Allegiant by Veronica Roth Published by HarperCollins on 2013-10-22
Genres: Dystopian, Love & Romance, Social Issues, Values & Virtues, Young Adult
Pages: 544
Format: Hardcover
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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 explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth's #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.
I also recommend:
- Railsea by China Mieville
- Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier
This is my week of exploring the world of Veronica Roth, captured in the books of the Divergent trilogy. Unfortunately, after a strong start and middle, Allegiant fell in my esteem. The reason for this is quite simple – and not at all tied to the “shocking” end that had the blogosphere in an uproar (I remember seeing all of that and, having yet to pick up Divergent, just dismissed it because I didn’t want a spoiler to hit me. I wasn’t spoiled, but I wasn’t surprised by the ending either.) That said, there will be a bit of spoilers happening in this review because it’s the third book in the series, so don’t read on if you haven’t read the first two: Divergent and Insurgent.
Here’s where Allegiant went wrong for me. The dual narration technique. All this time, I’ve been in Tris’s head. Four has had a mystique about him and, while I still don’t get the whole romance angle (except from a marketing point of view), I liked the bit of mystery. Imagine my complete and total disappointment to find that he thinks remarkably similar to Tris. So much so, in fact, that there were times I had to flip back to see just whose head I was currently in. Four was nothing like I imagined him to be, and I really didn’t like him that much after being there in his head. Not at all.
That said, I think Roth overstepped in Allegiant as well. Too much in too few pages. Too many factions vying for control weakens them all, and the story by default. I was so confused that, by the end, I was happy to actually see something happen – although the dual perspective tipped me off from the start on what the surprise might just be. I was so disappointed, because really… Divergent was well thought-out and put together but by the time Allegiant began to move it became sloppy and hard to keep track of. Too many people making stupid decision, too much happening out of character (how often have you seen people step down just like that? *snaps fingers*), it just didn’t make sense. I understand that there needed to be some kind of neat, package ending all tied up with a bow but the series would have been better ending on chaos and left out there in the air, for the reader to speculate. I hated feeling pigeon-holed into fully believing all of the really far-fetched things that were happening.
So, while I thoroughly enjoyed Divergent and Insurgent, Allegiant was a dud for me. I would recommend the series, still, because the first two books carry it (and I’m hoping the movie ends up better since we are, thankfully, free of what’s inside the characters heads). But watch out for this book, man. If you loved Four going in, you are really gonna have a hard time with it.
Check out these reviews!
- “Ultimately, Allegiant is a book that has its many flaws and missteps, but it’s an ambitious book that goes for all the marbles. ” – The Book Smugglers
- “I can readily admit that while Allegiant is not my favorite of the series. Even so, my reading experience was pretty good.” - Alexa Loves Books
- “Even though I was stunned by the massive turn of events, I am over-the-moon pleased with the finale. ” – The Nerdy Book Club