by Veronica Roth
From Goodreads:
Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.
My Thoughts:
As the last blogger in the known universe to read Divergent I shall dispense with a full review.
Here's what you all knew but I now know.
That I was wrong not to have sold the promise of my first born child's soul in order to get a copy of Divergent sooner.
That Four is truly swoon worthy.
And that Veronica Roth is amazing.
That by not reading this book you aren't being anti-bandwagoney, you're just missing out on the awesomeness of Four. And that makes this bookworm sad. :( Don't make me a sad bookworm. Read Divergent!
That the name Tobias... is not that sexy. Sorry, but it's not. Toby as a nickname is kind of cute, for those under the age of seven or so.
Did I just lose all my followers named Tobias?
Plus, my friend Kim is amazing for lending me Divergent (which she handed over LIKE she was handing me the promise of her first born child's soul). Thanks, Kim!
And thanks to our friend, Andrea, for getting the song Like A Virgin, only with Divergent in it's place, looping endlessly in my already overcrowded and weird brain. It is firmly stuck, and I'm currently drafting a letter to Madonna to just go ahead and change the lyrics already!
Divergent gets a Midnight Book Rating of:
The cover gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:
It's okay, but it didn't make me swoon. I like it better in context with the cover of the second book though.
And now from the same blogger who brought you that wonderfully insightful review of Divergent that you just read above, comes her equally insightful and quote worthy review of Insurgent! That's right folks, no wait, instant book reviewing gratification coming your way!
Insurgent
by Veronica Roth
From Goodreads:
One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.My Thoughts:
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.
Four is even hotter, if possible.
The name Tobias has NOT gotten any hotter. Although I am sure the name is rising in popularity amongst new born babies. Because it's still the name of an awesome character.
Peter is kind of growing on me. Like a fungus that isn't helpful for penicillin or anything, but isn't completely toxic either.
Wait, did I just loose a few more followers?
Seriously, I know, he's awful. But he's kind of like Loki in Avengers. He shows up and causes a lot of death and destruction... actually, you know, I don't have a good argument here. I just sort of like Peter now. Go ahead and judge me. I can deal with your Candor. (haha)
The only downside to Insurgent is that I was reading a lot of other books at the same time and there's all these characters to keep straight in my head, but I finally managed to pull it together towards the end and it didn't take away at all from the story.
Tris took me on a roller coaster ride in Insurgent. One minute I wanted to slap her, and the next I wanted to be her (especially when it came to her time with Four). But I like that she's not perfect, and I even like that there's parts of her I don't like. She's no Mary Sue.
Which is a literary term for a perfect character, just so you real life Mary Sues don't stop following me. Like how Edward Cullen is a Gary Stu, because even his "faults" are kind of a turn on- wait, you only killed really awful humans and drank their blood before becoming a "vegetarian" vampire? How sexy vigilante of you, Ed! That said, I don't care that Edward Cullen is a Gary Stu, I still think he's hot.
But back to Insurgent:
I like how Tris really struggled with the fall out from her actions in Divergent. It's nice to see that no matter how strong you are, no matter how right you are to take action to defend yourself, you're still going to have nightmares and guilt over it. I'd be more concerned if Tris didn't feel horrible.
Tris and Four totally need to STOP NOT TELLING EACH OTHER THEIR SECRET SHIZ. Seriously, confide, people! Stop being dark balls of dark secrety thingys.
Did I mention that Four was even hotter in this book? Because he was. I'm pretty sure the third book is going to burst into flames once I open it.
By the way, any guesses on the name of the next book? I'm going with Convergent.
Now my main goal of BEA is to convince Veronica Roth to be my new bff and to send me an ARC of the next book so that for once I won't be behind in the series. Obviously, I won't mention my dislike of the name Tobias to her. It'll be our little secret, okay?
Insurgent gets a Midnight Book Rating of:
The cover gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:
Now that it's kind of a theme, I'm liking the covers of this series. I especially dig the green.
Love your review! And of course I love Four too. Now do you understand why I really want to see her at BEA? But it's cool if we don't make it. I can handle it. But I am so glad you loved them because I kind of forced it upon you and I would have been sad if you didn't like it.
ReplyDeleteTris made me angry a lot in Insurgent but I liked who she became by the end of the book so I can forgive it, though a slap in the face wouldn't have been taking it to far.
See, you've forced me to read some good books too! That's the best thing about being friends with bookworms!
DeleteI'm in the middle of Insurgent now and remembering how much I looooved Divergent. Sigh, I love Four and umm... this audiobook... changing my opinion of the name Tobias. I think it's sexy now... Sigh... holy shit dude... Insurgent. Oh man... I'm about halfway through. I'm going to listen to more on my lunch break.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, okay. I guess I'm missing out. I'll try to get to these!
ReplyDelete*giggles* I love your reviews!! I thought when I read Divergent in January that I was the last person alive to read it, but then it seemed like I had a whole wave of people asking what it was and I was like *gasp* GO READ IT NOW!!! :)
ReplyDeleteI loved Insurgent!
I think the 3rd will be Convergent too. I cannot wait for it. The world better not end this year because I will be pissed if I don't get my hands on #3.
Hahahahahahaha! These reviews seriously made me laugh out loud!
ReplyDeleteAnd Peter grew on me too. And I actually really liked Loki in both Thor and The Avengers for some reason. I mean, he's a horrible dude but he was my favorite!
And I keep telling people I'm sorry for getting that song stuck in their heads, but I'm really not. I get it stuck in my head any time I see the words Divergent and Insurgent. So anyone who's curious - the song goes "Di-i-ver-gent (ooh!), Brave for the very first time! Di-i-ver-er-er-er-gent, Let's be Dauntless, You and I." You're welcome. ;)
Wow! Kate, your funny bone was working over time on this post! I loved it! You are such a clever clever girl!
ReplyDeleteAnd you can't be the last blogger to read Divergent, because I'm still here! I'll read it eventually...one day...maybe next year.