Book Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

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.

My Rating:

After seeing countless reviews that claimed that Allegiant had ruined the series for readers and having a pivotal scene spoiled for me courtesy of Facebook friends who don’t understand that not everyone was able to read it on the release date, I was a bit nervous about starting this book. After finishing, it seems as though I’m a black sheep on this one: Allegiant took me on an emotional roller coaster ride, but it was one that I certainly enjoyed.

The narration in Allegiant is told from two perspectives: Tris and Four’s. A lot of other reviews have complained about how “weak” Four appears in this book, but I see it as the complete opposite; after getting a glimpse into Four’s head, it’s clear that he must be strong to shoulder all of his burdens and demons by himself. I really enjoyed getting a glimpse at his motivations and deep-rooted insecurities as they served to make him more real. While I did enjoy the dual POV and understand its necessity, Tris and Four’s voices were often indistinguishable, to the point where I occasionally had to flip back and see whose perspective I was reading from. It didn’t take away from my reading experience by any means, but I do wish that there was tighter writing in some places to give Four a distinct voice.

I loved Roth’s exploration of all of the characters, and how well fleshed out they were. Grief, loss, and desperation have changed them all from the characters that we first met in Divergent and I felt for all of them – including Caleb, which was a bit of a surprise for me.

The plot was well-paced and interesting, though a few parts at the beginning seemed to consist mostly of info-dumping. This did cause the beginning to feel rather slow, but this information was necessary to put the final touches on the world-building. There’s so much going on in Allegiant, multiple threads of a storyline that are all building up to one big event: the climax. Roth holds nothing back as the characters are tested and caused to question their morals and beliefs. She doesn’t write the ending that the reader wants; instead, she writes the story that needs to be told. It’s a heartbreaking yet beautiful finish and, in my opinion, is the only way that this series could have authentically ended.

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As a sidenote, if you’ve finished reading Allegiant, you should take a look at Veronica Roth’s blog post regarding why the series ended the way that it did. It’s a beautiful explanation.