Allegiant - Review

Allegiant (Divergent #3)

By: Veronica Roth

Published: October 22, 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books

Hardcover, 526 pages

Source: Personal Library

(Goodreads / Amazon)

Summary:

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. 

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

MY REVIEW:
I feel like I'm on a negative review roll here lately - and really it's just because the only two books I've read so far in 2014 have been less than stellar endings to very much loved series. I put off reading Allegiant due to underwhelming reviews it was getting. Not that I read reviews of a book I have yet to read, because I don't. But you can't miss those ratings and those one liners sometimes associated with a rating. I never want to be swayed one way or the other about what someone else thinks before I've had a chance to read something.

On to the book though.

One of the things I loved about Divergent, book 1, was the initiation process into Dauntless and the other factions that we got to learn about. What's more is I loved the dynamic between Tris and Four. Thankfully they are still a big part of book 2, Insurgent, and I loved that book as well. Allegiant seems to take a further turn, that Insurgent started on, down the road of politics in society. Whether they are in the city itself, or out beyond the city walls where the Factionless live in the Fringe, this book seems to explore the road of corruption in government even further. It explores how there is always someone somewhere who wants total power, or who doesn't want someone else that they don't deem as worthy having said power and violence seems to always be the answer to force what you want to happen.  The question then exists, is there really anybody in a position of power who is selfless and good and seeking the true welfare of others?

What we don't see much of is Tris and Four. Sure, they are there, and they have some trust issues they have to work through but their relationship is definitely not an overly big part of the book. In fact for much of the book they are at odds with one another.  Much of the book was incredibly slow to me.  Tris has had this savior complex, this need or desire to sacrifice herself for some greater purpose since Insurgent, and this trend continues in book 3.

It wasn't until about page 420 or so (so about 100 pages left to go), that I really got interested (or maybe I was just ready for the book to be over). In any case, I wasn't overly impressed with this final book in the series. With less than 30 pages left I instantly hated the book! As a fan of the series I was not happy with the way it ended. BUT, my emotions over the way it ended doesn't have a bearing on my final rating. I will say the ending definitely caused a knot in my throat (no actual tears or watery eyes), I guess because I was prepared for something of the sort to happen. I won't say it's predictable in that eye roll way where you see it coming from a mile away. It's just that the reader knows deep down that's the direction the book is headed, wishing all along that you are far from right.

Favorite Quotes:
We are not people who touch each other carelessly; every point of contact between us feels important, a rush of energy and relief.

In the city we were divided by faction, by age, by history, but here all those divisions fall away. We are all we have.

I know that I'm not alone, that I have friends, that I'm in love. I know where I came from. I know that I don't want to die...

He is stronger than anyone I know, and warmer than anyone else realizes; he is a secret that I have kept, and will keep, for the rest of my life.

"I think you're still the only person sharp enough to sharpen someone like me."

Final Rating - 3.5 stars.