Review & Discussion: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Book: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Series: Divergent #3

Released: October 29, 2013

Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books

Pages: 526 pages (Hardcover)

Rating: 2.5 of 5

Goodreads

This is the 3rd book in a series. If you have not read Divergent and Insurgent, then you may want to come back after you've read them.

From Goodreads: The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Where to start... I have LOTS of thoughts on this book, most of which involve spoilers. I'll get to those in a minute, but for now I'll start with the things I can discuss without giving anything away for those that haven't read it yet. I'll also mention here that I absolutely ADORED the first two books. I mean, seriously loved them and recommended them to everyone.

I pre-ordered the book so when it was delivered to my kindle early that morning I couldn't wait to read it. (In fact, I read it in one day, I was so excited about it).

Me, when Allegiant appeared in my kindle library

This book picks up almost directly where Insurgent leaves off. I appreciated that there wasn't a lot of time set between the books that needed a lot of explanation. It's pretty straight forward. All the main (and most of the secondary) characters are there, no one is missing from the action. I actually really enjoyed the beginning of the book. But once they get outside of the fence is when the whole thing started to fall apart to me. I don't really know what else to say here that won't give anything away. So if you haven't read this book yet, now would be the time to stop reading. For those that have, continue on.



*****SPOILERS BELOW*****DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THIS BOOK*****

***SERIOUSLY. DON'T READ ANY MORE IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY READ THIS BOOK***

****I'M NOT KIDDING. THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO REMAIN UNSPOILED****

Okay then. Here it goes. I'll start with the 3 nice things I liked about the book.

A) Tris and Tobias actually talk to each other. He tells her about the secret meeting, which I didn't expect him to do. I really figured he'd do what he always does and keep it from Tris. Tris leaves the message with Caleb before she dies, at least she was considerate when leaving him. They definitely showed some growth at least in that aspect.

B) the epilogue-even though I didn't agree with the ending. I'm glad Tobias faced his fears-particularly his fear of heights when he went zip-lining off the building.

C) good or bad, this book made me feel something. I didn't quite lose it when Tris died. But when Tobias found out? I cried. A Lot. I don't often cry at books, so well done by Ms. Roth for moving me to tears. Great writing in that scene in particular.

And now for the things I didn't like about the book:

1. Let me start by saying I didn't hate the ending. I get it. Roth was going for the shock factor (I guess?) and she got it. I understand why she killed Tris. But to survive the death serum an then to get shot? Seemed a little ridiculous. To further make this point: I read this on BookRiot and it summed up exactly why I didn't like HOW she died: Think about Lord of the Rings. What if Frodo makes it past Shelob, gets caught by the orcs, rescued by Sam, makes it to Mount Doom, changes his mind about giving up the ring, survives the attack from Gollum, only to get shot and killed by an arrow from an Orc? Really?? That's how your hero dies? Not okay. Dies sacrificing himself to get rid of the ring-totally fine. Arrow from an orc-sucks. It wasn't that Tris died, it was the HOW, at least for me.

Plus I feel Caleb needed the redemption. I would have much rather seen the aftermath of her decision to let him go and how it may alter future relationships (including the one with Tobias).

2. The entire resolution between Evelyn and Tobias was a major WTF moment. She makes decisions throughout the other books where she leaves her son, uses him for her own means, etc. and then all of the sudden he's gives this ultimatum and she takes it! Huh?!? Where in her character from the previous books was that ever shown?!? I don't get it. But I guess it was a way to resolve the issue with the Allegiant.

Me, after Evelyn agreeing to Tobias' plan

3. The entire GD and GP plot. that was something that needed to be introduced in the final book? I also didn't really like that that was what being divergent was. I expected more. All being divergent was, was basically being normal? Okaaaaay then. Way to build something up for 2 books only for it to basically become a non-entity.

4. Tobias. He ended up joining a revolution without really knowing the entire reason. For someone who always looked out for himself (and Tris) he certainly followed Nita blindly. His entire character became convoluted and his personality seemed to change a lot during this last book. He has always been one of my favorite book boys based on the first two books, but after this one, not so much.

5. I felt the whole world that Roth built inside the fence was completely disregarded in the final book. It was hardly even mentioned. Once they leave (which was WAY too easy, even though Tori died. Evelyn sends no one after them? Really?!) it's hardly mentioned. It was weird.

6. The secondary characters. People that we'd come to know seemed ignored. Uriah is hardly mentioned until he's put in a coma. Tori is shot really quickly and just left. It just felt so "off" from why happened in the first 2 books, with minor characters being developed.

7. The whole Bureau/Government stuff. If they'd previously helped removed a few divergent people, when why let them try to mass-kill all of them? And if Tris' mom knew Tris was divergent and in danger-then why didn't she try to get Tris out? None of the Bureau and government issues felt fully fleshed out to me.

8. Dual points of view. While it was interesting to read both sides, their "voices" often sounded the same and blended together. A few times I had to go back to the start to the chapter to see who was narrating.

9. The pacing. The first half felt off. I felt not enough time was given to the trials of traitors, forming of the Allegiant, and then their escape. It went super fast. And then once they got outside the fence I felt it dragged on. So slow. Had to remind myself to keep reading on a few occasions. And then once the action started it definitely picked up and held its pace until the end.

10. The Allegiant. Based on the fact that the book is named "Allegiant," I expected more out of the group. Other than helping Tris, Tobias and the other escape, and apparently fighting against Evelyn (even though we don't really read anything about it...), that's all they are there for. I just think it was a strange title for the book. Something like "Resurgent" would've been better, but oh well.

Me, upon finishing the series

Sidenote: I heart David Tennant. So glad he was on my TV Saturday for the Doctor Who 50th

So basically, I was hugely disappointed with this book. I expected a lot more. I know that Roth doesn't necessarily owe the readers anything, but after the amazing job she did in the first two books, this is not at all what I wanted for the end of this series. There just seemed to be such a huge disconnect between the first two and this one. It almost felt like a different author wrote Allegiant. I'd be curious to know what you all think, so leave me a comment and let me know!