Heart says

So, I literally just finished this book, and all I can think is "wow... oh my god".

'Insurgent' is the amazing sequel to 'Divergent' by Veronica Roth. It continues the story of Tris who lives in a dystopian future version of Chicago where everyone lives in one of 5 factions (well, those 5 and there factionless). Tris chose to be Dauntless who value bravery, right before the Dauntless became mind-controlled the Erudite, who value intelligence. But she wasn't affected because she's Divergent, which means she doesn't really fit into just 1 faction like most people. That was the first book. 'Insurgent' picks up where book 1 left off, with Tris, boyfriend Tobias/Four and their companions Caleb, Peter and Marcus heading for the safety of the Amity headquarters now that the city is erupting in war.

What I missed most in 'Divergent' was getting to see more of the other factions. We saw lots about Dauntless and Abnegation, some of Erudite, heard a bit about Candor and little about Amity. Thankfully, Roth thought the same and 'Insurgent' gives us a good glimpse at all of the factions, particularly those we didn't see in 'Divergent'. It was really nice to see all of the other factions, which were obviously so carefully thought out and planned by Roth.

I felt we learnt a lot more about the characters introduced in 'Divergent' as well, and they became even more real and well rounded. It was nice to see a lot more of Tobias, a.k.a. Four, as we didn't really learn much about him in the fist book, and while I did like him him 'Divergent' I liked him a lot more in this book. It was nice to see a truly vulnerable side to Tris as well, as she deals with the pain of what happened at the end of the last book, when she shot one of her best friends who tried to kill her while under the mind control. At times her dragging out this pain was a little annoying, but it was also nice to see in that it was fairly realistic and gave her more depth.

The story was a lot larger than in 'Divergent' and more complex, and there were many times I really wasn't sure what was going to happen next. I was gripped throughout this book and I just wanted to know what happened next. While the story was bigger and a lot more happened and the characters moved around a lot more this time around, I felt that sometimes the characters coming together then separating a bit and coming together several times whilst moving between factions was a little repeatitive, but what happened each time was so different and exciting that I still found it really exciting and I can forgive Roth for it.

And the cliffhanger at the ending... just wow! I cannot wait to see what happens when the third and final book is released next year and I cannot even begin to guess what might happen! All I know is, I just cannot wait. This is one exciting book and even better than 'Divergent'.