Insurgent (Book Two of Divergent), by Veronica Roth

Insurgent
Book Two of Divergent
Written 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.” -- Insurgent (Book Two of Divergent), by Veronica Roth

First of all, if you haven't read Divergent, the first book in this series, go read it, and then come back here. If you read this review before you read Divergent, you'll be disappointed because this review does contain spoilers from the first book.

We begin Insurgent with a "barely holding it together" Tris after the unexpected death of so many of her people. Both her parents sacrificed themselves to save her. Thousands of Abnegations died at the hands of those Dauntless who were being controlled by the Erudite. She was almost killed, and was forced to shoot one of her best friends to save herself and stop the simulation.

Insurgent is fraught with misunderstandings and betrayals that keep the plot moving at a much more rapid pace than you saw in Divergent. There is a lot going on, but it was still easy to follow. Tris is forced to make decisions in Insurgent that are even more difficult than killing Will was. Throughout the course of the book her relationship with Tobias (also known as Four) is tested as they tackle situation after situation that plague their society after the simulation. Both Tobias and Tris must reach a new understanding of one another if they want their relationship to survive. Tris must learn to trust her instincts and her very unique brain in order to figure out who is trustworthy and to find out what the truth behind the simulations really was.

I loved this second book of the Divergent series. The first book was good, but it was in Insurgent that things really started to get interesting. And the ending left me wishing I had held off on reading Insurgent until closer to the publication of the next book, which hasn't been named yet. Roth is a talented writer and her dystopian society is intriguing. I am anxiously awaiting the next book, which I have heard won't be out until sometimes in 2013. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she finishes it sooner rather than later.