The problem with having an excellent series opener is keeping the momentum. You need to match or exceed the height of your first book, which can be tricky. Fortunately Insurgent has no problem hitting the bar that Divergent set, which was a great relief to me.
Insurgent picks up immediately where Divergent left off so there is no gap between the books to catch up on (although refreshing yourself on the previous book might be needed). Tris stopped the attack simulation and is fleeing with Tobias, Peter and Marcus to Amity headquarters outside of the city. Things are looking grim, with the Dauntless scattered and the Abnegation all but wiped out.
I was a little worried at the start that Insurgent would fall flat. Mostly this came in the form of Tris/Tobias relationship, which suddenly came to the forefront of the plot. Thankfully this was short-lived, otherwise there would have been another co-dependent couple in the YA world. As it stands, the moments where Tris breaks down and flees to Tobias are limited. However, their relationship then goes for a bumpy ride.
One of the strengths of Divergent is the way it put plot first and relationship second. Insurgent nearly saw the switch, but what actually occurs is a test of the strength of their relationship. Lies are told, secrets withheld and Tris realises she doesn't know Tobias at all. It was a thrill to see the female half of a couple keep her brains, personality and independence, although some of the repetitious motions of their relationship problems did drag. Overall Tris/Tobias get a big tick for being unconventional in a YA sense, but remaining true to how actual humans interact with one another.
On to the plot. Hand on heart I'll admit I got annoyed at the constant "go to faction, talk to people, move on to next faction" pattern that dominated the first third (or less) of the book. The constantly running around to get the measure of people in other factions annoyed me, but only marginally as I was also drinking in the sights. Amity seems like the luckiest faction to me, being outside the city and all.
I also enjoyed how all the characters are self-serving at least once during Insurgent. There is no banding together of deadly enemies for the good of the society, but individuals who stick together as long as it suits their means. There are tensions and arguments, even between friends where secrets and betrayals stretch out between them. Throughout it all Tris has to step carefully to find the truth and do what's best for the city. To be wary of everyone seems like the smartest approach.
One peeve that arose in Insurgent is the amount of bullet holes people amassed. Literally everyone gets shot at least once and if you haven't, well then you're missing out on a badge of honour. I would have liked a little more creativity with the fight scenes, but this never became a major issue. The other repetitive point that pops up is Tris' nervous habits, but somehow these flesh out her character and endear her to me.
In general Tris is conflicted throughout Insurgent about the events of the previous book. Grief, guilt and panic swell within her, rising up at inconvenient times to leave her more reluctant than ever to battle on. I felt compelled by her struggle and although the character growth is small, it is significant. She acts as any human in her situation would. She isn't invulnerable or inhuman. She needs to stop to catch her breath the same as anyone and this is another big tick.
Insurgent offers explanations about Divergent personalities, twisting and turning left, right and centre so that you are never a hundred percent sure who will prevail. There is a massive revelation at the end to do with the world/society that they live in and backs up my "the lack of detail in Divergent is intentional" mantra in my Divergent review. It wouldn't be very Amity or Abnegation of me to say "I told you so" but it would be Candor, so to those who criticised the little world history in Divergent. I. Told. You. So.
Self-indulgence over I will end on this. I read Insurgent in one day, a rare feat for me, so something must be right. It is a page-turner and I am very much invested in the series. Sure, there were little nagging details I picked up on, but these were small in regards to the bigger picture. I love everything about this series: the concept, the characters, the relationships and I will gush about it to anyone who listens. I am very much addicted to the Divergent series.
5/5 stars
The Slow Descent Into Music
For a long time I was a musical snub, insofar as I refused point blank to listen to music because I thought it was terrible. I was at an age where puberty was about to hit, so my peers were going ga-ga over different artists and I, being oh-so superior, decided that music wasn't worth any effort. I actively repelled it.
It sounds silly now, but can you blame me when the only artists I had as reference points were Steps, S Club 7, Busted and Abba (along with a host of equally cheesy popstars). None of the above groups seemed appealing, what with all their songs being over the top in the peppy stakes. If that was all the music world could offer me, I wasn't bother with it.
In contrast, my sister loved music. She loved choreographing her own dance routines, lip-syncing and general bouncing all over our shared bedroom to hits by the Spice Girls. She would screech "reach for the staaaars!" whenever I walked by and I would smile to myself, reassured by my choice to boycott these atrocious tunes.
Considering these days I never leave the house without my iPod, I quite clearly hit a turning point. It came in the form of a rebellious teenage singer-songwriter who grabbed my attention with her hit single, Complicated.
Yes, you heard right. Avril Lavigne was my first proper foray into the music industry.
She did what no other artist had done up to that point; she showed me that other genres existed. She wrote her own music (something I respect immensely even now), it was about life, it wasn't overtly poppy and I was taken by how "meaningful" said lyrics were. I could relate to the song and I liked the way it sounded. I especially liked Avril's image and wanted to emulate her (I asked for a skateboard for my birthday and never used it, but hey, it looked cool).
I didn't find or discover Avril Lavigne or her album Let Go on my own. Actually, I didn't discover her at all. My Mum gifted the album to me one birthday and I decided to give it a go, shoving it into my portable CD player (I can assure you those things were not portable). I was immediately hooked and when I got my first MP3 player a year or so later, I uploaded the album onto it, along with a few My Chemical Romance and The Rasmus tracks.
Despite turning a corner with regards to the way I perceived music, I still didn't fall head over heels in love with it. I had no obsessions or bands that I absolutely had to see in concert. I didn't desperately count down the days to a new release. I just kinda liked a few songs and didn't hate listening to the radio. That cataclysm didn't occur until I was thirteen and the band at the centre of it was Linkin Park.
How I discovered Linkin Park is a little less conventional when compared with the ways in which I've discovered all my favourite artists since then. I happened to be at home alone, flicking through the music channels the way my Mum does whenever the adverts are on. I did this out of habit and I wasn't paying much attention as I continually hit the down button on the remote. After a while something piqued my interest. Not the music. No, my interest was piqued by the music video, which happened to be in the form of an anime.
I love anime and manga, and have done since I was a kid (you can thank Pokemon for that love). Interested by the style of this video, I stopped to watch it and was immediately struck by the story it was telling. Coupled with the lyrics and vocals, it was a very moving and compelling experience. I clocked the name of the song and band (if you haven't already figured it out, it was Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park), and set off to discover more about them via the internet (I think we were still on dial-up in those days).
After seeing Breaking the Habit on television, I then listened to Numb via Yahoo! Music (oh those were the days!) and decided I needed the whole album. I physically needed Meteora. For the first time in my life I was pining after an album and I had done so after listening to two tracks.
What followed went a little like this: I went on a shopping trip with my parents (I hated shopping as a kid too) and while we were in Woolworths, we browsed the music department. I must have deliberately sought out Meteora in the 'L' section of the albums stand and I definitely remember finding it. I turned to my Mum and asked for the album, to which she replied "you can wait until Christmas" or something along those lines. I persisted and asked to her to buy it there and then, since it was the first time I'd laid my hands on a copy and thought it highly unlikely that she would be able to find it again. She agreed and stashed it away for Christmas.
That year I hurried to my stocking and pulled out the first CD looking present I found. Once I had my hands on Meteora, I never let go of it. I spent the whole of that Christmas listening to Linkin Park whilst playing Spyro: A Hero's Tail on PlayStation 2, and I have super fond memories of that time. Whenever I load up Spyro now, I think of that Christmas and Meteora.
As for my love of Linkin Park, it started right then. There wasn't a track on Meteora that I didn't like. My gamble had paid off and I'd found a band to be a devoted fan of. I am still a massive Linkin Park fan to this day and have an array of varied artists on my iPod to listen to whenever I can grab a moment.
Music is a massive part of my life now, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
It sounds silly now, but can you blame me when the only artists I had as reference points were Steps, S Club 7, Busted and Abba (along with a host of equally cheesy popstars). None of the above groups seemed appealing, what with all their songs being over the top in the peppy stakes. If that was all the music world could offer me, I wasn't bother with it.
In contrast, my sister loved music. She loved choreographing her own dance routines, lip-syncing and general bouncing all over our shared bedroom to hits by the Spice Girls. She would screech "reach for the staaaars!" whenever I walked by and I would smile to myself, reassured by my choice to boycott these atrocious tunes.
Considering these days I never leave the house without my iPod, I quite clearly hit a turning point. It came in the form of a rebellious teenage singer-songwriter who grabbed my attention with her hit single, Complicated.
Yes, you heard right. Avril Lavigne was my first proper foray into the music industry.
She did what no other artist had done up to that point; she showed me that other genres existed. She wrote her own music (something I respect immensely even now), it was about life, it wasn't overtly poppy and I was taken by how "meaningful" said lyrics were. I could relate to the song and I liked the way it sounded. I especially liked Avril's image and wanted to emulate her (I asked for a skateboard for my birthday and never used it, but hey, it looked cool).
I didn't find or discover Avril Lavigne or her album Let Go on my own. Actually, I didn't discover her at all. My Mum gifted the album to me one birthday and I decided to give it a go, shoving it into my portable CD player (I can assure you those things were not portable). I was immediately hooked and when I got my first MP3 player a year or so later, I uploaded the album onto it, along with a few My Chemical Romance and The Rasmus tracks.
Despite turning a corner with regards to the way I perceived music, I still didn't fall head over heels in love with it. I had no obsessions or bands that I absolutely had to see in concert. I didn't desperately count down the days to a new release. I just kinda liked a few songs and didn't hate listening to the radio. That cataclysm didn't occur until I was thirteen and the band at the centre of it was Linkin Park.
How I discovered Linkin Park is a little less conventional when compared with the ways in which I've discovered all my favourite artists since then. I happened to be at home alone, flicking through the music channels the way my Mum does whenever the adverts are on. I did this out of habit and I wasn't paying much attention as I continually hit the down button on the remote. After a while something piqued my interest. Not the music. No, my interest was piqued by the music video, which happened to be in the form of an anime.
I love anime and manga, and have done since I was a kid (you can thank Pokemon for that love). Interested by the style of this video, I stopped to watch it and was immediately struck by the story it was telling. Coupled with the lyrics and vocals, it was a very moving and compelling experience. I clocked the name of the song and band (if you haven't already figured it out, it was Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park), and set off to discover more about them via the internet (I think we were still on dial-up in those days).
After seeing Breaking the Habit on television, I then listened to Numb via Yahoo! Music (oh those were the days!) and decided I needed the whole album. I physically needed Meteora. For the first time in my life I was pining after an album and I had done so after listening to two tracks.
What followed went a little like this: I went on a shopping trip with my parents (I hated shopping as a kid too) and while we were in Woolworths, we browsed the music department. I must have deliberately sought out Meteora in the 'L' section of the albums stand and I definitely remember finding it. I turned to my Mum and asked for the album, to which she replied "you can wait until Christmas" or something along those lines. I persisted and asked to her to buy it there and then, since it was the first time I'd laid my hands on a copy and thought it highly unlikely that she would be able to find it again. She agreed and stashed it away for Christmas.
That year I hurried to my stocking and pulled out the first CD looking present I found. Once I had my hands on Meteora, I never let go of it. I spent the whole of that Christmas listening to Linkin Park whilst playing Spyro: A Hero's Tail on PlayStation 2, and I have super fond memories of that time. Whenever I load up Spyro now, I think of that Christmas and Meteora.
As for my love of Linkin Park, it started right then. There wasn't a track on Meteora that I didn't like. My gamble had paid off and I'd found a band to be a devoted fan of. I am still a massive Linkin Park fan to this day and have an array of varied artists on my iPod to listen to whenever I can grab a moment.
Music is a massive part of my life now, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
