Book Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Goodreads summary:

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 review:

*Warning: mild spoilers*

Allegiant is such a difficult book to rate.  It took me a while to decide on a rating, but in the end I decided on 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.  If it weren't for the ending, though, this would probably be 3 stars.

Okay, so what happened to the amazing writing in Divergent and Insurgent?  Those books were fast-paced, action-packed, and had strong characters.  And I felt like Allegiant was lacking slightly in all those areas.  The pacing was weird, making me occasionally bored with the plot.  There was a fair amount of action, but there was also too much useless, boring dialogue between the characters.  And what happened to the formerly kick-butt Tobias?  While I still liked Tris in Allegiant, Tobias was more wimpy than he was in the previous books.  His POV and Tris's were way too similar.

Still, there were definitely moments in Allegiant that I appreciated.  I love the minor characters; they each stand out in their own way.  There are a couple adorable Tris/Tobias scenes.  Mostly, though, I love how Roth writes about relationships.  I love the tension between Tris and her brother, Caleb, and how Tris has to decide the importance of family and how far she'll go to save her family and friends.  I thought their brother/sister bond was written very realistically.  There's quite a few quotes that I loved, too.  Roth writes beautifully about the meaning of bravery and sacrifice.

I'm still in shock over the ending.  I disliked it at first, even though it made sense and was very fitting.  But now, I have to say that, as sad as the ending is, I do like it.  I admire Roth for that ending; it took guts to write that.  It's very heartbreaking and actually moved me to tears, but I'm happy with it.  Not every dystopian has to have a happily-ever-after ending, and Roth has proved that.

Although Allegiant didn't hold my attention as much as the previous books, I still found it to be a thought-provoking and enjoyable read.  I can't wait to see what Veronica Roth writes next!

My rating:  3.5 out of 5 stars

~ Kaitlyn