A review by galliardbard
Insurgent by Veronica Roth

adventurous mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

I'm very conflicted about this one. On the one hand, Roth's portrayal of trauma and grief of the loss of a parent is very accurate and well written. As someone who recently lost a parent, I had to take a break several times due to how real some of the scenes were. However, Tris was absolutely insufferable. Every two seconds she was making a choice that were completely idiotic. I hated how she treated Tobias in this book; she was constantly screaming at him and sometimes just out right cruel. I didn't love the narrative of Tobias being "cowardly" for leaving his abuser. This is a really dangerous theme to be spreading, and I wish it was challenged at all. I'm also not loving how many abusers are getting treated as good people despite doing nothing to prove that they have done anything to change. Really disappointed overall, I had high hopes after the first one. The story and world building are really interesting but Tris is just a horrible person, and I don't have the ability to care what happens to her at this point. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail