Insurgent” Book Review
By Ryan, Grade 12
“Insurgent” is written by Veronica Roth, and it is the second novel in the “Divergent” series. It was released in 2012, and it was also made into a movie that was released in 2014. The novel is a continuation of the “Divergent” novel, as the threat of war among the factions is currently imminent in the futuristic society of Chicago. This book had the same characters and the same setting as the first book, but for some reason it didn’t have exactly the same feel while reading. For this reason, I would rate the book a 3/5 stars overall. It was still a great book, but did not feel as captivating as the first novel.
The book follows Tris, Four, Marcus, Peter, and Caleb after they escape from the Dauntless and Erudite. “Insurgent” introduces us to the “factionless” population, which we did not get to see in the first novel of the series. Interestingly, we get to meet Four’s mother, who is part of the factionless. She tries to convince Four to get Dauntless to fight with them against Erudite. As the Erudite faction is slowly losing control, the city of Chicago gets deeper and deeper into chaos. Tris and the others have to figure out how to navigate this war, when the only society they have ever known is in the process of being destroyed.
I would recommend reading “Insurgent” if you are already a fan of the first book or movie. It takes the “Divergent” series to another level as we are finally seeing what happens when the factions start to fall apart. There is a good balance between old characters and new characters, so we get to continue to read the story of our familiar favourites, while also getting introduced to new personalities. The new characters, as well as the opportunity to see inside some of the other factions, keeps this book interesting from start to finish!