Wow wow wow. I finished my review of Divergent by saying that I thought this could become the next Hunger Games, and I think I may have been right. Quite often, the second book in a trilogy is a bit lackluster, stuck between the excitement of the first book and the dramatic conclusion of the third, but this book was jam-packed with page after page of action and intrigue.

We get to take a closer look at the individual factions in this book as Tris and her friends try to find a safe place to stay following the downfall of Dauntless and Abnegation. I liked this. In Divergent we learn about the factions mostly in the way that Tris has been taught about them, but now we get to see the good and bad sides of each faction, the way that they live and how each faction restricts their members in different ways so that in the end. there are really no individuals.

All the while, Tris is trying to cope with the loss of her parents and the guilt of what happened to Wil. I was happy that we got to see a different side to Tobias, more open and caring as opposed to the hard, aloof mask he wore for much of Divergent. The relationship between Tris and Tobias is going through changes in this book too, not all ones that she would like. I loved the way that the author didn’t shy away from the hard parts of the relationship. Often in books of this sort the relationship runs perfectly and everyone just goes on to live happily ever after, but Roth gave them ups and downs and struggles and hardships that they had to overcome to save their relationship.

Apart from that, I’m not going to give away too much plot. It’d be really hard anyway considering that the book was 525 pages of pure action, so to sum it up here would be damn near impossible. The ending though. Wow. Fair play to Veronica Roth, she knows how to end a book to have you desperate for me. I can’t remember the last time I finished a book and was so unsure about what is coming next. I usually try to predict it before I get there, but I honestly don’t have any idea where this is heading. Bring on Allegiant!