Allegiant Review

Allegiant by Veronica Roth
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Goodreads 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

I bought the hardcover edition of this book. Buy it today on Amazon for $11.51 (12/14/13)

My Thoughts:
**Spoilers Warning:** If you have yet to read this book, try to avoid all reviews unless it specifically states 'no spoilers' and it is from a reviewer you can trust. Too many readers have accidentally discovered the ending to this book. That said, in my review here I will do my best not to state any specifics, but will probably allude to things. If you wish to avoid any foreknowledge before reading this novel: BE AWARE!

After clicking through reviews on Goodreads, I think I can safely state that Allegiant was a letdown for most readers. I, myself, bought this book the day after it came out, yet found myself too anxious to start reading. Here was the book we had been waiting for all year! I felt there was so much built up expectations, pressure, preconceived notions....(Sidebar: Authors/Publishers need to quit doing this. More and more the last book in a series is my least favorite because I have so much time to build up expectations that just aren't met).

Allegiant started off with a bang, typical Divergent series style, which quickly and easily led to getting past the fence. Once our band of characters were in the Outside World, it was like a whole new series. Readers get the answers they were looking for all wrapped up in a shiny package. Roth then moves on and the city of Chicago becomes background noise. Instead we are shoved into this new world that is even more messed up and crazy then the Factions were. It was a new world, with new secondary characters, but the same exact struggle: overthrow the government. More creepy, controlling, meddling government ruining it all for everyone. To be fair, it was all interesting in it's own right, but it just wasn't 'Divergent' anymore.

Then of course the biggest piece of news: Dual perspectives; reading from both Tris and Four's voices. From the moment I heard Roth was writing from Four's perspective as well, I was weary. Why would we need to see the story from his eyes? What could happen in the plot to make it necessary? Not to mention it would be a crazy break from the previous books, would it gel? I commend Roth for being brave to insist upon it and even attempting it.

But let's be real...

Four's perspective was annoying.

Previous to Allegiant, Four was a figure we could drool over, strong, yet with *four* weaknesses, just enough to make him real. Now he is portrayed as some weak, emotional newbie following Tris around like a sad, lost puppy. His character development over the series was just backwards. Divergent Four I can love, Allegiant Four I want to flick like a booger. Ahem. Obviously I am emotional about it.

And after reading the end, it makes sense Roth insisted on having Four's voice. If someone sat down to really think about it, knowing dual perspectives are going to be used could give some giant hints as to the ending. But it also caused me to disassociate from the story. Flipping back and forth between depressing Four and strong-willed Tris was jarring, obnoxious, and frankly didn't add much to the story.

As to the ending, I am not in a huff about it, but I know a lot of people are. I was dismayed and bewildered, but hardly surprised. I mostly felt horrible for Four. Like much of the plot, the ending was predictable from pretty far out. The plot is the third low point for me. It was unoriginal, far too similar to Divergent and Insurgent even though in the Outside World, things could have been...well anything really! But, it was also highly predictable. As the story progressed, I even said out loud "Well, why don't you use the memory serum??" And like eight chapters later?? They finally used the memory serum.

Even worse, personally? This book ruined my reading life. I put off reading it for quite some time, was nervous to progress, and then eventually had to force myself to finish. It put a sour taste in my mouth for reading overall. While not reading Allegiant, I was reading a non-fic book as well, that while fantastic, was slow going. The two combined together .... so now I am trying to slowly move back into a comfortable reading life.

Conclusion: I calculated this book as a 2.8, but kindly rounded up to 3 Stars. I recommend this to readers who need to finish the series. I would still recommend Divergent and Insurgent to others with a cautionary warning about the series ending.