Book #42

 

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

One choice can transform you – or it can destroy you. Tris Prior's initiation day should have been marked by victorious celebrations with her chosen faction; instead it ended with unspeakable horrors. Now unrest surges in the factions around her as conflict between their ideologies grows.

War seems inevitable; and in times of war sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge and choices will become ever more irrevocable. Tris has already paid a terrible price for survival and is wracked by haunting grief and guilt. But radical new discoveries and shifting relationships mean that she must fully embrace her Divergence – even though she cannot know what might be lost in doing so.

After finishing Divergent, I felt as though I’d been on an insane journey without any substance. I debated continuing the series, but as someone who doesn’t like to abandon things, found myself bubbling within the pages of Insurgent only months later, worried it was going to be much of the same.

And it was. It truly was. I still hated Beatrice - intended to be written as a strong woman (girl) but turning out irrevocably selfish and irritating. Romance shoehorned in there either to advance the plot or to appeal to teen readers. A quite unbelievable cast of characters who encounter quite unbelievable situations, even for a dystopia.

Still, I inhaled the pages once again. There was something propelling me through, although I have not one single suggestion on what this driving force could have been. There was some interesting commentary on how society is structured (think Shyamalan) which didn’t have the level of impact I would’ve liked, although I assume this will be explored further in the final instalment.

Is there such a thing as a hate read which only becomes so after you’ve finished reading? The mysterious force urging me to continue remains a closeted enigma.