Insurgent: A Summer Review

Hayley Schoeppler is a 20 year old college student, the oldest in a family of seven kids, and an astute Christian book reviewer at her blog, Cats in Boxes.  She’s been a camp counselor this summer, but now that she’s getting back to real life, she took some time to review one of the summer’s most popular books for teens for us.  Enjoy!

Insurgent by Veronica Roth.  Katherine Tegen Books.  May 2012.  544 pgs.  Ages 14+.

Insurgent picks up, hardly missing a breath, moments after Divergent ends. From the opening pages, the plot races along, just like the train Tris is riding. The city is in confusion, the faction system is perilously close to losing control, and things just keep happening.

Much of the action in Insurgent involves the use of “simulations.” These simulations, injections of serum which allow a human being to be controlled, were invented by Erudite, the faction representing knowledge. The plot builds off of the closing chapters of Divergent when Erudite, via a mass-simulation, causes Dauntless to attack the Abnegation faction. Having a hard time picturing this? To put it another way, a simulation causes any normal person to act like a temporary zombie. The only catch is that Tris is not a normal person. She is divergent, and simulations cannot control her. Consequently, she plays a role in stopping the simulation-attack on Abnegation, but not without paying a price. It is a price that will haunt Tris throughout the pages of Insurgent, much like the Hunger Games lingers with Katniss Everdeen in Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

At times Tris’ struggles can be frustrating, but Veronica Roth is able to create empathy within her readers. Tris is emotionally raw and reflects issues that all of us face. Confronted with herself, she struggles with her own depravity, her own selfishness, and her fear that others will not love her if they really know not only her past actions, but her own heart.

While Tris is emotionally going through all of this, don’t think the plot is lagging. Quite the contrary, it continues to deepen and twist. Early on in Insurgent, it becomes clear that Erudite’s planned attack on Abnegation was much more than an act of malice and faction jealously. Still, it is not until the very last pages that the whole truth is revealed. And what a truth it is . . . many a discussion could be had on the implications, but only Veronica Roth knows where this series is headed.

Do I recommend Insurgent? My one qualm is Tris’ romance with Tobias. At one point, early in the book, there’s a scene in bed that gets pretty steamy. Before anything happens though, Tris realizes, “I can’t be with him in that way if one of my reasons for wanting it is to distract myself from grief.” From then on nothing comes close to that, though many kisses are shared and described in detail. This sensuality can be distracting, especially for a young, impressionable reader. 

One final point: Veronica Roth has a knack for capturing not only humanity, but also hope. In the midst of chaos and evil she conveys sadness, but not resignation. In the bleakest of times, she shows the value of human life. And, she shows glimmers of God. In one scene Tris is approached by a member of Amity:

“‘May the peace of God be with you’ she says, her voice low, ‘even in the midst of trouble.’ ‘Why should it?’ I say softly, so no one else can hear. ‘After all I’ve done. . .’ ‘It isn’t about you,’ she says. ‘It is a gift. You cannot earn it, or it ceases to be a gift.’”

It will be interesting to see if Tris learns more about this ‘gift’ in the next book.  Til then, for a mature reader who is ready and willing to process and think through the book, Insurgent will definitely be a fun summer read.

Read Janie’s review of the first in this series, Divergent, in Life on the Edge.  Or learn about recent fantasy books for the YA crowd in Catching Up with YA Fantasy.