Teen Tuesday – Review of Allegiant (3rd in Divergent Series)

First, let me say that this review is spoiler free at first, but then I let it all hang out. Don’t worry, though, I’ll forewarn you.

Like most, I’m assuming, I have mixed feelings and thoughts about this book. I will say that I absolutely LOVED this series! It is my 2nd favorite series EVER, second only to The Hunger Games. Reading this 3rd book has solidified the Hunger Games spot as #1, though. Not to say that I didn’t like Allegiant. I think overall it was well-written and well-developed with great pacing, suspense, action, and romance/love. Was it as good as the first two? No. But the first two books were amazing! It’s kind of hard to top that.

As I said, the pacing, action, and suspense was great, just not quite as good as the first two books. Still, I read through Allegiant quickly enough and was anxious to find out what would happen next. I think the main reason for me that the book as a whole didn’t quite meet my expectations of the first two was because the plot was so completely different. I can’t tell you much more here without spoilers, but you could guess from the ending of Insurgent that their whole world and what they thought they knew was about to change.

One of the things I love about the book was the way Tris and Tobias’s relationship plays out so realistically…well, as realistic as you can get in a made-up dystopian world anyway. They have some major dysfunction, but they are working through it. It’s nice to see relationships in books that go through that and still come out on the other end together and better for it. It teaches you that nobody is perfect, but that doesn’t mean our flaws have to get in the way of having a decent relationship. We can be patient and understanding of our significant other and even help him or her overcome their baggage and the issues that have developed because of it.

If you’re hesitant about reading it because of what everyone has said about the ending, you should still read it. It’s a good read, and it answers so many of the unanswered questions you were left with from book 2. It’s definitely worth it!

SPOILERS!        SPOILERS!        SPOILERS!        SPOILERS!        SPOILERS!        SPOILERS!        SPOILERS!        SPOILERS!        SPOILERS!

Okay, now let’s get real and talk about the ending.

Crap happens. Especially in a dystopia. Was the ending unorthodox? Yes. Especially for a young adult book series. But does death happen? Yes. Especially in a dystopia, and especially in this particular series. Also, you have to think about Tris’s character. She’s a selfless, stubborn, brave, impulsive heroine who has already once put herself in a position to die for others…well, also because she felt guilty…but still. So what I’m saying is, her sacrifice is in keeping with her character, and we probably should’ve seen it coming a mile away.

I’ll tell you, one of the reasons I didn’t see it coming was because I misinterpreted what someone told me before reading it. They said they didn’t like the ending and that they don’t end up together. At least I think that’s what they said. Maybe they said they don’t end up happily ever after or something. Either way, I took that as Tris and Tobias break up because, naturally, death of a main character was the last thing I thought would happen. Needless to say, the entire time I was reading the book, I kept waiting for the relationship to drift apart and fully dissolve. And it did drift several times! But they always kept coming back, which I loved.

So…I guess what I’m saying is I wasn’t happy with the fact that Tris had to die, but I can totally see where Veronica Roth was coming from when she wrote it that way. Sometimes an easy patch up at the end that is more fitting for a fairy tale than a dystopian book is just as annoying to readers. However she ended the series, she probably would’ve upset someone, so she did what she felt was most fitting for her characters despite the flack she knew she’d get from her readers. As a fellow author, I must say I respect that.

~ by Dusty Crabtree - Author of Shadow Eyes on January 14, 2014.