Much Anticipated Review of Allegiant by Veronica Roth #bookreview #amreading #allegiant

I have waited a long time for Allegiant to be released on October 22nd of this year. I read both Divergent and Insurgent in this series in January of 2013 (you can read my review for Divergent here - I opted not to review Insurgent on the blog) and was, as is usual for me, frustrated that the third and final book in the series wasn't due to be released for some time. A reader's hell, right?

While I did pick this book up soon after its release, I didn't pick it up on the first day. I waited about a week. I lurk on a few message boards now and again, and during the week that I waited to get my hot little hands on Allegiant I happened to come across some posts regarding the book from other readers who showed even less patience than I. I read those posts even though they clearly stated they contained spoilers.

Now, I'm not going to post any spoilers here, but I will tell you that the majority of readers on that message board were quite disappointed with Allegiant. They didn't like where Veronica Roth took the story. People were killed that the readers felt should not have been. They felt Veronica Roth had completely changed the character of Four/Tobias. And generally, they were just dissatisfied.


For me, Divergent was a five star book. I loved every minute of it. Insurgent, not so much. I felt it should have been able to stand alone and that it just didn't stand up to the standard set by Divergent. I still liked it, but I didn't love it like I loved Divergent.

Allegiant falls somewhere in between Divergent and Insurgent for me. I really liked it. And actually, the more I think about it - I do love it. Maybe just a little less than Divergent.

Anticipation is a funny thing. On the one hand, I couldn't wait to get Allegiant and begin reading it. I read 61% of it the first night. But then I stopped reading it. I read the remainder in drips and drabs over a two week period. "Abie, why on earth would you do that?" you might ask.

Because I am perverse. Because I had waited so long for this book and knew it was the last in the trilogy. Because I didn't want to get to the end.


But now I have gotten to the end, and I must say I disagree wholeheartedly with the people on that message board. I didn't find Allegiant disappointing at all. In fact, I think Veronica Roth got it right. Life is hard. Even harder in a post-apocalyptic world like the one in this series. Tris and Four go through a lot in this book and tragedy can take a toll. People die - even people you don't want to die. There are very few happy endings in reality, and I think Veronica did an excellent job of making this book realistic.

Sometimes the story is what the story is. Readers often want happy endings, but happy endings aren't always realistic, and I love this book all the more - just the way it is.

What are some of the books you love that don't have happy endings?


Book Blurb:
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.
 
About the author:
Veronica Roth is from a Chicago suburb. She studied creative writing at Northwestern University, and wrote DIVERGENT (Katherine Tegen Books, May 2011) and INSURGENT (May 2012). The third and final book in The Divergent Trilogy, ALLEGIANT, will come out on October 22, 2013. In the meantime she will spend endless hours browsing Wikipedia in her pajamas as she eats corn flakes. (Or some other kind of bland breakfast cereal.)