Insurgent

 

Insurgent

by Veronica Roth

“"Insurgent,' he says. 'Noun. A person who acts in opposition to the established authority, who is not necessarily regarded as a belligerent.'”

― Veronica Roth, Insurgent 

Insurgent is the perfect way to describe Tris Prior. She is a rebellious Divergent who lives in the dystopian society of future Chicago. Insurgent is the second book in the Divergent Trilogy and is in the action genre. It picks up right where the first book (Divergent) leaves off--at the start of a war. 

The setting of this book is a dystopia. The society that Tris lives in is separated into groups or factions. There are five factions, each faction focuses on a different quality. There is Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Erudite (the intelligent), Candor (the truthful), and Dauntless (the brave). Tris was  born in Abnegation but switched over to Dauntless in the first book. Tris is a very unique person, she is Divergent. Divergence is when a person has an aptitude for more than one faction. Tris has an aptitude  for three factions, Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite. With Divergence comes special talents, among these is being immune to simulations, but it also comes with danger. If she doesn't fit into the faction she choose she will find herself exiled by society and living homeless with the factionless. The factionless become important in Insurgent.

Tris's allegiance to her chosen faction is put to the test when Erudite attacks Abnegation with simulation controlled Dauntless in the first book. Now Dauntless is a broken faction. Half of the faction members are traitors (allied with the Erudite) and the other half are refugees. Tris and a few of her friends take refuge in the Candor headquarters. While with the Candor, Jeanine Matthews (leader of the Erudite), threatens to kill an innocent person every day until a Divergent turns themselves in to Erudite Head quarters. Tris may have switched to Dauntless but she is still Abnegation (selfless) to the core. She turns herself in. I don't want to give what happens next away, so lets just say it includes near death experiences, betrayal by allies, and the potential destruction of priceless information that may hold the secrets of the entire society and what is outside the city wall.

I absolutely loved this book. It was fast paced, but didn't go so fast that you were confused. It has unexpected twists that help the book not be cliched. It also has gripping romantic sections in the breaks of and during the intense action sequences. I was left at the edge of my seat at the end of each chapter, and couldn't put the book down. I recommend this book to anyone who likes action and adventure, and those of you can't refuse a good romance. But you have to read the first one (Divergent) before you start on this one!