To kick us off… THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS. There. You have been warned. If you are looking for a spoiler free review, you can find mine here. Now let’s get to it.
The first thing I’ve been dying to talk about with someone… Caleb. I actually had a moment mid book where I was thinking “hmm, I really like this guy,” and then everything went to crap. I wish there had been a bit more of an explanation about why he decided to go all dark side, as I need to know it was more than just a plot device. To be fair, it was absolutely a plot device I didn’t see coming. I also want to know how all of this is going to change his relationship with Susan (I think that was her name), and if anything his betrayal makes that part of his story that much more interesting.
Some people have complained about Tobias’s behavior in this book and I’d like to get more specifics as to what bothered you, if anyone cares to share. Not that he was super fantastic but I didn’t notice much about what he was doing one way or the other, which is obviously a problem in itself
On the flip side, I really enjoyed Christina in this book. I thought her path as a character was something Tris really needed and it made their relationship that much more interesting to follow. That storyline also makes a good argument for the right answer being that people should embody all five of the traits whenever they can.
My favorite part of this series is still the world that Veronica Roth created for her characters to live in, so I really enjoyed finding out more about some of the other factions as well as the major plot point at the end of the book. I hope we get to see some of the gaps filled in as two why the society was set up in this way, and how all of the major players fit into the master plan. I’m not sure I really understand Amnity yet, they definitely seem the most weird and cult like to me but their purpose is still a good one, so I wouldn’t mind some more redeeming qualityies to show up for that group.
Well, that’s my ranty ramble over. Obviously there is no question that this was a fantastic read that got so many of us madly turning pages to find out what happens next. So, some question… how do you think this series is going to end? What will the focus of the next book be? Any guesses as to titles?
I really loved this book! I couldn’t put it down until I was finished!
I’m really not sure what to think of Caleb. I think was Tris said about being arrogant at heart is definitely true. Caleb was naturally thirsty for knowledge and learning and I think he resented his father’s criticisms of Euridite. Caleb felt he belonged there and assimilated to what he believed the faction stood for which involved following Jeanine. I don’t think he was ever actually going anywhere with Susan. That might have been a cover and what he actually did was go back to Euridite headquarters.
Tobias’s behavior was quite reasonable I thought. At one point he scared me by giving Tris an ultimatum and I was afraid he was about to turn into a total tool. He was just scared though. Tris and Tobias have such an interesting relationship. They are obviously deeply in love, but Tris has a mind of her own and still chooses to take risks that she knows will break Tobias. I think her battle with PTSD and depression made it easier for her to take these risks and she was not cautious about the possible outcomes and the effects they would have on him. Tobias acted heroically. He always came to her aid, even when she was clearly acting crazy and forgave her everytime. I’m glad they made up in the end. I don’t think I could bear them breaking apart. Ultimately I think one of the big things about their relationship is the deception and the fact that deception isn’t always selfish or evil. Tris knows that some of her choices will hurt Tobias but that doesn’t mean she WANTS them to. I think that eats her up but she still chooses to make choices that will probably hurt him.
Christina was so awesome in this book! I love the forgiveness that she offers! It just goes to show that forgiveness is so key to relationships. I’m proud of her. She is really inspiring and so strong.
I’m really excited to see how this society came about and what is beyond the fences. The ending kind of confused me, but it has so much potential! I really wanna see how the factionless plan to take over.
I also LOVED the simulations in this book. It makes the story so unique. Anyways. This book rocks. I love it. I can’t wait for the third!
I really enjoyed the book, but I believe I liked the first one better. There were times I felt like the plot kept going around and around. They’d go somewhere and have to leave and then somewhere else and have to leave. I do think this let us spend some more time with some of the factions we knew very little about though (candor and amnity). I felt like it was important, especially with Amnity, that the reader see the positive and negative impact each faction’s belief system has. With Amnity, I think it was crucial to show that sometimes not taking a stand or making a decision can be as bad as making the wrong one.
I was extremely surprised by the Caleb twist as well. In fact, I kept thinking it would turn out that he was a spy. I thought, perhaps, that he had gone since Tori and Zeke had been discovered and were no longer able to get information. It may have been wishful thinking. It seems hard to believe that people would be so brainwashed that they would choose people they’ve known for less than a year over their family. However, Caleb acted the way the system intended. I remember Tris saying very clearly in the first book that you leave your family behind if you leave your faction. Still, I imagine that would be something most people couldn’t do.
I understood why Tobias was frustrated throughout the book, however, I think he took Tris’s behavior as an affront to him instead of realizing how normal her behavior was for someone who had just lost both their parents and who had major guilt for killing a friend. However, some of the things they do can be attributed to age. He might realize that as he gets older but at the time he was hurt because he fell in love with this girl who felt the way he did about blindly following a faction. He was scared he was losing his only family in a way. He did not really have anyone but her. He hated his father and he thought his mother was dead/abandoned him. That’s also one of the reasons he so blindly followed his mother at the end. I think he wanted so badly to have someone who cared about him he jumped at the chance to believe she left him against his will. Neither Tris nor Tobias were acting like themselves in this book completely.
I’m having a hard time understanding what the founding members expected from all of this. I mean I get why they divided into the factions and hopes of getting rid of the “bad” parts of human nature. However, the video at the end said they should open the gates and go into the world when many are divergent. It seems like the divergent are just more like how people naturally are. Did they think the divergent would have the good parts of several factions but not the “bad” ones they made the factions to prevent. Also, I have some questions I hope will be answered in the next book, like: I wonder how big the outside world is? How could this small group of people influence a whole world of others? Is the outside world even still standing and if so what condition is it in? How did they keep them away from EVERYONE on the outside? I know there’s a gate, but even the Amnity didn’t know about the outside world so what happened when some random person wandered up to the gate on the other side? Didn’t a plane ever fly over or something that let them know something was out there?
I liked the first book better. The second one had a lot of tris being pitiful and depressed but I liked the ending. Curious to see how the next book plays out. I think we will find out amanda ritter is either tris grandma or aunt and I think this was all a big experiment to save the world. Caleb chose faction over family which he was suppose to do if he went by faction rules so anyhow I will be ready oct 2013 for the third book…I’m curious by nature.