There’s nothing I love more than being able to curl up and read a good book. During this seemingly never ending semester, my reading list has averaged at right around 300 pages a week. Some weeks I even read up to 500 pages. But despite all the reading I need to get done for classes, one of my favorite things to do at the end of a long week is just decompress…with a book. However, there’s only so much time, so the books I get to read for pleasure are few and far between. Though I’d like to say that when I have the time I pick up some pretentious classic, there are honestly some days when I just prefer to snuggle up with a good old YA novel. They’re easy and quick reads, most of the content is well thought out and many authors write really wonderful and thought provoking characters (I’m looking at you, John Green.) The point is, this past weekend I finally got the opportunity to read the long awaited third book in the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, Allegiant. Before you read any further, if you have any interest in reading the series or haven’t read the final book, I suggest you stop reading, for there will be many spoilers to come. For those that have read the book and are interested in what I have to say about the book, read on!
Photo by shutterhacks via Flickr
So, recap. Last we knew, in Roth’s dystopian Chicago, the people living there were revealed to be part of none other than an experiment, in part orchestrated by, to the surprise of everyone, the main character, Tris’ distant relative. Violence and other shenanigans ensue, but we’re left with no resolution. This is where Allegiant comes in. Through many court trials and power struggles within the city walls, Tris and a group of people within the city, sworn to the allegiance of keeping the people of Chicago from destroying themselves, venture outside of the fence that they’ve been kept in for the duration of their lives. From there, they discover that they’re being observed by a government agency, The Bureau of Genetic Welfare. And that the trait ‘Divergence’ doesn’t matter much after all, but is in fact part of a bigger and surprisingly more sinister plan.
So much about that novel turned me into a sobbing mess. Though there were things that I didn’t really enjoy about the book, it was overall very beautifully written and Veronica Roth deserves all the awards for the fantastic series she’s made me fall in love with.
Things I Didn’t Like:
-The dual POVs (Four’s chapters were just more boring Tris chapters.)
-The amount of character deaths (There were soooo many, and so many that felt less like essential deaths and more just there for the shock value. URIAH? REALLY?)
-There was a lot of filler text (Almost too much.)
-The fact that Tris died (Sob. Sob. Sob.)
Things I Liked:
-The lessons the book taught me (The fact that bravery and selflessness can be one in the same and intermingled so seamlessly will forever be ingrained in my mind.)
-The explanation of the experiments, and what exactly the government was doing (Genetically pure and genetically damaged and all that entails? Freaking cool.)
-The airplane scene (It was so beautifully written, and it really helped me reevaluate the scope of the world seeing it from the eyes of people that had never even been out of the city of Chicago.)
-The ending (Though Tris dies, Roth really ingrained what the series was representing, the power of sacrifice for those you love. And the scene where Four scatters Tris’ ashes is just heartwrenching. More tears fell at that point.)
It’s hard to be as upset as I want to be about how this series ended. To reiterate, Veronica Roth is a wonderful writer with a plethora of talent that I hope she continues to share with the world.