Alex Black's Reviews > Tris's Book

I like this book a little more than the first, but not by a whole lot. Most of my thoughts remain the same.

It feels like the overall plot of pirates takes over anything else that happens in the story. So often the teachers will say "oh I wish I had time to teach you/explore something with your magic, but I don't so we'll deal with it later." So many times. And as a reader, that was what I was thinking as well. I wanted so many things explored that just got pushed to the side to be dealt with later.

Because of that, it was hard to get into a lot of the rest of the story. A 250 page fantasy middle grade that I've read twice before shouldn't take me more than one sitting to read, and yet it took me three days. It's not that I didn't want to pick it up, it's just that suddenly I'd remember all the other things I could or should be doing, while usually I tend to put everything off in favor of a book I'm enjoying.

The things I liked more about this book had to do with Tris's past and her learning control. I really liked that she started to see real consequences with her magic and real consequences if she didn't start dealing with it in an appropriate way. I loved her dealing with her family history, being abandoned by them as such a young child and now meeting up with the only cousin who had been kind to her. All of that was really enjoyable, but their wasn't much of it compared to the rest of this book.

I do still quite enjoy the premise and the characters, I just need to wait a little longer to get into the books I remember really enjoying. I remember the story improving with each book, so I hope to see at least one four star by the time I finish this first quartet.