Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

[lhtownse]

I had mixed feelings about this book all the way through until the end, where all was redeemed. I was captivated by the first book in the trilogy (Divergent) and found myself worried at times that Insurgent was not living up to the first installment. For example, several times I could not be sure whether I was beginning to dislike a character or whether the character was not being written as well as she or he had in Divergent. However, upon completing the book I realized this was simply the expertise and intelligence of Roth's writing-- the characters and the relationships between them are extremely realistic. Naturally if a character is written realistically will love and hate them in turn.

I was particularly impressed with Peter's development, and some of the other Dauntless initiates. Even those who were not integral to the main plot (and indeed would not even merit the title of subplot) demonstrate Roth's ability to write real people really well--she does not need much time or space to write a character well.

Roth also provides an important dimension in this book (and the others in the trilogy) so often ignored or clumsily done in fiction--diversity. From the physical descriptions of characters to how the young and old are portrayed to how men and women are portrayed to how romance, friendship, and parental relationships are portrayed we see refreshing and realistic diversity throughout. There is no 'girl,' 'boyfriend,' or 'enemy' simpliciter. Each character is truly her own character.

[gali]

Duplication

Insurgent