Insurgent by Veronica Roth

525 pages

"One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so." -Dust Jacket

I read this twice, the first time I flew threw it because I couldn't wait to see what happened. The second time I wanted to take it all in. This is the middle trilogy book that does not disappoint. It's just as exciting and good as the first book, with non-stop action from start to finish. I love that it starts right where Divergent  left off. This is a fantastic dystopian series. Stop reading this right here if you don't want to know details and just read the series instead!

{SPOILERS}

I've said before that one of my biggest complaints about Mockingjay  is that Katniss is so broken that she feels like a completely different person. She suffers from PTSD throughout the whole book. Now, it's been a few years since I've read it and I would like to revisit it (maybe this summer) to see if I can appreciate it more, but in my current opinion, Veronica Roth handled PTSD in a much better way from a reader's perspective. Divergent  ends with Tris and Four having shut down Erudite's simulation that put the Dauntless in a sleep-walking state and under Erudite's control. The controlled Dauntless killed many of the Abnegation faction. During all of that Tris is forced to shoot one of her best friends, Will, and both of her parents sacrifice their lives to protect her. So Insurgent  begins the day after all of that and Tris is reeling with feelings of grief and guilt. Those feelings lead her to act recklessly, often putting her life in danger. She feels like if she tells Four what she's done that he won't love her and so she keeps it all bottled up inside and does things with little regard for her safety.

What I think is important in a character's arc is to see them go through adversity and come out stronger on the other side. I don't think Katniss did that. Tris does. The way it happens is perfect. Eventually Tobias tells Tris that he can't love the person she's becoming, that she's more than just Dauntless and if she continues to put her life in danger needlessly than they are done. He doesn't give it as an ultimatum; he's trying to give her a wake-up call. Tris wants to feel like she's sacrificing like her parents and on some level wants to join them. She's tired of life. What he tells her is that a sacrifice is only a sacrifice if its born of necessity. It takes Tris almost dying (and being saved by Peter of all people!) for her to realize that she wants to live and that realization changes the way she acts for the rest of the book. It makes her evaluate her motives and fight for the things she believes in, not just fight. She still struggles with grief and guilt but it doesn't cripple her. I love at the end when Christina tells her that if Will were there he'd tell her to get over it. (Christina, Will's girlfriend, is another fantastic character. The way she forgives Tris is really sweet.) One of the things Tris believes in goes against what Tobias is doing and I like that Tris stays true to what she thinks is the right thing to do even though it may cost her her relationship with Tobias.

Thank you, thank you, Veronica Roth for no love triangle. It's so refreshing. Tobias (Four) and Tris have a relationship that feels real. It's my favorite part of the books and probably my favorite relationship I've read in a long time. It's based on more than just physical attraction. They are strong together but they are also strong separately. They have their ups and downs and they truly love each other. They make sacrifices for each other. They protect each other. I love when Tris is injected with peace serum. That's the comic relief part of the book. Sometimes I think dystopian characters act older than their years but I think that's probably a result of the world they live in. Tris and Tobias have had to do things that most normal non-dystopian teenagers haven't. Obviously. Tobias always treats Tris like she's strong and capable and doesn't coddle her, but he also knows when she really needs him. I love that they always find their way back to each other. I could gush about them some more but I'll stop.

Now...for the ending. I had read on Amazon reviews that there was a bit of a cliff-hanger ending, but I didn't cheat. About two-thirds of the way through I had a pretty good idea of what that twist would be though (think The Village). But I have no idea what direction the third book will take. Some of the characters that you thought were the villains are not and vice versa. I don't think that Caleb (Tris's brother) is a traitor. I'm excited to see what happens between Tobias and his mom now that she's become the villain of sorts. Now that Jeanine is gone someone will have to step up and fill that role. I hope that Tris and Tobias continue on in the same way as the first two books. My opinion of this series might change if they don't! Unfortunately, I have to wait a whole year to find out. That stinks.