Review: Insurgent

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well, here we are again, at the end of a second book in a series, and I've rated it slightly lower than the first book. Again, I say it's because the inner workings of this world (the factions, the Choosing, the Initiations and training) are no longer new. I think it's that kind of minutia that I find fascinating.

As the book began, I actually started to get a little bored. It could be because I had already read the first chapter of Insurgent as a "sneak preview" at the end of Divergent. But more than that, it quickly started to feel like an action movie. Now don't get me wrong; I love action movies. But I want to watch them, not read about them. Just as I started to feel this was going to be nothing more than running and shooting guns, two things happened that both the characters in the book and I had forgotten about: (view on Goodreads to read see the spoiler) [the factionless (including Edward) are brought back into the story, and Tobias/Four's (formerly dead) mom. (hide spoiler)]The former felt like a much more important plot development than the latter, which sort of feels like "shock value."

It's only about 7/8 through the book where we really find out what we're fighting for, and even then, it's still vague. It was unclear to me (until the very, very end) if Tris knew all of the information from Marcus, et al, but just hadn't shared it with the reader, or if she was flying blind, too. It's only when those things ("THE information") are brought to light that the story becomes truly interesting again because it is no longer recycling old ideas and old conflicts.

Towards the end (during that same 7/8 period), I did find one "continuity" mistake, and that bothered me. It both is and is not a big deal. (spoiler on Goodreads)[After Tris decides against carrying a gun, she carries the "stunner" (page 461 in the hard back edition). That's all fine and dandy. And then ten pages later, she mentions pulling out and pointing a gun at an Erudite member (471 in hard back). But she didn't have a gun! It's not important because it's one small detail that someone (probably the editor) forgot to check in terms of continuity. It is a big deal because Tris struggles with carrying a gun (after having shot Will at the end of Divergent) throughout THE ENTIRE BOOK!!! (hide spoiler)] So someone dropped the ball on that one.

The book ends with a definite cliffhanger, and in a moment of truly good timing from the Universe, my turn on the wait list for Allegiant has come up just as I finished Insurgent. Needless to say, I am intrigued to see how this all ends.
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Review: Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So I've seen lots of reviews that say everything from "this is a watered down Hunger Games" to "OMG, this is so much better than Hunger Games!" It seems to compare the two is inevitable.

They are somewhat similar: they both are written by female authors. They are both written in the first person. They both have sixteen-year-old female protagonists.

But not all dystopian literature is the same, people! Besides genre (YA/dystopia), the similarities really end there. I don't feel compelled to say which one is "better."

I enjoyed this book on its first read. I enjoyed The Hunger Games during its first read, too. I've taught The Hunger Games, too, so I will say that Roth's writing style does strike me as more mature than Collins'; however, if I had to reread Divergent for teaching purposes, I might change my mind on that. Much of Collins' writing -- her symbolism and metaphors -- struck me as simple and glaringly obvious the second time around; however, I am also not her target market, being a couple decades older than the average Hunger Games reader.
But I digress...

Things I enjoyed about this book:
Tris is almost an anti-hero(ine). She is not necessarily, inherently, "good." She enjoys the adrenaline and the danger and newness of her position in an almost hedonistic manner. I enjoyed that change from heroines who are usually "good" and even self-sacrificing. That pleasure for its own sake feels much more real to me.

New vocabulary words! As this is considered Young Adult literature, I really, really hope it raises everyone's vocabulary a few notches as "abnegation," "erudite," "candor," and "amity" are not in the Average Joe's vocabulary. I enjoyed those (and other words) quite a bit.

Not the only possibility. (in order to view the spoiler, you'll have to read the review on Goodreads and click "view spoiler")[While Tris' "Divergent" status makes her an outsider, she's not the only one. If she's one of many Divergents (as this book seems to indicate), there's a greater possibility of her finding her "own people," and (more importantly), less chance of her being viewed as some kind of Christ figure/superhero. (hide spoiler)]

I will be reading the next two books as well, as soon as my turn comes at the library. Maybe I'll even see the movie. *gasp!*
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