Quick Pick: Insurgent (Divergent #2)

• Opening line: "I wake with my name in his mouth."
• Reason I picked up the book: I read Divergent back in 2011 and saw the movie version this past week. I had been meaning to read books 2 and 3 in the series, which came out in 2012 and '13, but had not yet read them.
• And what's this book about?
One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

• Favorite paragraph: 

Tobias looks at me. I can't be popular with the Dauntless, because Tobias is right - I'm not Dauntless; I'm Divergent. I am whatever I choose to be. And I can't choose to be this. I have to stay separate from them.

"No," I say. I clear my throat and say it louder. "No, you don't have to vote. I refuse my nomination."  

Tori raises her eyebrows at me. "Are you sure, Tris?" 

"Yes," I say. "I don't want it. I'm sure." 

And then, without argument and without ceremony, Tobias is elected to be a leader of Dauntless. And I am not. 

• Recommended for: fans of dystopian books (such as The Hunger Games series) and/or fans of the first Divergent book.
• Something to know: The book starts immediately after the events of Divergent, so I waited until I got a bit of a refresh from the movie to start this novel, as I had read the first book in 2011.
• What I would have changed: Nothing, actually! The end is definitely a cliffhanger, though, so I'm glad that I have Allegiant on hold at the library to read next.
• Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.