Allegiant

Author: Veronica Roth

Release Date: October 22, 2013    

Publisher:  Katherine Tegen Books 

Genre(s): YA Dystopia 

Pages: 526

*3rd book of series*

*~Spoilers are hidden! Highlight the page to see them! (THEY ARE MAJOR SO DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK!)~*

Summary (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. 


Review:

(I may rant a little about the first two books, but I’ve decided not make this into a series review because I haven’t picked up Divergent and Insurgent for a while. )

*deep breath*

Here goes.

I enjoyed Divergent and Insurgent very much (esp. Divergent).  I hate to do this, but I’m going to do it anyways:  this series was like the Hunger Games.  Before anyone starts a riot, let me explain. This series was similar to the Hunger Games in terms of losing its steam with each book (perhaps more so with Divergent, I thought).  The first book was awesome; we got romance, action, a fun plot, and fantastic world building. The next book was not-so awesome, but it was pretty good; I could, however, see that the series was losing steam here. The end sort of made up for it, but at the same time, I wasn't sure how the author was going to make this all work.   But I decided to trust Ms. Roth and waited eagerly for that last book.  After months and months of waiting, complete with a cover unveiling and title reveal, Allegiant came out, and I started to devour it.  

But a few pages in, I got indigestion.  (Yuck!) 

Did I have high expectations for Allegiant?  A little; after Insurgent, my expectations deflated somewhat, but they were still lingering.  I think the thing that made this book so disappointing was the use of two points of views: Tobias and Tris.  I understood why the author did it at the end, but it just ruined the book for me.  They sounded exactly the same.  I felt like I was reading a very disjointed book because I would sometimes forget that it was Tobias’s part that I was reading.  

Another qualm was the characters themselves.  I recall steady character growth in Divergent, esp. for Tris and Tobias, while in Insurgent, there was a lot growth in their relationships. In this book, there wasn’t really much growth for either relationships or characters. Not  just for  Tris and Tobias, who always seemed to be sniping at each other, but also relationships between them and other characters as well.  (The thing with Caleb was too abrupt.) Most of the side characters (and there were quite a few) were either just cardboard or not important.  It has been a month since I’ve read this book (and I’ve skimmed over parts of it since then because, well, I might not like the book as a whole, but there were a lot of nice quotes; no one can say that Ms. Roth isn't a talented writer because she is- it was just this series was stretched out too thin), and I can hardly remember any of them.

This book was bit slow. It took forever for anything to happen.  In this sense, it was sort of like Mockingjay.  In Mockingjay, there was a lot of talk and not much action; it was the same in Allegiant.  We’re also pretty much told everything, and though I wouldn’t say there was a massive info dump, because lots of things were alluded to not just in the beginning parts of Allegiant but also in Insurgent as well, it was getting pretty close to that line.  There was, however, waaaaay too much telling.  What happened to the awesome showing that was in Divergent and Insurgent?   

One of the biggest let down, I thought, was the real reason for why this whole faction mess was created.  I expected something more shocking.  It felt like the author ran out of ideas at the end and decided to just go with that one. 

 And finally that ending.

 I personally feel endings, especially in dystopia, can make or break a book.   I always make an effort to finish a book, even if I think it’s horrible, because sometimes the worst books have the best ending (not going to name names here…).   Well, this ending wasn’t the worst, but it was by no means the best.  This is going to sound a bit morbid, but I liked that the author killed off Tris.  Just hear me out.  I only liked the idea of it because it was unexpected, and I can’t really recall any other books that killed off the main character (while in first person).  I mean it was in two points of views, and judging from the last two books, I knew someone was going to die, but I didn’t expect Tris.  Usually, if a book is written in first point of view, you know that character can’t die.  Third person is a free for all, but not first point of view. 

 Now, the execution (not how Tris died, but how the author relayed the story to us)…. Eh.  It was dramatic and a bit emotional, but by this point, I wasn’t as into the story as I wanted/usually would be, so it wasn’t as impactful or stirring as, say, when Will died.  (And esp. when the first thing I see in Insurgent is his name.  Gah.   That hurt.)  And it was a bit weird, to be honest, for her mother  to just pop in like that.  I get the sense that that scene was suppose to be bittersweet and maybe a little heart-breaking, but it was just so random. 

The one real redeemable point of this book, I thought, was Peter.  He had tremendous amounts of growth throughout this entire series, and while I still hate his guts, I also have a grudging respect for him now (when I thought that would never in a gazillion years be possible.  Who in their right mind stabs someone in the eye just so they could get first place????) . 

Final thoughts?  Disappointed.  Overall, I think it was because there wasn't enough material for three books, and the plot was stretched too thin.  I expected more out of you, Allegiant.  (But I’m still excited for Divergent the movie to come out! I saw the trailer, and it looked awesome!)

Happy Readings!

Rating: 2 out of 5