Insurgent (Divergent, #2) in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Jul 31, 2014 Shelley rated it liked it

Shelves: youth, 2014, sci-fi

This picks up right from book one, which is both good and bad. It's mostly Tris in shock and depression and reeling from the ending of book one. And also making out with Four. It's good to see emotional fallback from the action, which I feel like a lot of series slide over (though she was sure active with her shot shoulder), but also, it was repetitive and boring. Tris is trying to sacrifice herself so she can die like her parents? Over and over and over. A lot happened at the end, I guess, but ...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Nadine in NY Jones rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, dystopian-and-post-apocalyptic, stayed-up-way-too-late, cotton-candy

This book is like cotton candy: it's not really particularly good, but yet I JUST CAN'T STOP. My thoughts while reading the first chapter: "wow this first person present-tense is SUPER annoying! I don't remember Divergent being this annoying ... I'm not sure if I want to even read this ..." Next thing I know: "holy crap it's 2am and the only reason I'm setting this book down is that my head aches from reading for so long."

I kind of hate Tris, I kind of love Four, and I can't wait to find out wha This book is like cotton candy: it's not really particularly good, but yet I JUST CAN'T STOP. My thoughts while reading the first chapter: "wow this first person present-tense is SUPER annoying! I don't remember Divergent being this annoying ... I'm not sure if I want to even read this ..." Next thing I know: "holy crap it's 2am and the only reason I'm setting this book down is that my head aches from reading for so long."

I kind of hate Tris, I kind of love Four, and I can't wait to find out what happens next. Annoying First Person Present Tense be damned ...

*

It gets better. After a while, you get used to the annoyingly self-aware narrator and her annoying first person present tense, and you CAN'T WAIT to find out what happens next. Many of the characters (except the annoying narrator, Tris) grow and change and may surprise you, and the good guys are not always nice or pleasant (I LOVE that! I LOVE GREY!!! black and white can be so boring ...).

And there are some great lines in the book, including:

People, I have discovered, are layers and layers of secrets. You believe you know them, that you understand them, but their motives are always hidden from you, buried in their own hearts. You will never know them, but sometimes you decide to trust them.

The ending was deeply satisfying, which is what earns this 4 stars. (Would have been 5 if Tris was a more interesting character.) I was sad as I closed the book, because I didn't want it to be over. I can't believe I have to wait until next fall for book 3 Untitled!! (which will, of course, be titled "Detergent") Based on how satisfying books 1 & 2 have been, I have every confidence that book 3 will be worth waiting for. I just wish I didn't have to wait.

But the ending held some annoyances. (view spoiler)

To prospective readers: consider waiting until Book 3 is closer to publication, because you won't want to wait between books. ...more

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Feb 06, 2015 Kerry rated it really liked it

The Divergent Saga continues. It picks where the last installment left off, but is a bit more rivalry, war focused. That appealed to me a little less, but I had already been drawn in to the world of these characters. Plus, the elements of the intermixing of the factions and how they align in the fact of attack/adversity is curious. I didn't like the mind control serum so much. Overall, I enjoyed the continuation of the latest book in the series and found it entertaining. ...more

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Jul 16, 2014 Laine rated it it was ok

meh

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Jun 24, 2013 Julianne Dunn rated it really liked it

This was as easy to get through as the first one. Plenty of story to keep me hooked although a missing hard drive still haunts me. Where did it go? But just as I thought I knew where it was going, it threw me again. I am looking forward to the next one.

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Oct 24, 2013 Jennifer rated it liked it

Shelves: kiddie, dystopia, library-book, kindle

Better in the second half, but mainly predictable and fairly weak. So YA. And yet at the end of it I realized I still want to know where they'll end up. Sadly this is another series I think will have a better second movie than second book... ...more

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Mar 13, 2014 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt like the book maintained the momentum of Divergent, actually moving the story forward instead of just holding a place in a trilogy. I'm excited to read Allegiant. ...more

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