Review by Booklist Review
While the hugely popular Divergent (2011) welcomed dystopian fans of every stripe with its irresistable concept and hybridization of genres, this sequel is more for hard-core fans a good thing if you're a devotee but a bit overwhelming for fence-riders. Rocked by the recent simulation war, the five factions engage in increasingly dangerous power plays to pick up the pieces. Tris and her love, Tobias, both daredevils of the Dauntless faction, are key players in these skirmishes, most of which focus upon the fiendishly logical Erudites and almost all of which are complicated by backstabbers and turncoats. It remains a great deal of fun to watch these cliques-taken-to-extremes duke it out with their various strengths and weaknesses, and Roth delivers the goods when it comes to intense, personal violence (no superpowers to be found here) and compelling set pieces (as when Tris undergoes a public truth serum interrogation). Newcomers, and even some old hands, might get buried under all the transposable characters and faction minutia, but those who stick it out will be rewarded with quite the cliff-hanger HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Divergent was the kind of best-seller juggernaut debut authors dream of. With high-profile movie rights already sold, you can bet you'll see this sequel on everyone's must-read list.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Taking up where the popular Divergent (2011) left off, this volume (2012, both Katherine Tegen Bks.) finds Tris still jumping trains as a loyal Dauntless, but inwardly cringing from the violence she was a part of when Dauntless traitors turned against their own faction, enslaved by Erudite's simulation control device. Romances and relationships from the previous book are preserved, and family members thought lost reappear, as the loyal Dauntless seek aid within Candor's compound and at Amity headquarters. The various factions, and the factionless, work together and against each other, as everyone jostles for power. Legal injectable drug use is a regular occurrence, as every faction has serums. Roth's short, punchy sentences keep the action moving as people launch themselves at one another in battle and struggle with internal conflicts. A computer file gives a shocking reveal in the last pages that will leave students eager for the final book in the trilogy. Emma Galvin continues as talkative narrator Tris, and her slightly husky voice works well for both young men and women, without much change in inflection. Her rendering of Tris's loopy moments under an overdose of calming serum is delightful. This book emphasizes world-building and action over character development, and is a must where the first title is popular.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
After uncovering a plot that shatters their "faction"-based society, Tris and Tobias are on the run. Now their survival depends on choosing whom to trust and discovering why one faction plotted against the others. While remaining action-packed and gritty, the meatier portion of this sequel to Divergent focuses on the psychological trauma caused by violence and loss. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In this addictive sequel to the acclaimed Divergent (2011), a bleak post-apocalyptic Chicago ruled by "factions" exemplifying different personality traits collapses into all-out civil war. With both the Dauntless and Abnegation factions shattered by the Erudite attack, Tris and her companions seek refuge with Amity and Candor, and even among the factionless. But the Erudite search for "Divergents" continues relentlessly. They have a secret to protect--one they fear could prove more catastrophic than open warfare; one they will slaughter to keep hidden... Rather than ease readers back into this convoluted narrative, the book plunges the characters into immediate danger without clues to their current relationships, let alone their elaborate back stories. The focus is firmly on the narrator Tris, who, devastated by guilt and grief, reveals new depth and vitality. While taking actions less Dauntless than recklessly suicidal, she retains her convenient knack for overhearing crucial conversations and infallibly sizing up others. Her romance with Tobias is achingly tender and passionate, and her friends and enemies alike display a realistic spectrum of mixed motivations and conflicted choices. The unrelenting suspense piles pursuit upon betrayal upon torture upon pitched battles; the violence is graphic, grisly and shockingly indiscriminate. The climactic reveal, hinting at the secret origins of their society, is neither surprising nor particularly plausible, but the frenzied response makes for another spectacular cliffhanger. Anyone who read the first book was dying for this one months ago; they'll hardly be able to wait for the concluding volume. (Science fiction. 14 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
