Tag: Insurgent

Book Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

17383918Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Synopsis

“One choice will define you.
What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?
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.”

Jens’ Review

**Warning: I do my best to stay away from spoilers, but since this is the third and final book of a series, I might slip. So beware!**

Let me start off by saying that I enjoyed Allegiant much more than Insurgent. But I didn’t enjoy it as much as Divergent. I think this is a common trend with trilogies. First book rocks. Second book drags. Third book rocks and drags.

Unlike its predecessors, Allegiant went back and forth between two POV’s: Tris and Tobias. Overall, I enjoyed this updated format. In fact, I wish Veronica Roth had written the first two books this way. The varying perspectives added a deeper dimension, propelled the story forward faster, and gave the reader a break from Tris (who, lets face it, can be borderline unlikeable at times). My only complaint about this new format: I kept forgetting if I was reading from Tris or Tobias’s POV. Because it’s written in first person, and because Tris and Tobias are so similar, I’d end up reading entire chapters thinking I was inside the others head. Friends of mine have also complained about this issue. I think a simple solution would’ve been to add Tris or Tobias’s name at the top of each page, or even use the strategy of Marie Lu’s Legend with different font colors.

**Okay, I’m going to tread into Spoilerville here. I must. Sorry.**

The ending. Wow. Just…wow. I’m sure many people will disagree with me, but I liked it. I thought Tris’s fate made perfect sense and fit the book’s theme of “choice”. And, come on, this was never a happy series. Death and despair and WTF-just-happened? moments were always the norm. I’m still trying to figure out if I liked how Tris died. At one minute I think, “Well, it makes sense”, but then the next I think, “Really? Gunshot? Really?” I suppose I’m leaning towards the “Well, it makes sense” side. Just like the death serum, Tris made a choice to get shot. Even though she knew it would mean death if she lunged for the button to release the memory serum, she did it anyways to save those she loved. I liked that.

I must applaud Veronica Roth for having the guts and boldness to kill off her main protagonist. I’m so used to YA series ending in a shower of glitter and flutter of butterflies. Even Hunger Games had a sorta happy ending, with Katniss and Peeta building a life together. But Allegiant ended horribly realistically, and, in this case, logically…At least Veronica Roth gave the reader a sliver of satisfaction by taking us a couple of years into the future with Four to see how he’s dealing with Tris’s death and how the world Tris died for is faring.

Even so, it was a bittersweet ending to a bittersweet series.

Jen’s Rating

3 StarRead more about Allegiant here!

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