrong!! I'm so glad I was wrong!!! :) Then, the very ending was pretty shocking. That everyone in Chicago was placed there for a reason. I don't feel like going into full details, but it was pretty surprising. If you have read the book, you will understand what I'm talking about.
Of course, I enjoyed other parts of the book as well, but I think this is mainly it.
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Recommended to: People who have read Divergent, Hunger Games fans, and Dystopian fans
I am very eager to find out what happens next in book 3! I cannot wait to find out what it will be called and what the cover will look like. The first book had the Dauntless symbol on it and the second book had the Amity symbol on it (which is ironic since Veronica Roth claims that she doesn't like Amity very much), so I wonder which faction's symbol will be on the third book's cover. I'm thinking Abnegation's symbol because it was their idea to reveal the secret information file to everyone and of course, going out to "save the world" is kind of a selfless thing to do. I'm not sure what color the cover will be though. Guess we will have to wait and see!!
I definitely plan on rereading Insurgent this summer! Also, I might post more blog posts about this series!
Thanks for reading!
-E
