2 for 1 Special! Book Review: Divergent AND Insurgent by Veronica Roth

This is week two of my three week long 2 for 1 book review special. The second 2/3rds-of-the-way-done-trilogy I will be reviewing is the Divergent and Insurgent from the acclaimed Divergent series by Veronica Roth.

One Choice

One Choice, decides your friends.

One Choice, defines your beliefs.

One Choice, determines your loyalties - Forever.

Overview:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

...AND then exciting stuff happens!!

Now!

Behold the FIVE FACTIONS!!!!

Ok, before I begin I need to take a deep breath because this series triggers some really intense reactions from me. *Deep Breath* Ok I will try to keep calm....

Oh.Hell.Must.SQUEEEEE!!!!!!

Ahhh!!!!

It is...Ahhh!

It is...Awww!

Awww-suhm!!!
Imma die! I'm dyi-

erg..arg...arrr...urrrgggg

I may be...erg...arrrgggg...Choking...urrgg

*cough, cough*

Sorry, Excitment is a powerful beast that cannot be contained! But in all seriousness, this is a wonderful series. Divergent is well written, fast-paced, unique, and original. The main character is worth admiring. Her voice provides wonderful narration to the story. The structure allows for the reader to get to know the main character and sets up the exciting developments that make up the unexpected climax. This action-packed book is about finding strength you never knew was there. It is about about facing your worst fears and learning what you are really made of.

So what about those comparisons to the Hunger Games?

Well Haymitch has the answer:

That's right! The Divergent series is more than worthy of such a grand comparison. Roth creates a world that is different from what we encounter in the Hunger Games, but like the Hunger Games she provides us with real characters, questions about violence, loss, and an unpredicatable plot. Also like the Hunger Games, Divergent is well written and very fast paced. It doesn't dwell on unnecessaries. It moves forward in an exciting and insightful manner.

Oh and another thing, Beatrice's love interest...he is, what's the word? oh yea, perfect! He makes me make chewbacca noises!

 He is so swoon-worthy, it's not even funny!!!
And yes, he has been granted the honor of being my #1 Book Boyfriend!! Congratulations to him!!! 

In my head he looks like this (granted most guys I imagine look something like this, well except shirtless):

photo of Steven R. McQueen from the Vampire Diaries.

Love at first read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now on to the sequel:

“People, I have discovered, are layers and layers of secrets. You believe you know them, that you understand them, but their motives are always hidden from you, buried in their own hearts. You will never know them, but sometimes you decide to trust them.”  (from Insurgent).

 I loved, and I mean LOVED, Divergent. I was so excited about the sequel...then I read it. What can I say?
Sometimes authors rock a novel and ruin the story with a sequel...this is most definetly NOT one of those cases. Insurgent. Blew. My. Freaking. Mind. And. Rocked. My. World. Seriously, this is how sequels should be written! It is seriously BEYOND AWESOME. Veronic Roth is just plain AMAZING! That is all.

In Insurgent, Roth is faithful to her characters. Sometimes in sequels it seems like the characters have changed completely; they are not the ones we got to know in the first book. Roth was not guilty of such a shift. Her characters do change, but they do so in a believeable manner. They are the same people only under different circumstances. I admire what she did with the whole love triangle tradition that we see in so many books these days. I will not say more except that she doesn't undermine the relationships we saw form in the first book. I also admire the way Roth writes her cliffhangers. She doesn't torture my poor, vulberable heart. She obviously leaves you wanting more, but she does it in a manner that brings the book to a close and prepares you for the next one. Some authors seem to rip your heart out at the last possible moment and taunt you with the promise that they will give what is left of it with the next book, yea I am thinking of you Catching Fire (I still love you, though)! But Roth does no such thing. Her endings raise all the necessary questions and emotions without drowning you in a sea of despair. Her endings work, nothing seems forced. Roth is seriously a great writer! I cannot believe Divergent is her first novel! She has obviously been destined for great things!

This is not your typical dystopian series and I think the ending of Insurgent makes that clear. For all its similarities with the Hunger Games (both are fast-paced, exciting, and well-written;both are action-packed and deal with violence; and both have characters with depth and inner strength), reading the Divergent series is a different experience. Roth makes sure to forge her own path and that makes these books worth reading. I absolutely cannot wait for the third book! I hunger for it like I hunger for life itself!

ps. the Bonus material at the end of the paperback edition of Divergent is awesome. The special edition of Insurgent comes out in October. Can't wait to see what bonus goodies that edition will have!

In summation:

I LOVE DIVERGENT!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE INSURGENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE VERONICA ROTH!!!!!!!!!

They are so awesome they make me cry!

It is like seeing the very first sunrise!

So beautiful!

You have to read these books. Everything else is secondary.