About the Author

Veronica Roth is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant – the Divergent trilogy. Now a full-time writer, Veronica and her husband live in Chicago. You can visit her online at Twitter, Tumblr, her blog, and her website.

Reviews

Praise for DIVERGENT: “The next big thing.” (Rolling Stone ) “If you like Hunger Games & Twilight, then get stoked for DIVERGENT! Trust us on this—this baby is going to blow up BIG! And if you chose to remain factionless, then you’re gonna be one lonely soul.” (PerezHilton.com ) “A taut and shiveringly exciting read! Tris is exactly the sort of unflinching and fierce heroine I love. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.” Melissa Marr, bestselling author of Wicked Lovely “DIVERGENT is a captivating, fascinating book that kept me in constant suspense and was never short on surprises. It will be a long time before I quit thinking about this haunting vision of the future.” James Dashner, author of ‘The Maze Runner’ “Well-written and brilliantly executed, DIVERGENT is a heart-pounding debut that cannot be missed. Tris stands out in her action-packed, thrilling, and emotionally honest journey to determine who she wants to be in a society that demands she conform. It’s dystopian fiction at its best!” Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of PARANORMALCY “A memorable, unpredictable journey from which it is nearly impossible to turn away” – Publishers Weekly “Divergent holds its own in the [dystopian] genre, with brisk pacing, lavish flights of imagination and writing that occasionally startles with fine detail.” – New York Times “ A masterpiece of epic proportions and an outstanding debut novel.” – Narratively Speaking Blog “Be prepared to sit on the edge of your seats as this heart-pounding thriller hypnotises you until the very last page.” – Fantasticbookreviews.com

Roth knows how to write. So even though this second book of the trilogy that began with Divergent feels like a necessary bridge between the haunting story she created in book one and the hinted-at chaos of book three, readers will be quick to forgive. Tris, reeling from the loss of her parents and guilt-ridden over having shot her best friend, must escape the Erudite faction's horrific takeover by fleeing first to Amity and then Candor. Reluctantly, she joins forces with the "factionless" to defeat Erudite. As stubborn and self-destructive as ever, Tris butts heads with Tobias and tests everyone's (perhaps even readers') patience. Roth keeps every chapter action-packed, moving Tris tantalizingly close to learning the secret her parents were fighting to unleash. The author has a subtle way of pulling readers into a scene ("The outside air.... smells green, the way a leaf does when you tear it in half"), and the novel's love story, intricate plot, and unforgettable setting work in concert to deliver a novel that will rivet fans of the first book. Ages 14-up. Agent: Joanna Volpe, Nancy Coffey Literary and Media Representation. (May)? (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gr 9 Up-Insurgent continues Roth's dystopian cycle that began with Divergent (HarperCollins, 2011), and the beginning of the story will be confusing to those who have not read the previous book. As the novel opens, the protagonists are undergoing interrogation via truth serum, thus revealing the major events only sketchily alluded to before. This backstory keeps readers disengaged for too long. Roth's saga has at its center the division of humanity into factions based on their performance on aptitude tests. (These factions are Amity, Abnegation, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite.) Originally intended as a benign method of governing, the separation into classes has devolved to the dominance by the Erudites. The members of each faction undergo "Simulations"-gaming during which the participants lose their free will and become killing machines. Tris is a Divergent, meaning that she has aptitude for more than one faction, and is immune to the simulation mind control. She and her teacher, Tobias, join with a group of people called the "Factionless," who form the nucleus of the revolt. Insurgent explores several critical themes, including the importance of family and the crippling power of grief at its loss. One of the novel's finest tropes describes this loss as "teetering on the edge of grief's mouth." A very good read, despite its difficulties.-Nina Sachs, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook, ME (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.