Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

26 October, 2013 Reviews 46 comments

Review: Allegiant by Veronica RothAllegiant by Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent #3
Published by HarperCollins Children's Books on October 22nd 2013
Pages: 544
Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Amazon Good BooksBook Depository
Goodreads
three-stars

One choice will define you.

What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

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.

From Goodreads

So, this book happened.

How do I react?(Nathan Fillion sums up my feelings exactly)

You know the phrase ‘be careful what you wish for?’ It should have been the tagline, but I don’t mean that in the way you might think. I imagine you have questions, so I am going to pretend I know what they are and answer them. ONWARD!

Dual POV! How could it not be awesome with dual Tris/Four* POV?
Yes, technically it was dual POV, but Four’s voice is basically identical to Tris’. Without the chapter headers, I don’t think I would’ve been able to tell them apart. As far as I can see, the only point to having dual POV is so you can see what’s going on when Tris isn’t in the room. Supposedly (according to Veronica Roth) Four’s more of a sharer but I didn’t really see it.
*I continue to think of Tobias as Four because the name Tobias makes me picture furry bald men in denim short shorts (thank you Arrested Development.) 

But you’re in Four’s head, how can that not be magically delicious? Don’t you fall even more in love with him?
Um, no. Quite the opposite, in fact. You know how in Insurgent Tris was all mopey and suicidal, running around making dumb, impulsive decisions? Four’s kind of like that. His character seems to do a complete 180 from the tough, insightful, bad ass guy he was initially presented as in Divergent and it was incredibly disappointing because I don’t understand why. Remember how his whole thing was that he didn’t want to be defined by the faction system? He wanted the freedom to be who he was and not force himself into someone else’s definition of who that should be? Turns out all you have to do is tell him he’s damaged and back it up with official looking paperwork and he folds like a soggy napkin and spends half the book running around like a moron. It seemed completely out of character in the worst way.

That’s disappointing. What about Tris? She’s back to kicking ass right? That whole mopey thing wasn’t working for her either.
This is true, and mopey Tris is a thing of the past. However, it’s kind of like in her rush to portray Tris as awesomesauce on toast, Veronica Roth forgot to back it up with reasons. At some point Tris apparently picked up this super human level of intuition and is now incapable of being wrong for more than half a page. At one point she gets in this huge fight with Four because she thinks they should do one thing (with no kind of factual reasoning, just gut instinct and the surety that she’s always right) and he disagrees. Then things blow up and Tris was right all along and basically throws a fit of ‘I told you so’ using ‘you should have listened to me because you didn’t before and I was right then just like I was right now’ as her cornerstone argument. Here’s the thing about being right in the past, by itself all it means is that you were right in the past. Yes, maybe this should give people a reason to listen to you, but if you can’t support your arguments with any kind of evidence beyond ‘I’m right, dammit’ and a foot stomp then you can’t blame them for not listening to you. She backs everything up with the equivalent of ‘because I just know’ and it gets old, quick.

Ugghhhh

But she’s divergent, that’s more or less superpowers. Isn’t that enough to make her a worthy leader?
Hahahaha. Yeah, about that, it turns out Divergent doesn’t really mean what we thought it meant and I’ll leave you to decide how you feel about the reality of it. Personally, I thought it ended up being pretty pointless.

Ok, well, what about the other characters? The remaining gang’s all there right? Christina, Zeke, Uriah, Cara, Peter, etc?
Ummmmm, yes, they are, in fact, characters present in the book. But, much like Four’s POV, I can’t really see the point. It’s like the only purpose they serve is doing what they’re told and being there for Tris and Four to have conversations with so they (Tris and Four) can come to internal realizations. Peter is especially frustrating because, once again, he shows signs of having the potential to be an interesting character but it never amounts to anything. Christina is back to being Tris’ lackey (although I forgive her because she comes through at the end of the book,) Zeke is barely there and don’t even talk to me about Uriah. I like that Cara’s part of the group now, but again, why bother?

Shurg

Right, so, characters are not a thing, but this is the third book, the characters have been developed, this is all about the action right?
Well, yes. There is a lot of action. So much action that it feels like you’re just being thrown from one calamity to the next with just enough pause in between for Tris and Four to fight and/or make out. It’s tiring.

Make outs! There are make outs! At least there’s that, gotta love some Four/Tris action!
Yes, there is a bunch of making out. I do appreciate the continued lack of triangles and that this trilogy is one of few series that shows couples working through their petty drama in a functional and semi-realistic way. I like that Veronica Roth takes the time to point out that relationships aren’t always easy and sometimes you have to choose to be with another person despite a whole bunch of crap, but, for me, Tris’ character assassination in Insurgent and then Four’s in Allegiant has taken some of the magic out of this ship.

*sigh* I’m getting discouraged. Let me guess, outside of the wall was a let down as well?
Yup! I didn’t think it would be possible for me to actually appreciate the faction world but good god, can we go back to that? Veronica Roth is making an important point about the stupid reasons people find to judge one another, but she’s making it by smacking you in the face repeatedly with the Shovel of Metaphor (read that as though Charlton Heston is saying it using his God voice.) It manages to be overdone and somehow still unclear all at the same time. The outside world is filled with the same, narrow-minded people making the same short-sighted decisions, attempting to correct complex problems. If you hoped that leaving the city would add something to the story, let go of that hope now, it only serves as a change of scenery while our intrepid heroes deal with more of the same.

What about the end? I’ve heard rumblings around the fandom and I’m nervous.
From what I can tell, I am one of few that are actually good with the end. If you look back, you can clearly see that the whole trilogy was building up to this and I appreciate that sort of thoughtful, deliberate plot weaving. Veronica Roth did a hard thing and I admire her bravery because she had to know going in people were going to be mad as all hell. Truthfully, the ending was my favorite part of the book (if you know what happens, feel free to tell me how masochistic this makes me in the comments but NO SPOILERS. That’s just rude.)

So, what’s the verdict? Is it worth reading?
If you liked the first two, this is absolutely worth reading (or, alternatively, if you hated them and want to do a hate read, you will find plenty of fodder.) I think part of my problem is Divergent was one of the first books I read when getting back into YA and at the time I thought it was the bee’s knees. Since then I have read a whole bunch of YA and come to realize that there are many books out there that I like a lot more. Up until the end I was considering giving Allegiant two stars (I was so fed up you guys, you don’t even know) but the last couple chapters made me reconsider. Veronica Roth did a brave thing and (IMO) it was the right thing and that’s completely worth an extra star.

 

So there you have it.

 #KanyeShrug

Can’t say it better than that.

 

 

Meg Morley

Meg Morley

Co-bloggery at Cuddlebuggery
Meg is an all-around book nerd who just really wants to talk about books, preferably with other people but by herself will do. Find her on Goodreads.

46 Responses to “Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth”

  1. Lily

    I agree with pretty much everything you said in your review. And about the ending…i know a lot of people are angry about it but i think if you take a look back at the entire series and the story you realize that the ending Veronica choose was the most perfect one she could have choosen. The whole series was a build up to that moment and yes it was sad and heartbreaking but it summed up (the character) perfectly. I loved it! Great Review!
    Lily

    • Meg

      Glad you liked it! And I agree, this is the way it should’ve ended. I just wish the rest of the book had lived up to the end, it was so aggravating.

  2. Melanie Conklin
    Twitter:

    Yes! THIS. I’ve also been waffling between two and three stars, but so far if I voice my displeasure, people just say: oh, that’s because you wanted a happy ending. WRONG.I wanted a great read, adn this was far from it. In addition to your list, I’ll add:
    — enough serums to make your head spin
    — David?!
    — meetings and discussions and microscopes, oh my
    — no real delivery on the promise of: ALLEGIANT. What about that story?I think I want to read that one instead.

    For me, it was a disappointing read, but I will still recommend Divergent as a stand-alone. It’s a great book.
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    • Meg

      Recommending Divergent as a standalone is a good idea. Insurgent was just so ugghhhhh and this one, well, it was what it was.

      Agreed to all of your additions.
      – The serums defied belief. When they were talking about the memory serum I was like ‘uh, can I check your science? Because, what?’
      – Oh David, or as I like to think of him: The Walking Plot Device.
      – For a series that’s described as ‘action-packed’ there was an awful lot of standing around and talking. Kind of like The Walking Dead. Zzzzz.
      – YES YES YES! I was so looking forward to this book and she gave us al these things that should’ve been awesome but then they just….weren’t. Like I said, be careful what you wish for 😛

  3. Ikao
    Twitter:

    Lol I like the gifs xD
    I haven’t found good reviews for Allegiant, it seems like a mess for conclusion of a trilogy. I actually haven’t read Allegiant because I wait for translated one so it’ll match with my Divergent and Insurgent. I don’t like Insurgent because Tris was angry all over and I was tired of it so I’m pretty cool wait a little longer for Allegiant.
    I like Divergent, but if I look back what I like of it, I only can say Caleb (okay, don’t judge me haha). I think you make the point that can cover my feeling too, maybe I like it because back in time, it was the first book I read after I dove into The Hunger Games and starving with the same genre.

    • Meg Morley

      Yeah, Divergent was my favorite of the three. I didn’t mind the way she concluded the trilogy, it was the rest of the book that bugged me. I hope you like it/are satisfied when you get to reading it!

  4. Jasmine @ Flip That Page

    D’AWWWW. I’ve been SO looking forward to reading this one, because although I liked Insurgent a lot less than I did Divergent, I was really intrigued by how it ended and wanted this book the moment that it did. I’m still reading this one though! I mean, Veronica Roth seems to have this thing with saving a book with a good enough ending, and I am really hoping that I’ll like this one better than you did!

    And GREAT review by the way! This really really helped me out on what to expect. So thank you!
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    • Meg Morley

      I know what you mean, I was desperate for this one after Insurgent. I think a little too much time past for me and I got over the series a little bit so I was less willing to forgive the stuff that bugged me. Hopefully this will not be the case for you! (And thanks! Expectations management was my intention :))

  5. Sam @ Realm of Fiction
    Twitter:

    A lot of people seem to agree that the two points of view were too similar. And I was looking forward to being in Four’s head, but it doesn’t sound like I’d really enjoy his character here. It’s good to hear that you enjoyed the ending though! I have to admit, it was the reason why I chose not to read this one in the end (I can be very stubborn about these things), but I’m glad that it worked for you. 🙂 Lovely review, Meg!
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    • Meg Morley

      Thank you! It’s not so much that Four’s character was bad, just kind of disappointing, I think I’d built it up too much in my head. Although they were definitely very similar. I totally understand not wanting to read because of the ending, I’ve put off books for the same reason in the past.

  6. Shelly

    Allegiant sounds slightly disappointing but I’ve never loved the series so I’m not too surprised. I’m glad you enjoyed the ending because I’ve been seeing mixed reactions to it. I’m a little annoyed at the fact that Tris gains an “I’m right because I’m right” attitude towards the end of the book, so not cool. Awesome review 🙂
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    • Meg

      Yeah, if you didn’t like the first two this one is unlikely to change your mind. Oh well, plenty of books in the…library? (Can’t really say sea because then we’d have a bunch of soggy books and that’s no good.)

  7. Ning @ DABR

    great review!! I’m so glad I gave up this series after Divergent. The whole faction thing made absolutely no sense to me. How can anyone be defined by just one trait? Her dystopia world made no sense to me and I didn’t really connect with the characters in the first book!! Now that this series is over I hope the blogsphere move on to something better.

    • Meg

      THANK YOU!! When everyone got so upset about it, I was sitting there like ‘uh, have we been reading the same series? You had to at least suspect it was a possibility.’

  8. Molly

    So disappointed- the plot was like Swiss cheese 🙂 Also, characters in this book seem to be either so forgettable they blend together or so annoying you just don’t like them. Four ends up a wuss and incredibly unlikabke too. 🙁 meh it’s no harry potter by a long shot and I agree there are so many better undervalued YA books around!

  9. Kate Bond

    I cancelled my pre-order of Allegiant about a month ago because the weird religious and anti-intellectual stuff was too much for me. I have read spoilers of the upsetting end thing, though, and that part actually does not bother me. That is an ending that kind of makes sense.

    Kate @ The Midnight Garden
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    • Meg

      Truthfully, I don’t even know what her larger points were beyond MAKING JUDGMENTS IS BAD, which, okay, thanks, got it.

  10. Julsz

    Done reading ALLEGIANT today, and I just grieved on Tris & Uriah’s death. Why kill my favourite characters? I guess you we’re all right, Divergent alone is better.

    Well, I think that there’s too much conflict in the third book. Conflicts between the Factionless & Allegiant, Nita vs Tris, Compound vs GD rebels, GPs vs GDs. I loved the part where Evelyn choses his son, Tobias over power. The ending is also beautiul, very inspiring.

    BE BRAVE!

    Do you have some books to recommend so that I could get started moving on… Thanks!
    Julsz recently posted…Boy you make me feel so lucky…My Profile

    • Meg

      Hmm, post-Divergent recs…

      If you want another dystopian, I would go with Marie Lu’s Legend trilogy, it’s a similar mix of fun, action, romance and tension. The final book comes out tomorrow though, so there’s a chance it’ll break your heart. Book 2 ended on a fairly face-punching note.

  11. Donna

    Great review! I was really disappointed with Allegiant as well. The entire book was an illogical mess, and everything I had come to love about the series wasn’t there.

    However, I really didn’t like the ending. Not really because of what happened, but how it was done. If the ending had a better build up and better character motivations, I would’ve enjoyed it.

    • Meg

      I see what you mean, it was a tad abrupt. I didn’t mind though, I was ready to move on to other things.

  12. Ronni

    I’m enjoying reading everyone’s reviews of Allegiant. I am another one who agree that their voices were too similar. I had to keep checking the chapter headings to see who was talking! :O But I did enjoy the book. It broke my heart, but I’m not feeling the rage that a lot of others are feeling.
    Ronni recently posted…chill.My Profile

    • Meg

      I would’ve been lost without the chpter headers, I kept searching to see who was referred to in the third person when I didn’t feel like flipping back and checking.

      I’m glad you liked it! I wish I’d been able to, I was really looking forward to it.

  13. Sarah Martynov

    Dear Veronica Roth,
    I loved your books. They became my favorite series and I couldn’t wait for allegiant to come out. I think the first one was the best but the second wasn’t bad. But when I got to the third book I kinda lost interest. It was really boring at first but then it got a bit more interesting in the end. What I really didn’t like is that Tris died. I think that in books the main character should never die and the way Tobias felt about it….. He didn’t even cry or anything and then he just moved on. That was just a bit messed up in my mind. I cried for three hours when reading the ending because I fell in love with the characters since the beginning. I don’t know if you will be reading this because you probably get a million emails a day but if you do I would appreciate that and thank you for your time.
    Sincerely,
    Sarah M a big fan

  14. Christina (A Reader of Fictions)

    You’re a speed demon, Megosaurus.

    This is my shocked face at Veronica Roth not having the chops to pull off dual first person POVs: http://mrwgifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Aubrey-Plaza-Stares-At-You-With-Disbelief-Reaction-Gif.gif

    BAHAHAHA, OMG, this series would have been so much better if I had pictured Tobias Funke as Four. *rolls on floor*

    “Turns out all you have to do is tell him he’s damaged and back it up with official looking paperwork and he folds like a soggy napkin and spends half the book running around like a moron.” <- Wow, and I didn't even super like him at his best.

    Wait, Tris is right about things now? That's a total reversal. Did her divergentness kick in and she really is erudite now? O_O

    Being divergent was never superpowers. Like, never. It just means you have multiple dominant personality traits. Aka, that you are a human with a functioning brain.

    The only one of the supporting cast I remember is Christina, for obvious reasons. They're all blah people there to make Tris and Four look better and to move the info dumps along.

    Ah, yes, the action part does sound consistent. The best way to distract readers from the lack of plot, writing talent or character development is to throw a bunch of explosions their way. It works for Michael Bay, right?

    Tris and Four are semi-functional in this one? They were on the hot mess express in Insurgent. Does this mean they've stopped lying to one another? Also, Tris' character wasn't assassinated. It's always been awful. I just want her to be assassinated. MWAHAHA.

    "I didn’t think it would be possible for me to actually appreciate the faction world but good god, can we go back to that?" See, if I had to end this series, I would have had it be a psychological experiment to see if people are doomed to always hate each other for being different. Then, the aliens that were running it, kill us all because we failed epically. Really, you all believe that you can only be honest OR smart?

    Oh, so you do think Roth planned SPOILER from the beginning? Then why not start the dual POV earlier?
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    • Meg

      All I can think when I hear Tobias is David Cross whispering “nevernude” in my ear. It’s weird as David Cross has never been remotely close to my ear, nor whispered to me.

      Regardless of what you call him, dude was a let down. this entire books was basically the Four/Tris dynamic from Insurgent flipped around and with less suicidal impulses.

      Veronica Roth is totally the Michael Bay of books and now that you’ve pointed that out, I will never unthink it.

      I don’t know if I’d go as far as saying Four/Tris is semi-functional, but they look more like it if you squint.

      Are you still planning on reading at some point? I will follow your GR updates as though they were something that I’d follow very closely and LOL about (I was going to say candy but got to the end of the sentence and realized that didn’t make any kind of sense)
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    • Meg Morley

      If you’ve really been looking forward to it, I suggest giving it a shot. I don’t think the book was worse than the previous two, I think it’s my state of mind/preferences that had changed. (Unless the idea of the ending really turns you away. I’m the kind of person that seeks out books that will cause an emotional response)

  15. Samuel

    Most readers were expecting a happy ending because of the relationship that was created between four and tris. Tris and four had gone through a lot of trials in their life throughout the series and the author decides to kill off one of them that brings tris to leave four on his own who is slowly recovering from his childhood nightmare and then another blow where his girlfriend dies. I pity four (from my point of view) as he has gone through too much stress. (to the extend of four trying to forget everything by almost taking the memory serum) i myself would have just killed myself. Yes. The twist in the ending did surprise me, (great job on that) but i personally think that tris should have survived. I still enjoyed the series though.

    • Meg Morley

      I do want to give Four a pile of hugs, despite how annoyed I was with him most of the book.

    • Tiffany

      I couldn’t agree with you more because
      Four/Tobias deserved better!!!
      I hated how she changed his character into a “pansycake” in this book. He should’ve felt more confident and strong knowing that his sheer will was the reason the serum didn’t work on him, not because he was “born that way”.
      But I really hated that Roth thought so little of him that she would take away the ONLY person who ever loved him!!! When Tris died, I felt for him more than for her.
      That was so so wrong.
      I didn’t like it in Harry Potter when Sirius and Dumbledore where taken from him. BUT it made sense. Tris dying made no sense! What did she die for? And we already thought she was going to die in book 2 and then we had all the drama while she fought off the death serum…I think that was plenty of drama. I believe whole heartily she killed Tris for shock value and not to add to the story. I think it took away so much more than it added.
      Four/Tobias of all the characters deserved better, we all did.
      (and I found it confusing that he is living in Chicago after saying he was leaving)

      But it’s fiction and I have a great imagination. So I’ve made up my own ending and I’ve repeated to myself over and over again and it’s kind of working. I’m starting to believe it. There’s no way I was touching the GP/GD mess. But my ending is this:
      Caleb in all the craziness slips away from the guards and makes it to vault. The death serum has evaporated and he is able to get to the doorway unnoticed. He hears the conversation and because he is so calculating he knows a spilt second before Tris dives for the memory serum box thingy and he dives in and takes the bullets for her. Tris holds his hand while he is dying and says “You ARE forgiven.” Caleb smiles and closes his eyes and is gone.

      2 1/2 years later: Tobias AND Tris are on top of the building with everyone else to scatter Caleb’s ashes. He was the last of her blood family left and it has taken her this long to finally let go. She knows that Tobias & her friends are her family now. And she is looking forward to the future standing by his side.
      Tobias (fearing nothing now) goes first down the zip line. Tris follows and as she flies down letting go of Caleb and freeing herself from the pain of the past. She feels absolutely free and the sun is setting and it is beautiful.

      There. Now repeat. And repeat. It’s kinda of working. 😉

  16. Ellis

    Wow, I had to dig through the very obscure archives of my brain to remember who Cara is. She’s… Will’s sister? I’m not entirely sure, but I’m going to go with that. Argh, Insurgent was so mind-numbingly boring that I don’t think it has even touched the outer layers of my brain’s memory centre.
    I will join your The Ending Was The Best Part team. Even though I haven’t read Allegiant yet, I have so much respect for Roth that she even went there. I love how she has visualised it from the beginning and that that aspect shines through. This series in general doesn’t do much for me, but I think more authors – especially those writing in dystopian genres – should follow Roth’s example when it comes to that specific element. I wasn’t sure if I would even bother with her future work after this trilogy, but that twist has changed my mind. She has interesting ideas. She just needs to work on her execution.
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  17. Fiona R

    Now thinking of it, it should have ended a bit like this.
    SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
    After Tris got shot the first time from David, Caleb could have come running in, throw the gun to Tris, get shot and then Tris kill David.
    Tris hear the guards, type in code and release the serum and run to Caleb where a forgiven Tris cries for her brother where they share words and then Caleb dies. Wouldn’t that make such a good ending? That is what I am going and tell myself happen. And Tris and Four would live happy ever after. [^_^]

    • Tiffany

      I so agree with you! I wrote a very similar ending too because
      Four/Tobias deserved better!!!
      I hated how she changed his character into a “pansycake” in this book.
      But I really hated that Roth thought so little of him that she would take away the ONLY person who ever loved him!!! When Tris died, I felt for him more than for her.
      That was so so wrong.
      I didn’t like it in Harry Potter when Sirius and Dumbledore where taken from him. BUT it made sense. Tris dying made no sense!
      Tobias of all the characters deserved better, we all did.
      (and I found it confusing that he is living in Chicago after saying he was leaving it)

      But it’s fiction and I have a great imagination. So I’ve made up my own ending and I’ve repeated to myself over and over again and it’s kind of working. I’m starting to believe it. There’s no way I was touching the GP/GD mess.

      But my ending is this:
      Caleb in all the craziness slips away from the guards and makes it to vault. The death serum has evaporated and he is able to get to the doorway unnoticed. He hears the conversation and because he is so calculating he knows a spilt second before Tris dives for the memory serum box thingy and he dives in and takes the bullets for her. Tris holds his hand while he is dying and says “You ARE forgiven.” Caleb smiles and closes his eyes and is gone.

      2 1/2 years later: Tobias AND Tris are on top of the building with everyone else to scatter Caleb’s ashes. He was the last of her blood family left and it has taken her this long to finally let go. She knows that Tobias & her friends are her family now. And she is looking forward to the future standing by his side.
      Tobias (fearing nothing now) goes first down the zip line. Tris follows and as she flies down letting go of Caleb and freeing herself from the pain of the past. She feels absolutely free and the sun is setting and it is beautiful.

      There. Now repeat. And repeat. It’s kinda of working. 😉

  18. Tiffany

    Meg,
    Great review but I whole heartily disagree with you about the ending because Four/Tobias deserved better!!!
    I hated how she changed his character into a “pansycake” in this book. When really he should’ve been more confident in himself and felt stronger because it was his sheer will that enabled him to withstand the serum. Not just because he was “born that way”.
    But I really hated that Roth thought so little of him that she would take away the ONLY person who ever loved him!!! When Tris died, I felt for him more than for her.
    That was so so wrong.
    I didn’t like it in Harry Potter when Sirius and Dumbledore where taken from him. BUT it made sense. Tris dying made no sense to me. How did her death add to the story? Or push the story along? Or did we learn anything from her death? Nope. She died doing this thing to the Bureau that they were gonna do to Chicago and because the Bureau is evil them dropping memory serum on innocent people is bad, but if Tris & Co. do the same thing to the Bureau that’s ok because Tris & Co. are good. What?!?! Totally mixed up logic there, or no logic what so ever! We experience the drama of her almost dying in book 2, and then again while she was fighting the death serum. I think that was plenty of drama.
    Four/Tobias of all the characters deserved better, we all did.
    (and I found it confusing that he is living in Chicago after saying he was leaving it)

    But it’s fiction and I have a great imagination. So I’ve made up my own ending and I’ve repeated to myself over and over again and it’s kind of working. I’m starting to believe it. There’s no way I was touching the GP/GD mess. But my ending is this:
    Caleb in all the craziness slips away from the guards and makes it to vault. The death serum has evaporated and he is able to get to the doorway unnoticed. He hears the conversation and because he is so calculating he knows a spilt second before Tris dives for the memory serum box thingy and he dives in and takes the bullets for her. Tris holds his hand while he is dying and says “You ARE forgiven.” Caleb smiles and closes his eyes and is gone.

    2 1/2 years later: Tobias AND Tris are on top of the building with everyone else to scatter Caleb’s ashes. He was the last of her blood family left and it has taken her this long to finally let go. She knows that Tobias & her friends are her family now. And she is looking forward to the future standing by his side.
    Tobias (fearing nothing now) goes first down the zip line. Tris follows and as she flies down letting go of Caleb and freeing herself from the pain of the past. She feels absolutely free and the sun is setting and it is beautiful.

    There. Now repeat. And repeat. It’s kinda of working. 😉

  19. To All the Books I Forgot to Review (1) | Cuddlebuggery Book Blog

    […] My favorite of this series is still Divergent, but at least Allegiant wasn’t as boring and nonsensical as Insurgent. The biggest con for me was the dual point-of-views of Tris and Four because they sounded just alike and it was a chore to have to continually go back to the beginning of a chapter to remember who was narrating. Before the ending, I would have given Allegiant only 2 stars, but I really enjoyed how Roth handled it. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but the reactions from fans have been really interesting to say the least. Need an in-depth review? Meg reviewed it here. […]

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