Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth Review

The other day, I went through one of my nerd moments, where I decided to read two books in one day on three hours of sleep.

I COULDN'T STOP READING. Here is the synopsis for these two books found from Amazon:

Divergent:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Insurgent:

 

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 the 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. 

*****

I usually have a little trouble getting into dystopian novels. I don't know what it is, but something about them is a little too different for me. However, after my little sister Maddie bugged me enough, I decided to try and start them. I was actually able to get into these books. I started reading Divergent at Midnight and stayed up until 4:30 a.m. reading. Then I walked around the house for a few minutes, thinking about what I read. At 5:00 a.m., I went to bed for three hours and then I started Insurgent right away.

I'm not going to go too far in depth with these books. No matter what I say, I think that everyone should pick this book up and read it.

Divergent takes place in the future in Chicago. It is divided into five fractions: Abnegation, Erudite, Amity, Dauntless, Candor. Each faction is distinct in their own ways. Those who failed initiation or performed some sort of criminal activity become Factionless. At the age of sixteen, each faction member takes an aptitude test to see if they should stay in their faction, or if they have the personality traits that are stronger in one of the others. Then, based on the results of the test, a faction is chosen. Once a choice is made, it is supposed to be irreversible.

The story begins with Tris and her brother, Caleb, taking the aptitude test. While most of the teens who take the test, get one result, Beatrice (Tris) gets three different results. From those results, she has to pick which faction would suit her.  However, getting three different results puts a target on her. She's Divergent. The story moves along with her trying to keep that secret, but become a larger part of her faction. There a lot of bumps along the way and if she lets her guard down for a second or makes the mistake of confiding in the wrong person, she risks becoming factionless...or worse, killed. Insurgent begins right where Divergent ended. Like the first installment, there are lots of twists and turns and obstacles in the way for Tris and Four.

My only problem with this book series is that I didn't really connect with any of the characters. I was at that point where if any or all of the characters died, I probably wouldn't care. When I read a book, I like to connect with the characters. I like to have one character that I root for! In this book, I didn't really have that. I didn't like Tris. I liked Four occasionally. I liked Uriah. I thought Fernado in Insurgent was pretty cool.

Despite the lack of character connection, I would still recommend this book. The world is gripping and kept my attention. The plot-line is fast-pasted and action packed. There's a small amount of romance in this series. I found a few parts to be funny enough to make me laugh out loud. All in all, I think this book had a little bit of everything that readers look for in a book.

This book series left me with a lot of questions, which I hope are all answered in Allegiant, due out at the end of October.

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