Insurgent

Insurgent by Veronica Roth. The sequel to Divergent. An incredible second book to this amazing series.

**WARNING** If you have not read Divergent, please note that this post may contain spoilers.

A refresh on Divergent. Beatrice "Tris" Prior is living in a futuristic Chicago where at age sixteen they must choose a faction, a decision that might change their life forever. For Tris, it's leaving her family. But she soon finds out that she's not fit for a certain faction. She's Divergent.

Jeanine Mathews has made her intentions clear at the end of Divergent. She will do anything to keep the rest of the city from accessing some very important knowledge, including murdering innocent people, and mind controlling others to do so. War has officially broken out between the factions. They must choose sides, and they must decided how to proceed with the Erudite. But the Erudite are very good at getting what they want. Tris has to decide who to trust, and to make sacrifices for everything she believes in. But how is this possible when there are very few who are on your side?

The book starts right off from where Divergent ends. Tris and her friends find refuge among the other factions, and in this case, the factionless too. Amity, Candor, none of them guarantee to help them. Sometimes your allies are the people you'd least expect to be. Sacrifices are made, and more information is revealed. Who are they? Who created the faction system? Were they put there for a purpose? What's outside the fence? More questions arise and Tris is at a loss. She needs to trust her instinct, even if the consequences might be fatal. You get to explore more of the other factions, and you also get to learn more about the Divergent. A slight twist in the plot in the end, and of course a major cliffhanger. Betrayal, shock, grief, and sacrifices. I only have one word for it. Amazing.

My Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

Click HERE for my review on Divergent.

The Scorch Trials

The Scorch Trials is the second book in the Maze Runner series by James Dashner. After escaping the maze, they thought that they could now rest in peace. Instead they find themselves facing another trial; the Scorch Trials. They have to cross a large section of land called the Scorch, which the sun flares had baked into a wasteland. They finally know now what the outside world was like while they were in the maze; the sun flares have wiped out half the planet, while many of the surviving people are infected with a deadly disease called the Flare, which slowly causes you to become insane. They have to cross the Scorch and make it to the safe haven in two weeks, or be left out to die.

I personally liked this book a lot better than the first. The first book was too fast-paced for me; it was a panic attack one after another. In the Scorch Trials though it's more of betrayal; finding out who to trust and who to not. The continuing plot was as great as ever as they encountered many new obstacles and met new people. It really kept me interested as the story slowly unraveled, and the mystery of WICKED became clearer.

My Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

To read my review of the first book, Maze Runner, click HERE.

The Hunger Games

As most of you know, the Hunger Games movie just recently came out! Based off the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, it's full of action and is a great series.

In future North America, Panem consists of the Capitol as well as twelve outer districts. Every year they hold the Hunger Games, which forces one boy and one girl between ages 12 and 18 from each district to fight against each other, their efforts shown televised to the whole nation. To win is to be the last one alive. So when Katniss Everdeen from district 12 takes up the death sentence, she is determined to win using her hunting and survival skills.

This book is probably my favorite out of the whole series. I loved all the action and Katniss was definitely my favorite character. Her hunting skills, and her cunning personality fit in perfectly with the story. She uses all these characteristics to win the game and start a rebellion against the Capitol.

In Catching Fire, she comes home, a hero, signs of rebellion amongst the other districts popping out everywhere, which greatly angers the Capitol. As long as she lives, the rebellion will go on. Defying the rule that the winners wouldn't be forced into the games anymore, Katniss finds herself in the arena once more, this time with other past winning tributes. She finds herself making allies with several of them, of whom are determined to keep both Katniss and the rebellion alive, no matter what the cost.

This book I found captivating as the story continued to unravel. You meet new obstacles, new characters, and find out more to the original plot.

Mockingjay I just found really sad, as many loved ones go seperate ways. It was perhaps a great finale to the plot, yet I didn't like this one as much as the other two, which both took place for a great chunk of the story in the arena.

So overall, great characters, great plot. Hopefully the movies will be just as good, or better.

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth introduces Beatrice Prior, whose time to choose her final path in life has come. There are five different factions she must choose from:

Abnegation: the selfless

Dauntless: the brave

Amity: the peaceful

Candor: the honest

Erudite: the intelligent

Each faction serves a different purpose to help keep the government in order. But soon she finds that she doesn't belong to any of them, and she starts to wonder where she truly belongs in this imperfect society.

I loved it. I read it in two days. Each faction was described in great detail, as were all the characters and settings. It was reckless, and fun all the way. Yet there were still some parts that I didn't really like. Especially the ending. It felt like it was in slow motion; there wasn't enough action, not enough description of what was going on. And the last part, which gave a quick hint of what was to come in the second book kind of ruined the whole mood. But overall it was great and I couldn't put it down.

My Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Matched and Crossed

Cassia's whole life is controlled by the Society. What to eat, where you work, who you marry, when you die. The Officials decide everything for you, to provide you the best life possible. But when Cassia starts falling in love with Ky other than her designated match, Xander, she starts to wonder if the Society isn't perfect after all.

I thought this book was pretty good. Though a bit slow, it described how the Society worked really well. I liked the conflict between Xander and Ky, and Cassia having to choose one over the other. It was interesting to see how everyone reacted when they found out; her parents, Xander, and her Official. I thought the Society was pretty evil, not only to her, but to everyone. I enjoyed reading it a lot.

Crossed on the other hand, was a lot slower than Matched. Sequels almost never turn out to be as good as the first book. Ky was taken away to the Outer Provinces, and Cassia desperately tries to find him. You meet a lot of new characters, and learn more about Xander, Ky and the Society. Yet it was a touch too slow for me. It only got really interesting towards the end. Crossed by Ally Condie has you almost dangling on a cliff hanger, waiting to find out what happens next in the final book.

My Rating: 7 out of 10 stars