"Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent

Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Harper Collins

Book 2 of 'Divergent'

Blurb:

Fighting for survival in a shattered world… the truth is her only hope.

I have done bad things. I can’t take them back, and they are part of who I am.

Tris has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes ever more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.

Yet if Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she must be stronger than ever… because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead.

Synopsis:

Tris, Four, Caleb, Peter, and Marcus travel to Amity to meet with other Abnegation survivors to seek sanctuary. Whilst there, Erudite and Dauntless traitors turn up to search for any Abnegation survivors. As you ould expect, Tris et al do not go down without a fight, evade capture and head back into the city.

After a while they meet up with the Factionless and Four's mother. A plan is hatched to expose the data that the Erudite are keeping secret and the rest of the book is about the war that escalates from this.

For a full synopsis go visit Wikipedia.

Verdict:

Picking up from book one, the story flows straight into quite a lot of action. The love story takes a back seat as our lead character fights herself internally. I enjoyed this book as much as the first and look forward to the film being released. The plot actually is less predictable in the second book, than the first, so in some ways this was a better book and not so teenager'ish. I liked it.

Rating: 4/5

"Divergent" by Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Harper Collins

Book 1 of 'Divergent'

Blurb:

For sixteen-year-old Tris, the world changes in a heartbeat when she is forced to make a terrible choice. Turning her back on her family, Tris ventures out, alone, determined to find out where she truly belongs.

Shocked by the brutality of her new life, Tris can trust no one. And yet she is drawn to a boy who seems to both threaten and protect her. The hardest choices may yet lie ahead….

Synopsis:

In a post-apocalyptic Chicago, survivors divide into five factions based on their dispositions: Abnegation, for the selfless; Amity, for the peaceful; Candor, for the honest; Dauntless, for the brave; and Erudite, for the intelligent. Each year, all sixteen-year-olds must take an aptitude test that describes the one faction for which they are best suited. After receiving the results, they can decide whether to remain with their family's faction or transfer to a new faction. Those who do not complete initiation into their new faction become "Factionless", and are forced to live in poverty on the streets of the city.

Tris Prior and her brother Caleb are approaching their Choosing Day. The day they either choose to stay with the faction they have grown up in, or pick a new one. They are tested prior to choosing and Tris' tests are inconclusive to which faction she should choose, hence she is Divergent. She is warned never to reveal this to anyone.

On the day of Choosing, she picks Dauntless and enters their initiation program. During initiation she makes friends and enemies within her new faction. And she also finds love in the initiation trainer namer 'Four'.

For a full synopsis go visit Wikipedia.

Verdict:

When I first got told of this book/movie, a friend described it as "The Hunger Games" only without the Hunger or the Games. Lol. Although the comparison of post-apocalyptic world with teenage female main character is true, that is where the comparison ends. This was a good read, OK so the plot is predictable once it gets going, but hey what book isn't.

Rating: 4/5

"Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Title: Mockingjay

Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic Press

Book Three of The Hunger Games

Blurb:

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12.

Synopsis:

Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen lives in the mining District of the nation of Panem. Every year, one girl and one boy from each district must compete in the televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight to the death on live TV.

Having survived two hunger games, Katniss has been pulled from the arena by the rebel forces from district 13. Peeta, however is captured by the Capitol forces. As the face of the rebellion, Katniss assumes the mantel of the Mockingjay, appearing on television when the rebels can interfere with the Capitol broadcasts.

Peeta is forced by the Capitol to try and persuade the rebels to lay down their arms, obvious that the capitol is mistreating him. Once again, Katniss and Haymitch have to work out how to get Peeta out alive.

As is obvious before the book begins, the war comes to a climax in the Capitol.....

Verdict:

At 400 pages, this book took me about 8 hours to finish. The storytelling is rich in description, being able to visualise the areas that Katniss is in. I can see why this is going to be split into two movies and will look forward to seeing them.

On a down side, I felt that the author rushed the end of the book as it just has a feeling of "how can i finish the story?" The story of the Capitol ended too abruptly, with not everything explored. Also some parts of the book were a little disturbing, so I would not recommend for readers under 11.

Not as good as the first two books, but still an enjoyable read.

Rating: 4/5

"Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

Title: Catching Fire

Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic Press

Book Two of The Hunger Games

Blurb:

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

Synopsis:

Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen lives in the mining District of the nation of Panem. Every year, one girl and one boy from each district must compete in the televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight to the death on live TV.

Having survived the first hunger games, Katniss and Peeta return to district 12. No sooner does the capitol believe that they are to be wed, then the Quarter Quell is anounced and two of three victors of the Hunger Games from district 12 must be sent back into the arena for another games. Haymitch and Katniss agree that they must work together to keep Peeta alive.

The rebellion is also growing, and whether they like it or not, Katniss and Peeta beome the face of the rebellion much to President Snows displeasure.

Verdict:

At 400 pages, this book took me about 8 hours to finish. You can envisage what is happening just as easy as in a movie, as the descriptions give you a rich sense of where Katniss and Peeta are. Looking forward to the movie version of the book as I think it will be really well done as there is so much to be pulled from the book.

Rating: 5/5

"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic Press

Book One of The Hunger Games

Blurb:

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed.

Synopsis:

Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen lives in the mining District of the nation of Panem. Every year, one girl and one boy from each district must compete in the televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight to the death on live TV.

Katniss' younger sister is picked at random and Katniss volunteers to take her place, which is an unusual event. Along with Peeta Mellark, the Baker's son, they enter the games. As the story progresses we find that Peeta is in love with Katniss, and the battle for survival of not only one but both of them begins...

Verdict:

At 384 pages, this book took me about 7 hours to finish. This is one of those books that I consider to be a Sunday afternoon read, you pick it up and before you know it Sunday afternoon has gone. From teen to Adult, this book is great! There is a level of violence, but nothing most teens have not already been subjected to in our modern age of films, there is a lot worse out there.

I loved this book so much I had to start reading book two straight away.

Rating: 5/5