Book Music: Veronica Roth’s “Insurgent” Playlist

And we’re down to a solitary day.

Allegiant comes out tomorrow, and as part of my Divergent trilogy/Veronica Roth appreciation week, here are the songs that helped her write book # 2, Insurgent.

1. Timshel – Mumford & Sons (Sigh No More)

Death is at your doorstep
And it will steal your innocence
But it will not steal your substance.
I don’t think anyone could describe Tris as “innocent” after the things she’s done and seen, but I do think of her as a person of substance, so these lyrics struck me.

2. Giants – Now, Now (Neighbors)

There isn’t really a specific part of this song that applies to the book, but I listened to it during quite a few action sequences while writing the book, so the general feeling is right.

3. Hysteria – Muse (Absolution)

I’m not breaking down
I’m breaking out
Last chance to lose control
I believe this qualifies as a Dauntless-on-the-verge-of-war song.

4. The Catalyst – Linkin Park (A Thousan Suns)

God bless us every one,
We’re a broken people living under loaded gun,
And it can’t be outfought,
It can’t be outdone,
It can’t be outmatched,
It can’t be outrun.
This one sort of surprised me, because I heard it randomly one day and just stopped in the middle of what I was doing, because it captured the situation of Insurgent so perfectly—a group of people who Tris calls “creatures of loss,” facing an enemy they don’t feel strong enough to defeat.

5. Under the Waves – Pendulum (Immersion)

I am deep in a river
Waves above my head
Held with no spirit
We descend
We reach the end.
There are a lot of moments in INSURGENT in which Tris feels overwhelmed. This song is good for that sort of thing.

Personal note: My fave from this one is Now, Now’s Giants though Linkin Park’s The Catalyst is sort of a driving/running song. Anyway, tomorrow, fellow initiates, tomorrow.

And, like what Tobias told Tris before she went to her fear landscape the first time, Be brave!