Read in December 2013
Synopsis:
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.
My Thoughts:
Roth redeemed herself, at least in my mind, with Allegiant. While not perfect, I felt more at home with the direction the plot took than what happened in the middle weak-link book Insurgient (which I didn’t bother to review because it disappointed me so much). For my review of Divergent, follow this link.
The dual perspective of first-person narratives from Tris and Tobias failed to be distinctive enough. If I set the ebook down for a few hours or days, and picked it up again, I could not differentiate between either of them. I’d have to return to the beginning of the chapter to remind myself which one was actually speaking to me in my head. I’m not a fan of first person perspective to begin with, and this approach just made it doubly annoying.
I also tip my hat to Roth for having the guts to kill off more than one of her main characters and not cop-out with a sappy feel good ‘once upon a time’ ‘happily ever after’ ending.
Roth’s world building across all three novels deceived me at every turn. I desperately wanted more than she provided in Divergent, and Insurgent completely dropped the ball. Allegiant may have gone a bit too far in too short a time. I suppose, though, if the target audience is young adults, then this level of development probably sufficed.
Tris amazed me as a character. Her focus, her vision, her ability to see through to the heart of the matter, to discern the truth in the fog of lies hedging her and those she loved. And to act, precisely and decisively.
I enjoyed Allegiant and would recommend it to fans of other young adult dystopian series (i.e. The Hunger Games) and in fact considered Allegiant a better conclusion to the series than Mockingjay for that other one.
