Insurgent

This series gets way better in the second book. A ton of action, much like Mockingbird in The Hunger Game series it because packed with battles and lots of militia being formed. The "shocking" ending didn't leave me dying to keep reading the way Catching Fire did.

The second book in the Divergent series was another good read. The story continued along the same lines as the previous one with lots of twists and turns thrown in for good measure, which kept my attention.

*Slight Spoiler...
OK, I'm not usually the one noting violence in a TV show or film, and so I'm rarely the one calling attention to it in books either. But for some reason, I still find this series more strikingly violent than other dystopian series like THE HUNGER GAMES. It just strikes me as more violent in general, and something about that bothered me. I can't quite place my finger on why exactly.

Yes, I know that the factions are fighting one another, but the internal fighting and chaos within the factions is just as brutal as out, and somehow that continued to strike a chord within me.

Not the best sequel not the worse either

Sort of pointlessly violent. The plot felt very random too. The second book had none of the charm of the first book where we got to know particular characters and understand their relationships with other characters. Meh. I'm still probably going to read the third one because of my FOMO.

3.33 stars

Looking back at my review of Divergent, it looks like the #1 like was Tris. The first thing I had noted that I liked about her was her name. Whew! That is still her name. This may seem like a given, but keep in mind that her love interest went from hunk to junk in 2.2 seconds flat when his name went from Four to Tobias. It knocked all the sexual desire I had towards this fictional teenager right out of me.

So, anyway. Back to Tris. Plain Jane turned Kick Ass with Buns of Steel. Or so we thought. Instead it is Plain Jane turned Kick Ass with Buns of Steel turned WET BLANKET.


THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT AFTER THIS VERY OBVIOUS WARNING SIGN, THERE WILL BE "SPOILERS." AND BY "SPOILERS" I MEAN THINGS YOU WILL A) GUESS BY PAGE 2 AND/OR B) NOT GIVE A CRAP ABOUT ANYWAY.

I finished Divergent back in January. It appeared that since that time I had forgotten pretty much every character except Tris and Four Tobias (blegh). I kept forgetting characters from the first book. Caleb? Who is Caleb? And she kept crying about Will. Who the eff is Will?!

My favorite books? Throw a name at me, and I'll tell you everything you ever (and never) wanted to know about them. I'll tell you how they felt and how they made me feel as a result of how they felt. Yeah, I get that damn nerdy about it. And that was a problem with this book. I didn't give a rat's patootie what happened to any of the characters.

Shauna (WHO?) is in a wheelchair now?


Marlene (WHO?) died?


Lynn (I know who she is because Roth pulls this crappy ass "Lynn is going to confess to being a lesbian moments before she dies" stunt) died?


Back to the characters I did know (and cared to read about a tiny bit because they sort of have a big role): Tris and Four Tobias (blegh).

Tris was just a hot mess. She was falling apart from killing Will. She became scared to do little things like shoot a gun and cried openly about everything from kitten posters and hugging teddy bears. Where is that tough as nails girl? I understand she is supposed to be human and all that jazz but jeez! She was being so girly and insecure about her relationship with Four Tobias (blegh).

Speaking of Four Tobias (blegh), he was ok in this one but nothing special. Mostly he was super sweet and then angry and/or annoyed. Super sweet. Angry and/or annoyed. Super sweet. Angry and/or annoyed. Flip a coin. I feel like all the problems for Tris and Four Tobias (blegh) could have been solved with some good medication, like Ativan or Xanax.

Another gripe? The predictability was unreal. Scene by scene you could predict what would happen.

Fernando died?



Didn't see that coming! I totally thought they would all make it across the ladder that was slung between two three-story windows with no one holding the opposite end. FANTASTIC PLAN!

There was not one iota of connection or emotional attachment. And that bums me out a little, BUT not so much that I hated the book. Up to this point it must be unclear why I gave this any stars at all. For the action, my friends, for the action. It wasn't dull and for being a fictional landscape (dystopian Chi-Town), I could visualize the buildings/rooms within the buildings pretty well. The action is just gogogo! Oh wait, there were a few breaks for Tris's woe is me's, suicidal hints, and Tobias is mad at me crying jags. Well, QUIT BEING A MOPEY WHINE BABY, TRIS!

This book for me was just pure cotton candy.



And I'll read the third one for the same reason (and because I hope there will be some cool action stuff to tie this up).