Title: Allegiant
(Divergent #3)
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: YA, Dystopia, Fantasy
First published: October 22nd 2013
Finished reading: February 6th 2015
Pages: 526
“There are so many ways to be brave in this world. … Sometimes it is nothing more than gritting your teeth through pain, and the work of every day, the slow walk toward a better life.”
It took me a very long time to finally pick up my copy of Allegiant, mostly caused by the fact that Insurgent was a complete disappointment for me. I don’t like romance novels in general, and I wasn’t expecting Insurgent to be full of romance instead of action. I’m glad I finally did pick up the third book anyway, because it is definitely better than the second. I did start reading with low expectations and prepared for the ‘bad’ ending a lot of people mentioned, so I was pleasantly surprised Allegiant did have a lot of action and interesting information on the experiments and outside world. The ending is fitting for the trilogy, although I see why a lot of people wouldn’t like it. I guess the exact same thing happens when George R.R. Martin readers become too attached to their characters… Speaking of characters, the chapters are split between the point of view of Tris and Tobias. Luckily, some focus on their relationship is shifted to more important matters and that takes away some of the drama. Good enough to read this last book by Veronica Roth, especially if you already read the first two!
WARNING: do not read this summary if you haven’t read the books yet! It will most likely contain spoilers, even though I’ve made sure to keep it short.
The society Tris and Tobias once lived in doesn’t exist anymore and the five factions have lost their importance. Their world is now stained with violence and power struggles; one tyrant taking over from the other. Tris wants out, and when the rebellion group called Allegiant offers her and Tobias a way out she grabs the opportunity with both hands. They go past the limits of the city she grew up in, exploring what’s out there beyond the fence. She wants to start over and find a new life without complications, but it’s not that easy… The people on the other side of the fence reveal a lot of very shocking information that will change everything. Their past, their future… Suddenly they don’t know who they are anymore and who is the bad guy in all this mess. Tris, Tobias and the others will have to find out on which side to fight and what to believe… But that doesn’t come without sacrifices.
Like said above, I’ve kept the summary very short in order not to reveal too much of the story for those who haven’t read Allegiant or the previous books yet. It was so hard to keep it spoiler-free! Veronica Roth reveals a lot of new information about the dystopian world Tris and Tobias were living in that will change everything. Allegiant is a fitting ending to the Divergent trilogy and better than the second book. Worth reading if you haven’t finished the series yet and enjoy reading YA dystopian novels mixed with romance.
I actually thought that one was the worst of them all. It was so disappointing because the series had such potential. When we finally found out what was behind the fence, I thought it’d be more interesting then what it was, and there were so many loopholes in there, it just didn’t make sense. As for the ending, I hated it and not just because of who dies, I’m perfectly fine with ppl dying as long as I feel that there’s a good legitimate reason behind it, but for this one there wasn’t. That’s why I didn’t have a problem with Mockingjay, I understood why that specific person had to be sacrificed. Lol sorry for the rant, but it was just upsetting seeing the series continuously go downhill after Divergent.
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Yeah, I can see your point. I guess I had such low expectations after reading Insurgent that it turned out to be better than I thought haha. I agree that Tris’ sacrifice didn’t add anything interesting to the story; it’s just annoying that she wants to sacrifice herself continually (like in Insurgent). And while there is more action in Allegiant, I also agree that Roth could have developed a way more interesting world out there behind the fence. It’s a shame this series turned out to be a disappointment because I had high hopes when I first started reading Divergent (even though I still think there are way to many similarities with The Hunger Games for it to be a coincidence).
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Hi there! Glad you like the final book of the trilogy though for me it was the worst among the three. I hate the ending! Haha!
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I thought it was better than the second book, although I confess I don’t remember all the details. The ending in a way was fitting for the direction Roth chose for the series, but I agree that Tris’ sacrifice wasn’t really necessary.
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That’s true. The ending haunted me for quite a while as I loved Tris and Tobias already. Maybe YA trilogies have the same trend. The first novel is the best then as the series goes the story gets distracting and unimpressive. Just like Hunger Games.
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I’ve seen it with different YA dystopian series so far, true. That’s probably one of the reasons I’m not sure whether to read the second book in The Maze Runner or Throne Of Glass series… I own the copies of the second and third book of both series, but somehow I’m afraid they will turn out to be a huge disappointment.
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Glad we share the same sentiment. I am actually a bit tired of reading dystopia-themed YA’s. I have Maze Runner and I have watched it as well but I am not able to make myself read it. 😀 The last that I read was The Selection by Kiera Cass. My fairy-tale-believing-self got me. 😀 The trilogy was great, though the series’ plot can be sum up into a single book only.
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Yeah, I probably need a break from YA dystopian novels as well… There are so many out there and it’s hard to pick the right ones. I still have to read The Selection; it’s on my TBR list and I will probably get to it eventually.
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That’s true. There are a lot of YA’s out there and there’s no way to be sure that what your reading is really worth it. I just had a major disappointment with The Uglies. The series has a lot of positive raves but the first two books are just so disappointing.
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Good to know! I’ve always been hesitant to read The Uglies series mostly because there was such a big hype around the series, so it’s good to know that they are not living up to expectations.
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The premise is actually good but the main character, i forgot her name, is so indecisive. I gave the series a chance by reading the second book but the story just gets worst.
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Hmm I might give the first one a go then, but it probably won’t be a series I will ever finish…
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Yes. Try it first. 🙂
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I’m still too afraid to read Allegiant. I’m glad to hear that there’s plenty of romance and we finally get some information. haha I think we all know by now not to get attached to anyone in A Song of Ice and Fire.
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It’s still not as good as the first book, but at least there is some improvement if you compare it to Insurgent. Still, this never will be one of my favorite YA dystopian series… And yeah, George R.R. Martin is a master in killing off his characters. 😉
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