Books that make me want to travel ... to Chicago

I've really been enjoying this feature, Books That Make Me Want to Travel, in which I write about books that have made me yearn to travel to new and different places. I know that I'm slowly coming back to blogging and it will take some time for to get back to it properly, but I always knew that this feature would be some posts that I would always enjoy writing.  This week, I bring you Chicago! I hope you enjoy...

Like many people, I was quite excited to read Insurgent by Veronica Roth and was counting down the days to its publication this month.  The first book in the series, Divergent, was a real treat to read.  I found it to be very exciting and fun to read.  I really loved meeting these new characters, amongst this new dystopian society that favours certain traits above others.  After reading Divergent, I had fun imagining which faction I'd be in, daydreaming about the hunky Four and picturing the Chicago that Veronica Roth describes.

So in the wait for Insurgent, I read Divergent again and what struck me the most is how much I wanted to visit Chicago to see these landmark buildings and places that inspired Roth to write these books. 

I don't know very much about Chicago, if I'm honest.  I know that it's the Windy City.  ER was filmed there.  I've seen the film of Chicago.  I recently read Vixen by Jillian Larkin about flappers in Chicago in the 1920s.  But it was really Divergent that made me curious about Chicago...

Sears Tower - Right from the beginning of Divergent, we have Beatrice introducing us to the first landmark building, the Sears Tower.  Only it's called 'The Hub' and is the setting for the initiation ceremony amongst other scenes... 

Pier Park - My absolute favourite scene in Divergent is the capture the flag between the Dauntless initiates.  I love how brave Tris is in climbing the ferris wheel, and the intensity between her and Four.  It is explicitly said to be Pier Park in Chicago within the book, but a little bit help from google confirmed it for me. 

Hancock building - Never in a million years would I ever jump off a building, attached to something or not.  But when Tris and Uriah and the others do it as part of their night away celebrating, it really got my heartbeat racing and I felt like I'd joined in on this huge adrenaline rush anyway.  Just looking at this picture of the Hancock building, in which they zip-lined off and I'm feel a little anxious. Geez.

Chicago trains - The majority of the time I spent reading Divergent for the first time, I was on a train to and from London.  It was quite a long time spent en route, and I loved all the mention of jumping off and on these trains.  It's so daring and risky. And reading about other people doing scary, life-threatening things made me feel like I was somehow involved as well.  It felt like such a rush reading this book, and like so much fun.  And all of those emotions really made me that much more connected to this book.  Especially knowing that Chicago is there, ready for me to explore at some stage in the future...

Have you ever read a book involving Chicago? or a book that inspired you to want to travel?