Allegiant (Divergent #3) - Veronica Roth

 

Summary

Goodreads:  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.


Thoughts

I am actually not a huge fan of the trilogy (I can hear my cousin shouting in dismay from across the country).  This isn't to say I disliked the books, just that I don't connect to them the way other people seem to.   I think this is a thing that has to do with first person, and overall the writing style didn't work for me.  In general I don't do well with first person because I find it very limiting and there are a lot of things that come off clumsily when trying to point out other people's motivations.  This isn't to say it can't be done, just that it has to be done really well or it doesn't work.  I didn't make a note of it, so this might not have been specifically the problem I had with the writing style, but I very, very rarely like first person books.  I will say that in this book I had a REALLY hard time with the alternating POV's which is something I usually do ok with.  I found Tris and Tobias's voices hard to distinguish, and I'd only remember each chapter was a different POV when I was a couple pages into each chapter and realized things weren't making sense, which kept jolting me out of the story line.

Despite everything negative I've been saying so far, it really is a fun, action packed read.  It was also a lot of fun for me because I realized early on that is was set in Chicago, so it was great discovering all these places I see regularly (or in the spring when I stop hibernating inside of my apartment).  I've discovered that I actually really enjoy reading/seeing places I recognize.  And since I've moved here I've discovered there are a TON of books that are set here!  But of course that doesn't really mean much to the rest of you as I assume the majority of you couldn't possibly live here, and therefore could care less that the trains the Dauntless ride are the El.

I have to say I actually quite liked the ending.  I knew there were pretty much only 3 options as to what it could be since there's only one thing that could make people so upset, so perhaps it helped that I had warning and it wasn't a sudden discovery.  Again, the execution didn't necessarily work for me, but it did feel like this was where the trilogy as a whole was building to.  I'm also a masochist, so the more a book hurts me, generally the more I like the book.  Because I am a crazy person haha



Overall

This trilogy wasn't my cup of tea, but I can certainly see why other people loved it.  I just didn't connect to the writing style and the characters in the way I needed to.  I don't regret reading the series, it was definitely a fun time, so if you like the dystopia/post-apocalyptic genre and haven't read this series yet, I would definitely recommend it.