Allegiant

Oh Allegiant, how you've frustrated me these past few days. That feeling of not knowing whether to throw you at the wall (thought I'd better not as my kindle would break) or embrace your twisted sentiment.

In advance of delving into Ali Condie's Matched trilogy I thought I would finish the Divergent series first and was hoping it's conclusion would be more satisfying than the conclusion of The Hunger Games which diluted it's enjoyment book by book. I'd already become concerned when the second book in Roth's series, Insurgent, proved less satisfying than the first. I prayed that the third would redeem itself.

We commence immediately after the conclusion of book 2 where the factionless and their leader Evelyn have taken control of the city. Suddenly the factions are in danger and it appears one dictator has been swapped for another, so a group come together and form the Allegiant, with a view to reinstating the factions.

From here I became frustrated as the book seemed to them become a never ending round of people trying to usurp one leader for another, then for another and another. We take a journey outwith the city Tris and Tobias call home and they travel to a world where it seems more of the same is on the cards.

The characters seem to stall a little in this book, their dialogue seems less mature than that of the earlier books and their relationship scenes seem childlike and immature. That said however the ending that Roth have them still had me choked with tears and I liked how she left a real message at the end of the book, concluding it really nicely with a message for life.

I'd like to say I loved this book, I didn't, but neither could I say I entirely hated it either. It was a difficult one, I had to force my way through it at points then suddenly there would be a little spark of genius and I'd read intently for a chapter then that spark would fade. It has been a challenging read, not entirely in enjoyable but I'm glad Roth has concluded the series and won't be trying to dredge another book from her increasingly tired story.

This is a difficult book to review. There's quality in here, but its swirled around with a whole mess of not so much. From this series' inception, credibility and realism were never its strong points. [b:Insurgent 11735983 Insurgent (Divergent, #2) Veronica Roth https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1325667729s/11735983.jpg 15524542] made an attempt to deepen the scientific background of the setting and failed miserably, and this I imagine must be the reason for Allegiant being utterly balls to the wall. This plot is completely bananas.Genetic damage! Serums! Memory resets! Purity war! dramatic flourish Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain! Sweetheart, I can see his shoes. The premise of Allegiant is incredibly flimsy, partially because it's an entirely separate conflict from the first two books in the series. [b:Divergent 13335037 Divergent (Divergent, #1) Veronica Roth https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328559506s/13335037.jpg 13155899] and Insurgent concerned themselves with the politics and skirmishes within the walls of an isolated futuristic Chicago, where everyone is indoctrinated into a faction system that tells them they have only one dominant personality trait that should direct the rest of their lives. In Allegiant, we find out that that this city is not the last stand of mankind, but a tiny fishbowl in a toxic ocean. Tris and her friends get drawn into the conflict of this larger world, and find they have to fix its problems as well as save their city. It's a lot, and it doesn't all come together. To be honest, I kind of lost the thread for a while, which is why I'm not being super detailed about what went down. Because frankly, I'm not entirely sure.It would have helped if I didn't feel like snorting in derision everytime someone said “genetically damaged” or “genetically pure.” I recognize that there's a propagandist element to this, but anyone with a basic understanding of genetics can tell you that there is no such thing as a genetically pure person, and if you're genetically damaged that implies your DNA is mutating and coming apart and you're looking forward to a horrible death. Veronica, I hate doing research too, but you're getting paid for this, sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet. And these serums. I was ok with the simulation serums - hallucinogenics are not new things, and so technology that caused people to have specific hallucinations does not seem that far-fetched - but this memory serum shit that they're just going to throw in the air and then give everyone new identities? Do you know how much manpower that would take to rehabilitate an entire population after wiping everyone of their memories? And that's only assuming it will successfully rid everyone of their desire to revolt and kill each other (because that worked so well in Dollhouse). And now a bunch of kids who have barely handled this stuff in their lives, have only a vague conception of the technology and how it works, are going to do it to a compound full of government officials? sputters incoherentlyI am on Tris' team typically through and through, and it was incredibly refreshing to get back into her head. But when she started talking about stripping the Bureau of their memories so that they would not do the same to the people of Chicago, I was kind of like wuzzuh? Tris is, at best, a functionally moral person, meaning she only whips out the “right and wrong” card when it best suits her and her own. I'm cool with this, but that kind of implies that she would be somewhat alright with Chicago getting reset if it meant that everyone in the city didn't kill eachother? Everyone she cares about is either dead or out of the city, after all. But instead, she decides that its wrong to take away people's identities, so to stop it she's going to...take away people's identities. Is this really happening?And I kind of feel like this is something that could have been talked out. After all, Tobias managed to talk his mother down. If perhaps, he had gone to the Bureau's authorities and said, “Hey, I think we can fix this, just get me in the city,” couldn't have all these shenanigans have been avoided? But then of course, they wouldn't have gotten the chance to rid people of their programming that there are genetically damaged and genetically pure people. Best thing to do with shitty plot points - act like they were never there.All that aside, and that is a lot, what made the original story interesting to me is still there. Tris is still there, even though clearly she takes a strange turn. Her relationship with Tobias expands and actually felt credible and loving to me. Tobias I never found that interesting, but the chapters from his perspective were surprisingly illuminating. He's a very different person from Tris, and very different from how most people think of him. He's far more insecure and emotionally unstable, and his need for validation feeds one of the complications of the plot. Interestingly, this book isn't about them being together - it's about how they support each other so that they both can go on their separate journeys. Tobias has to reconcile his feelings with his parents, and Tris with her brother Caleb. Both have compelling dynamics with their families, but for me the resolution of Tobias and Evelyn's relationship is what really got to me. “Let them have the city and everything in it,” is quite possibly one of the most beautiful lines I've read all year.And then there's the big thing, the thing that everyone is flipping out over and the reason why I decided to read this book now rather than later (I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and avoid getting spoiled, but I got spoiled anyway). Tris dies. Considering that her character becomes so solidified by this book, her death works. Unlike Tobias who is still struggling with who is, Tris is a fortress. Narratively speaking, her character did not have much further to go. That said, there was potential that I was still curious about. I wanted to know why she was abnormally immune to the serums, and I wanted to see how her natural magnetism progress into a leadership role. I also don't like when a female character's narrative gets superceded by her male counterpart's. Also, the death scene was cheesy as hell, I don't blame Roth for wanting to incorporate a spiritual element, but really?This book is not two stars because it's mediocre overall, it's got really good and really bad squished together in a really confusing way, though probably more bad than good. Being that the best elements of this story were characters and definitely not world building, I wonder if Roth's strengths lie outside of science fiction and fantasy. I'll be interested to see what she does next, and considering the massive success of this series, she can probably do whatever the hell she wants.

logical ending? yes. the ending I wanted? no. it wasn't a bad book, but not what I wanted. it felt detached from the rest of the series. I hate to say it, but I wish I stopped reading after book two.

Update: 5 days later.
I wasn't happy with the end. I know I wasn't the only one. I thought somewhere Veronica Roth would explain WHY she gave it that ending. I wasn't happy with her response either. She said she always intended for Tris to die. Maybe that was true, but I think there is another more important reason she never addressed. Readers loved Four. I loved him too. I found myself unattached to Tris and instead eagerly awaiting the next time she saw Four. The third book felt less about Tris and more about Tobias. The last few chapters and an entire book dedicated to Four solidify my theory that Roth changed mid stream. It became more about overcoming the trauma of childhood, than Tris' need to save the world.

Book 2 for #TBRTakedown

I don't even know what to say. Beyond disappointed. But I did finish it finally so I am weirdly proud of myself.

Basically I was disappointed with the direction of this book. The ending seemed rushed and I felt like Roth was just throwing new things out there randomly with little to no structure. I do have to say that I was spoiled for the “big thing”, which may have affected my thoughts, but I just did not enjoy this book.

I thought there was way too much drama between Tris and Four and Four was way too moody for me. I also do not think there was enough delineation between the Tris and Four chapters. They felt the same to me and it was not an enjoyable experience when the POV suddenly changed with no change in the style of storytelling as I have come to expect with changing POVs.

That was really jumbled but I'm very frustrated after finishing this series.

Let me start by saying that this is the ultimate dystopia/post-apocalyptic series I have read. Thank you, Veronica Roth.

I love and hate this for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, never have I felt so empowered reading about female leads. We're they bitchy? Yes. We're they moody and unpredictable? Yes and yes. But those were what made them strong, female characters and I was in such awe at how real they were.

The duo-POV thing I wasn't such a fan of, I understand it gave more depth to the story - it certainly did - but it felt a bit too choppy. Maybe having a few chapters each, instead of alternating chapters would have been better?

The whole genetic thing... it got a bit boring to read. Why put the blame on something you can't decide? I felt a bit cheated at this. But then again, I can't imagine where else the story could go.

And the ending? Ms Roth was very brave to go about it this way. I can see a billion people hating her for this, but really? This is the best way of making an impact.

A very well done series. Would recommend to everyone, definitely.

Really enjoyed this series. The author did a good job with opening the story, expanding it with revelations and most notably, bringing it to an appropriate close. She really did a good job making the setting and plot details more specific as the characters learned more about their world. It's so rare that a postapocalyptic/dystopian setup has a satisfying ending, but this one did!

Fascinating trilogy.

That ending is going to take me a while to process...

...

A Couple Hours Later: after crying (a lot) for a while, I'm bumping my rating up to 5 stars. And even with the ending the way it was, this was my favorite book of the three. I know a lot of people hate this one, so I wasn't expecting to like it as much. But it turned out to be a really beautiful story of what it means to be truly brave.

And now I'm crying again, so I think I'll end my review here. This book is going to stick with me.

There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater.But sometimes it doesn't.Sometimes it is nothing more than gritting your teeth through pain, and the work of every day, the slow walk toward a better life.

I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first two. Overall, the plot was rough around the edges and the lack of suspense made it feel less satisfying than in the previous books. What they discovered outside the fence was quite anticlimactic.

Most people were put off by the ending, but I didn't have a problem with it. Even though I was sad about you-know-who dying, it was a good ending, very emotional. I actually think it kind of saved the rest of the book. Allegiant was so slow that it didn't seem like it was in the same universe as the previous books. The world-building was messy and too many things didn't make any sense.

But still I enjoyed Tris' character. I didn't care about pretty much anybody else. The previous books have killed off a lot of my favorite characters and the new ones were unremarkable.

I didn't think the romance could possibly get any worse, but it did. Four was at his most annoying self up untilTris'death. That was the first time I felt truly sorry and sad for him. His grief moved me. I appreciated that her memory finally pushed him to pull himself together and start being a better version of himself. But I wish he'd done that while she was still alive.

Based on the ending alone, this was a good conclusion to the trilogy.

This book was disappointing to begin with. The world outside the fence (and the events that led to the dystopia) didn't hold my interest, and the problems I expected to see develop between Tris and Four didn't really happen. Four was too much the ‘perfect boyfriend' and not enough a multi-dimensional character. I wanted to see some more feels from him, not just towards/against Tris but the other characters in the book that have a major impact on his life.And then I kept reading and discovered why Roth didn't do the typical and expected relationship drama, and then it was pretty much just all the fucking feels. The end totally redeemed the whole thing, and as much as it ripped my heart out it was exactly the right call to make. Not my favourite of the trilogy but incredibly more satisfying than [b:Mockingjay 7260188 Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) Suzanne Collins https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1358275419s/7260188.jpg 8812783] for the last installment of a YA dystopia.

This book was finally what I was hoping from the others. Characters not fully likable (not intended to be), but consistent with established personalities. There were complex dilemmas of genetic modification and discrimination that were interesting and there were no Simple Shiny Answers to all the problems. Satisfying ending overall.

3.5 stars
I only gave this books this rating because of its ending. The writing was horrible and too full of unnecessary feelings; also four's point of view was written very badly. It was too girly but the ending was perfect, hence the four stars.
i always wonder how heroes stay alive in all books and movies though they are the ones to face most danger and it kind of made me doubtful of most of the books i read. But in this book it seemed adequate that tris dies although it was very sad and it made me cry for several pages. Hell, I almost sobbed.
This series wasn't so bad. The first book was written best, then the writing went downhill. I am not exactly sad to be leaving it behind but i have to admit that it leaves a sort of hollowness within me, especially because of its ending.
Sigh
Goodbye Tris, and tobias!

Hoera en bravo! Allegiant is bij deze één van de allerslechtste boeken die ik ooit gelezen heb, en dat wil veel zeggen want ik heb veel boeken gelezen, en véél slechte boeken.

Om de één of andere reden besloot Roth in dit boek in plaats van alles uit het eerstepersoonperspectief van Tris te vertellen, afwisselend Tris en haar “lief” Tobias/Four aan het woord te laten. Vervelende beslissing, want het is compleet onduidelijk wie wie is: de twee personages hebben exact dezelfde onrealistische stem, en het is alleen als ze aan elkaar expositie aan het doen zijn, of als er eens een persoonlijk voornaamwoord in komt dat het geslacht verraadt, dat de lezer weet of Tris of Tobias aan het woord is.

Niet dat het dan écht duidelijk wordt, want de Tris en de Tobias van dit boek zijn totaal verschillend van die van het tweede boek, en dié waren al anders dan die van het eerste boek.

Maar alla. Het heeft trouwens ook geen enkele zin om na te denken over het plot – iets met genetica, en “nurture” die “nature” zou corrigeren, en onzuivere genen of godweetwat – want het is zowel wetenschappelijk als verhaaltechnisch complete kul. En oh ja, die “divergence”, waarbij het hoofdpersonage méér was dan alleen maar die ene karaktertrek van één “faction”? Ah ja, dat was ook maar om te lachen.

En er is een einde, gelukkig, maar het trekt op niets. Plotgaten zo groot dat er verschillende olietankers, hand in hand, door kunnen wandelen.

Slecht, slecht, slécht boek.