Sixteen-year-old Tris lives in a society that has been divided into factions in order to
extinguish undesirable human traits that lead to a world at war. Each faction is guided by one
virtue: Amity values peace, Erudite values intelligence, Candor values truth, Abnegation values
selflessness, and Dauntless values courage. But on the day of Tris' initiation into Dauntless, a
coup leads to the very thing the establishment of the factions tried to prevent, and the
factions find themselves on the brink of war with one another. Now, with Erudite trying to
seize control, each faction is splintering into loyalists and traitors, and it's hard to know which
is which. Tris must decide where her loyalties lie while grappling with unrelenting guilt and
grief--emotions that affect both her choices and her relationships. With her Divergence fully
exposed, Tris is not sure if she is more helpful or harmful to those she loves.
Insurgent is the second installment in the Divergent trilogy, a dystopian series set in a future
Chicago that offers just the right balance of strong female character, compelling plot, action,
and romance. This story picks up right where Divergent left off--with virtually no recap--so it's
best to read these books in order. Tris is a character that refuses to sit by idly while others
take risks. The fact that she is Divergent--which means she has a strong affinity for more than
one faction--makes her a richly complex character. Rather than seeing the world as black or
white by focusing on only one faction's philosophy, she makes use of the lessons that each
faction has to offer. In this second story, Tris struggles not to let the bad things she has done
(out of necessity) define her. However, the guilt and grief she experiences have made her
reckless and blunted her will to survive. She will do anything to stop harm from coming to
others, especially when she feels that she is to blame. Over the course of the story, Tris comes
to realize that the best way to honor those she has lost is not to trade her life for theirs, but to
live her own life to its fullest. Fans will enjoy the continued romance between Tris and Four,
which takes a bit of a beating as each character deals with their own internal demons. The two
exchange only a few passionate kisses, and there is no language, making this series a good
choice for tween girls who like to "read up." There is quite a bit of violence and minor
characters die, but it is not gratuitous given the context of the story. Fans will be eager to get
their hands on the final installment in the trilogy as this one ends with quite a cliffhanger!
