Roth Does Amazing

Posted on May 18, 2012

Insurgent

Roth does a pretty amazing job fleshing out the world in Divergent. In fact, it’s so incredible that you shouldn’t even think about picking up Insurgent, the middle book in the trilogy, before reading Divergent. Not only will you miss out on fascinating background and an exposé of the cracks appearing in the framework of this civilization, you won’t get to know Tris. And Tris, well, she’s the backbone of these books and is what makes them worth reading.

It’s also hard to discuss Insurgent without giving away key points of Divergent, so instead, let’s look at the series as a whole so far. Roth’s made Tris (whose full name is actually Beatrice Prior) a former member of the Abnegation faction and a really kick-a** heroine. That makes what happens to her in Insurgent difficult; circumstances have brought her down. She’s lost a lot of good friends, people close to her, and she’s beginning to realize how many more she could lose. Because of her past in Abnegation, she feels responsible for their deaths, like her Dauntless-warrior self should have protected them more. It’s easy to empathize with such a strong character who is almost crippled by self-doubt, yet we never doubt that Tris will find herself again.

And then there’s the love story. In most YA trilogies, whether dystopian or not, there’s a formula: girl meets boy in Book 1. Something happens between girl and boy at the beginning of Book 2, and girl meets other boy (who may have been around in Book 1). Then, in Book 3, girl must choose between boy 1 and boy 2. This is almost always the romantic formula these types of books follow, so it is refreshing/lovely/amazing/incredible that Veronica Roth doesn’t do that. Sure, she throws some roadblocks, and serious ones at that, in the path of Tris and her man, but the focus is always on the bigger picture. It’s definitely frustrating when a girl is in a life or death situation and all she can think about is which boy she wants. THANK YOU Veronica Roth for not subjecting your readers to that, but still having a thoughtful and sweet relationship in your books.

In the end, Insurgent is a pretty amazing follow-up to what was an explosive and creative debut novel. The pace of these books is incredible; Roth doesn’t hesitate to kill off characters, to change the game completely, or to recreate the storyline at every turn, and it pays off. If you haven’t picked up this series yet, you should definitely do it as soon as possible. In the meantime, we’ll be biting our nails in anticipation of the final book in the series.

Review by Swapna

 

 

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INSURGENT Will Have You Guessing & Leave You Wanting More

Posted on May 18, 2012

Insurgent

The Dauntless faction is on the run, trying to escape the control of Erudite. Tris and a band of friends, including her squeeze Tobias (AKA Four), head to the factions of Amity and Candor to re-group. While things are up in the air people change sides, surprising truths become revealed, and the Divergent are forced to the forefront. Erudite wants them, and Tris doesn’t know why. But she’s willing to find out, even if it means risking her relationships — and her life.

Tris’s behavior in this book was interesting. She became both overly-reckless and overly-cautious at the same time, based on some decisions she made towards the end of Divergent. There were a few instances where I wanted to shake her and tell her to get over it, but I do think the author portrayed a realistic reaction from someone in that situation. Tris’s internal struggles were a prominent part of the story, and I enjoyed being inside her mind and seeing the progression of her thoughts.

There were also some great shockers in this book, mainly involving character development, ulterior means, and secrets finally being exposed. There was one particular revelation towards the end involving her brother that I didn’t see coming, and it was really well done. This, more than anything else, kept the pages turning for me. I had to know what happened next, and my mind, which is great at predicting things, was kept on delicious edge. A book hasn’t done that to me in a while.

Review by Lauren Zurchin

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FanCast the Divergent Movie

Posted on May 10, 2012

 

Divergent

Let’s say you were asked to cast the movie Divergent. Who would you cast as the characters? We’d love to read your input!

As example:

Beatrice/Tris I could see being played by Britt Robertson (Dan in Real Life, The Secret Circle)

Four I could see being played by Ben Barnes (Stardust, Chronicles of Narnia) or Shiloh Fernandez (Skateland, Red Riding Hood).

Eric I could see being played by Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries)

Who would you cast?

What characters absolutely have to be cast?

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I think Veronica loves teasing us, the ending of this book is absolute torture

Posted on May 8, 2012

 

Insurgent

Love it when there is an honest review…

My final thoughts on this book leave me bordered between three and a half and four stars. Does this mean that Insurgent is a bad book? Absolutely not. This is an amazing book and an amazing series.. However, I do have my reasoning as to why this book is getting a lower rating from me. Veronica is an extremely talented writer, there is no doubt about that. She knows how to keep her readers intrigued and does a great job at feeding readers information without giving to much at one time. I have mentioned before that I really enjoy when authors do this. If I get overwhelmed I am more likely to put a book down, but if the information is spread out in a decent manner that really keeps me reading for longer periods of time.

You’re probably curious as to why I am giving Insurgent a lower rating though.. As I mentioned above, my conclusion in no way means this is a bad book. I love this series, and will absolutely be reading the next book. Insurgent just didn’t hit me the way Divergent did.. It wasn’t quite as exciting, if that makes sense. Veronica writes amazing action scenes, and there are plenty of them in Insurgent I just didn’t think they were quite as epic as they were in Divergent. There isn’t much of a time lapse at all from Divergent to Insurgent so you easily pick up on what happened last, if it’s been awhile since you have read Divergent.

The story takes some really interesting twists. You learn a lot more about what it means for people to be Divergent, you learn more about Tris’s family. And a lot of the other prominent characters that were in Divergent. I don’t want to go into to much detail, because I want to keep this spoiler for for those that haven’t read Divergent yet. But for those of you that have, you’re really in for a treat with some of the new plot twists in Divergent.

This review is from Justin – there is more,check it out! 

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Roth – Errors: Why They Happen, How to Better Avoid Them

Posted on May 4, 2012

Insurgent

Several people have pointed out to me, with the best of intentions, that there are a few copyediting/consistency errors in Insurgent. I’m not going to tell you what they are, because some people won’t catch them and I don’t want to spoil the read for them. Just know that if you read something and get confused and think you might be misreading or misinterpreting, it might not be your mistake, but rather mine.

I just wanted to talk about why these errors happen. I used to read books and think “with so many rounds of edits, how can these mistakes slip by?” And that is a fair question. I have a very talented copyeditor and proofreader who catch so many errors it’s not even funny. I am also a perfectionist and am generally diligent about checking details. So how did this happen?

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Interview: Veronica Roth on her book ‘Insurgent’ and feminism

Posted on May 4, 2012

Insurgent

In Veronica Roth’s bestseller “Divergent,” a young woman chooses to leave her family and align herself with a group that seems better suited to her true identity. “Insurgent,” out Tuesday, sees Tris coming to a better understanding of what that decision really means in a book that is every bit as action-packed and questioning as the series kickoff. We caught up with the 23-year-old Chicago-based author to talk about her highly anticipated second book in the “Divergent” trilogy and strong female characters in dystopian young-adult fiction.

Jacket Copy: “The Hunger Games,” “Divergent” and dozens of other titles in this burgeoning dystopian genre showcase strong female protagonists. Do you see a new shape of feminism emerging here?

Veronica Roth: That’s a complicated question. What’s interesting about these characters is that a lot of their strength is expressed in a physical way. Tris is physically weak but she learns how to be skilled in a physical way. Katniss isn’t super buff, but she knows how to defend herself. I think that’s something that needs to be explored more. Characters like Tris and Katniss, their worth and strength is not limited to their physical abilities. They’re very much in control of their own destinies. In “Insurgent,” Tris says, “Where I go, I go because I choose to.” That element of “I can do it. I can control my life,” that everything that happens, good or bad, happens because of the choice of the main character, that’s sort of a new thing.

Jacket Copy: How would you describe your personal adolescent experience, and how did it inform “Divergent“?

Veronica Roth: As a teenager, I put a lot of pressure on myself, and a lot of that, for me, was about finding a moral high ground. As I’ve grown up, I’ve decided to abandon that because it made me judgmental and also stressed me out. There’s really no way to be perfect. Perfectionism is a silly trait to have, so in a lot of ways that inspired the world of “Divergent,” in which everyone is striving toward that ideal and falling short of it. Tris is a character who experiences that stress about, “Am I doing the right thing? I always have to do the right thing. If I don’t, what am I worth?”

Jacket Copy: Perfectionism is so pervasive. How did you personally overcome it?

Veronica Roth: I slowly realized it’s just not that important. What’s more important is to try to love the people around you. Whatever that means at a particular time is the best you can do.

Jacket Copy: When you hear from readers, what aspects of “Divergent” most resonate with them?

Veronica Roth: Tris’ bravery. It’s important that she starts out not a particularly brave character, or at least her bravery is downplayed and dormant. She is physically weak and small and everybody underestimates her. I think a lot of readers, especially teens, feel like they’re in that situation too.

Jacket Copy: What did you grow up reading?

Veronica Roth: Science fiction, which maybe drew me to dystopian. I also read Judy Blume and “Harry Potter.”

Jacket Copy: What’s so appealing about dystopian storytelling?

Veronica Roth: When you’re a teenager, everything seems like the end of the world, and I don’t think that’s necessarily a silly thing. You’re waking up and becoming aware that the world has problems and those problems affect you, whereas when you’re young they don’t seem to affect you that much even if you’re aware of them. This dystopian trend picks up on that little part of your life where everything feels really extreme and it honors that part of your life and says, “Yeah. It is the end of the world. Look at it.”

Jacket Copy: Romance is a huge part of most young-adult novels, including yours. Can you talk about the dynamic between Tobias and Tris?

Veronica Roth: Tobias wants Tris to be strong and is attracted to her because of her strength. That was so important for me to illustrate. They’re not without their problems and they have a complicated relationship, but at the heart of it, he always believes that she’s stronger than she believes she is. In my own relationships, I know that I should break up with someone who doesn’t encourage me to be strong and make my own choices and do what’s best in my life, so if you’re dating someone who doesn’t want you to be the best person you can be, you shouldn’t be dating them. Growing up with Disney movies, you don’t really get that feeling. Not that there aren’t books out there that send that message, but I wanted my book to be one of them.

Read more at LA Times

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Sash say: I just KNEW …

Posted on May 4, 2012

Insurgent

As you all may or may not know, Insurgent is the extremely highly anticipated sequel to last’s years Divergent. I LOVED Divergent. I found Tris to be an equal of any other great fictional heroine; she didn’t take anything from anyone. She was tough, brave, and yet caring. With main and minor characters that I adored, a thrilling plot, and more than one bad guy to watch out for, I couldn’t have been more excited than when I started to read Insurgent – I just KNEW that I was going to LOVE it.

Except, I didn’t.

The writing was choppy. I felt like I was being thrown from place to place and jerked around wildly on what seemed like a wild goose chase for Tris and Four. They’re going to Amity, they’re going here, they’re going there. It felt like the plot was being forced to move along and didn’t have that organic feeling to it. At least not until 50-75 pages until the ending. That’s when the writing really started to flow and I felt like things were happening smoothly. Those last 50-75 pages really saved me from disliking the book altogether.

So many things just didn’t work for me in Insurgent. Both Tris and Four were acting extremely whiny and annoying. Four was complaining all the time and Tris was crying all the time and they just didn’t seem to connect with me like they did when I read Divergent. I didn’t feel like they grew as characters, but more regressed back into shells of their former selves.

Also, with Insurgent taking place outside of the Dauntless compound, I was hoping that there would be more world building and while we do get to experience more of the other faction compounds and see into some of their customs and people, it didn’t feel like enough. (Though it was nice to see Amity! WOOHOO! I’m definitely Amity, through and through.) For me, it was merely a sketch of what I thought should have been a full painting. I wanted to know more than what colors they wear and how they wear their hair. It was nice to see a few of the customs, but it didn’t feel like enough as far as world building goes.

I will say that some of my questions were answered and that the last page of the book is definitely worthy of a good ending but in making that “good ending”, even MORE questions arose and now everything is going to have to be wrapped up in the last book, which based on the length of both Divergent and Insurgent, will be around 500 pages. Veronica Roth had better change her name to Lucy, because she’s got some s’plaining to do!

Overall, a VERY VERY readable book (I finished this book in less than a day) and I’m pretty much the only one of my friends who didn’t absolutely L-O-V-E it. I wanted to love this one so so badly. It hurts to say that I didn’t. Maybe I went in with unachievable expectations? I don’t know, it just didn’t jive with me like the first one did.

The review is by Sash

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Em says: The Betrayal and Secrets Seem Endless

Posted on May 4, 2012

Insurgent

Veronica Roth’s second installment in the Divergent trilogy is truly something to marvel. Not only did she flawlessly pick up where the last book ended, she started Insurgent in a way that reflects her talent for keeping a reader hooked. I literally read this book in about 8 hours and was so absorbed in Tris and Four’s journey that I completely lost track of time.

Insurgent gives readers a new look into how the other factions function. Being able to be inside Candor’s headquarters and meeting their leader, discovering all of the intricacies that the Amity compound and people had to offer, and getting an inside look at what it means to be factionless were expertly done.

The twists and turns are completely unexpected and absolutely shocking. The betrayal and secrets seem endless. The new characters that emerge have a good variety of endearing, incorrigible, and insufferable. It’s hard to put this over 500 page book into just a review without gushing and throwing out spoilers left and right, but I was so drawn to every aspect of this book that I will, no doubt be re-reading it soon. Savoring each word is really not an option because the book is such a fast read that it will play through your mind like a fast-paced, action-filled, heart-wrenching movie. There is so much loss, but there is so much left to gain that, I swear, by the end of the book you’ll be appreciative of both no matter what.

Tris and Four really come into their own in this book, becoming the heroine and hero that Roth’s readers so viciously want and deserve. Their love for each other is honestly one of the strongest and most resilient relationships I have seen in YA literature thus far. Considering that this book is dystopian, instead of paranormal or supernatural, seeing characters go through real combat, lead an uprising, and remain so fiercely loyal to each other is beautiful.

The storyline delivers nothing short of an amazing journey and the characters leave nothing to be desired. Every character, no matter how seemingly insignificant at first, has so much depth and purpose in the creation of a fantastic sequel to a best-seller.

I’ll leave you with one last aspect of this book that left me smiling like an idiot and wishing I didn’t have to wait so long for the third book….THE ENDING. I never, in my wildest dreams, could have seen it coming. I can’t wait to see everyone else’s reaction to this book and their thoughts on what is to come next for Tris and Four.

This review is by Em

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Many Plot Twists and Surprises

Posted on May 4, 2012

Insurgent

Insurgent picks up where Divergent left off with Tris, Four (Tobias), Marcus (Four’s father), Caleb (Tris’ brother), and Peter escaping from the Erudite attack and seeking refuge from the Amnity faction. They find refuge for a short time there, then move on and spend time with both the factionless, where we learn more about Four’s family, and Candor. Roth has given us a lot of insight about the rest of the factions that we first learned about in Divergent, bringing a whole new understanding for the readers who wanted more while readingDivergent. We also get a greater understanding of Tris, Four and their friends and families. Tris, riddled with guilt over things that happened during the attack, puts herself into dangerous situations in trying to be the selfless Abnegation-born girl who her family raised. In doing so, she nearly gets herself killed, multiple times, and is rescued by her friends.

The story has many plot twists and surprises in it, many unexpected turn of events that come at you by the ones you least expect them from like Caleb, Marcus and especially Peter. The budding relationship between Tris and Four has its own surprises. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, Roth throws a monkey wrench into the works to keep you guessing.

This review is brought to you by Margaret 

 

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Do you want a signed copy of INSURGENT

Posted on April 26, 2012

We are giving you an opportunity to win a signed copy of INSURGENT!

Of course you do! Just fill out the form below for your chance to enter.

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