Insurgent picks up right where Divergent left off. Tris, Tobias and their small group of survivors is on the train headed towards Amity. No time has past and what I love with how Veronica Roth wrote this is that she didn't take the entire fist chapter just to catch you up. She takes advantage of the fact that so many have already read Divergent. There are touches of flashback moments but it doesn't overwhelm the current story with endless details of past happenings. Though Tris may have believed she was headed to a safe haven in Amity-ville, things don't stay quiet for long. War between the factions seems inevitable. Erudite plots to gain something from each of the other factions. Tris is reunited with friends from Abnegation, friends and enemies from Dauntless and ghosts from her past. Knowing who to trust becomes increasingly more important and difficult. Lies are everywhere, even where you may never expect them. Tris: I have to say that through most of the book....Tris drove me up the wall!! She found so much strength in herself in Divergent and in Insurgent it flies out the window. Yes, I realize she's been through some MAJOR trauma and I tried to give her slack for that. A lot of her actions seemed completely with in the realm of what I would expect from her. Even more so when haunted by things she's done. On the other hand, her attitude through some bits of the book seemed too far out of the character I had in my head. By the end she had evolved, at least mentally, for me and I can see where Roth was going with it.Four (Tobias):I absolutely loved Four in Divergent ~ I am talking full on fan-girl here. However, (sigh) he also drove me nuts for a time in Insurgent. At times I thought to myself, 'who the heck is this guy'? Perhaps I am being too harsh because I liked him so much at first. In no way, did my annoyance last through the whole book. It was just for a short bit about two thirds of the way through the story. The Factions:I liked getting a peek into the world of the other factions. Even if some of it was just plain confusing. I don't fully understand the strict structure they all seem to have. Amity was even strict in a way and aren't they the hippies? Shouldn't they be the free spirits that all wear their hair in different styles, wear unique clothes, etc... Nope. They are just as uniform as Abnegation, who aren't supposed to draw attention to themselves. Um...huh? I had similar questions with Candor. For instance, if they are all so honest why the need for the truth serum? I was able to get past my questions. If the story is good enough it is easier to look past the oddities. The story was good enough in this case. Which leads me to...The Story:Insurgent has a totally different feel to it. It's unbalanced, untrustworthy and unpredictable. It's dark, it's dirty and it is full of betrayal and lies. The plot moves along at a great pace. Old characters return and develop (and perhaps die...eek!) while new ones are introduced. Some questions are answered, others are asked. A lot are asked. I have been mulling it over for the past couple of hours and I'm still not quite sure I understand it all. But I love that it has me so intrigued! I really really want to see how it all shakes out.
