Insurgent is the second in a trilogy of book by Vernoica Roth. Dystopian society, young adult, a smoking hot boy, and no love triangles. What?! Yes, Vernoica Roth actually writes a fantastic YA book without there being a love triangle. One more reason that I think she's astounding. The other is that she's 23. Yeah. Liz and I both feel inadequate.
So a little back story on Divergent, the first in the series. Chicago, in the not so distant future, is sanctioned off into "factions". They are as follows:
Abnegation: The Selfless
Erudite: The Intelligent
Amity: The Peaceful
Candor: The Honest
Dauntless: The Brave
On every kids 16th birthday they take an aptitude test. This test, full of simulations, determines what faction they belong in. Up until this point, the kids are brought up in the faction that their parents are in. They have the choice to change if they choose. Beatrice, or Tris, the heroine of our story does just that.
Now, I won't kid you. If I were sixteen in Chicago, and I was going for my aptitude test, I'd like to say that I'd want to be Dauntless. They are pretty bad ass. But that would be lying, and while I wouldn't be able to lie about that, not because I would be Candor, I'm just too chicken to jump off buildings or on to moving trains. Therefore, I'm pretty sure, I would be Amity.
Back to Tris, see, Tris was brought up Abnegation. If you think in terms of color, Abnegation would be grey. Bland. Boring. When she goes for her test, Tris doesn't just factor in to one faction like most kids, she factors into three of them! Which is highly unusual. In this case she has her choice. Abnegation, Dauntless, or Erudite. She chooses the polar opposite of what she was raised, Dauntless. It's a pretty bad ass move. But that's not all. Tris, an oddity of sorts, is what's called a "Divergent". And she's not the only one.
Back to the story- the short version- Once moved into your new factions headquarters, training starts. Dauntless is gun happy. The train to fight, to shoot, to kill. They fight each other, they fight others. They are a violent group. But Tris fits in with them. Friends are made as well as enemies. And that is where she meets, *dreamy sigh* Four. Now, from here on out, when I say Four's name, it will be in all caps. One, because he deserves that kind of recognition. And two, because I can't help but shout it like I was warning golfers of a stray golf ball.
FOUR has secrets of his own and he and Tris form a bond. Fast forwarding some, a serum has been developed that controls the Dauntless. They awake one night, guns ready, to ambush the Abnegation headquarters. They don't know what they are doing. They are being mind controlled. So off they go, one by one, shooting and killing. Tris, however, is not affected by the serum. Because she's Divergent, remember? Anywho, she is able to bring FOUR out of his coma, so to speak, and off they go to try and stop their faction. People die to save Tris, Tris kills a good friend of hers, and in the end, she is somewhat safe with FOUR and her brother.
Moving on to Insurgent.
It's no secret that Liz and I get a little crazy and stupid when we chat about books. This was no exception. So to save you from reading our chat, I'll just give you the gist of it. And there are no spoilers in this. Just for the sake of I want everyone to have the same dopey, happy grin I had when I read the last page. It's worth it.
Insurgent picks up right where Divergent left off. Tris is a "girl on the run". After the aftermath of the slaughter, she and FOUR as well as a few others are deciding that to do next. Or better yet, where to go. And obviously, the Dauntless and the Erudites are after them. And after overhearing Marcus, FOUR or Tobias- as that's his real name- father say something interesting to a woman in Amity about information that started the attack, Tris is determined to find it. Now to back up some, FOUR has some pretty chill inducing quotes from the book. Indulge us while we "swoon" over him for a moment.
"Nothing else is all right." His whisper tickles my cheek. "But we are."Sigh. Dreamy.
"I'll be your family now," he says.Now, Tris gets on my nerves A LOT in this book. So much so that I was reminded after biting every fingernail I had, why I like contemporary romance books so much. They aren't this adrenaline pumping, heart stopping, OMG what's going to happen next kind of books. At one point talking with Liz, I compared Tris to Edward Cullen. I mean really? Don't be the martyr. Don't do things because YOU think you're saving everyone a lot of heartache. But unlike Bella Swan, FOUR doesn't just stand back and stare out a window for months upon months (kudos to you Veronica Roth). He actually acts and does something to help Tris. Because he love knows no bounds. And in the end, you realize that maybe Tris was thinking smart. She did qualify to be an Erudite after all and they are the smart ones. Well, kind of. They are the ones wanting to start this war. And for what? Oh now isn't that the kicker in this book. FINALLY at the end, you're told what the big secret is and it's a doozie! Liz and I finished this book within thirty minutes of one another. And even though we are miles apart, our smiles were evident. I think I reread the last page a few times just to make sure I understood and that my happy reaction was justifiable.
"I love you," I say.
I said that once, before I went to Erudite headquarters, but he was asleep then. I don't know why I didn't say it when he could hear it. Maybe I was afraid to trust him with something so personal as my devotion. Or afraid that I did not know what it was to love someone. But now I think the scary thing was not saying it before it was almost too late. Not saying it before it was almost too late for me.
I am his, and he is mine, and it has been that way all along.
He stares at me. I wait with my hands clutching his arms for stability as he considers his response.
He frowns at me. "Say it again."
"Tobias," I say, "I love you."
His skin is slippery with water and he smells like sweat and my shirt sticks to his arms when he slides them around me. He presses his face to my neck and kisses me right above the collarbone, kisses my cheek, kisses my lips.
"I love you, too," he says.
Yes, there is more death in this book. Old enemies, are still old enemies but they make redeeming choices. In book one, it's said, "Faction before Blood". Yeah, well, don't that hold true in Insurgent. And when these books are made into movies, they won't be for the faint of heart. And speaking of movies...Liz and I spent a good part of our chat talking about who we would cast as FOUR because honestly, who cares about the rest right?
We narrowed our search down to a few candidates.
Grey Damon
Thomas Dekker
Dean Geyer
The top two choices come down to these two.
Penn Badgley
or
Ian Harding
You can tell, we've given this a lot of thought.
Did you read Insurgent? What were your thoughts about the book? Did you hate Peter a little less when it was over? Would you have done the same thing in Caleb's shoes? Did you yell at Tris like we did?
Sometime next year we'll have the final chapter of this trilogy. I can't wait. Until then, Deadlocked, the latest Sookie book came out the same day as Insurgent. I'm now immersed in the world of Bon Temps. And there have been no Eric sightings as of yet. *sigh*
