“As war surges in the factions of dystopian Chicago all around her, Tris attempts to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.”
The characters were filled with so much angst in this sequel. I hated that. I get that most of them are teenagers and that this is a young adult book, but by the end, the adult characters were acting in that immature way too. Our main couple were constantly feuding; it made them unlikable. This was a frustrating book to read in the character development category.
The setting was greatly expanded upon. It grew throughout the course of the book. There was so much building and I was left making theories and having a fun time with it. The writing wasn’t bad, but it was not as thoughtful as the first book. It was accessible and bingeable. Some parts, especially physical reactions did get to be repetitive though.
The plot was the step up in this installment. We are seeing these factions go to all out war. It also asks the question of is there hope for humans? Are we all prone to violence? The building of the plot was done in a fantastic manner, especially for the last 10%. I loved the payoff.
There were moments where the story lagged, a lot of the same was happening, but that last quarter was so strong that I was having out loud reactions. I cannot wait to see where the third book goes. As for logic, it wasn’t done poorly but ‘Divergent’ did it better. There were some moments that were questionable and unnecessary for the plot.
The book started out with a lot of the same from the first book, but the atmosphere and plot made it all the more intriguing for me even if the characters had a lot of eye roll moments from me.
3.25 out of 5 stars.
Izzy Reads 