Book Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Title: Allegiant

Author: Veronica Roth
Series:  Divergent, #3
Pages:  526
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Date of Publication: 22nd October, 2013
Source: Publisher for review*
Synopsis from 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.

Sorry in advance this review is a bit bitty! I had a lot of feelings (as usual)... :P

My Thoughts:
I reread Divergent and Insurgent before I read this, so I could be completely clued up on what had happened (I originally tried to read this in November when I first got it - however with such little memory of what went on in the first two books it was kind of difficult) and I think that that really added to my enjoyment of the book. I know it has a whole host of mixed reviews, from the 'OMG I LOVED IT SO MUCH' to the 'THIS BOOK IS TERRIBLE WHAT ON EARTH WAS SHE THINKING?!', and...

I'm definitely on the 'OH MY GOSH I LOVED IT' side.

Unfortunately, I knew what happened at the end of the book before I'd even started - Twitter was a spoiler goldmine for a few weeks and I happened across it completely by accident - needless to say I was pretty shocked. Anyway, now having read it I can see exactly why Veronica Roth wrote it the way that she did and while I wouldn't exactly say I was happy at the end, I was pretty satisfied at the ending to Tris' story.

I just wanted to get that out of the way because if you've been anywhere these last six months you'll probably know that it ends in kind of really shocking way. But that's all that I shall say on that matter and if you want to know more you'll just have to read it to find out :P

I really loved Tris in Allegiant. It had been a few years since I'd read any of Tris' story (I read Insurgent when it came out in 2012) so obviously I'm older and (I'd like to think although it's debatable :P ) a little bit more mature than I was last time I read about her. It really hit me while reading Allegiant that Tris is only sixteen. That's younger than me. Which was so weird because I'm used to her being older than me. I started reading YA when I was 11 so it's really strange that all of these characters that I used to look up to and wish I could be like when I was their age, are now younger than me (AND I'M STILL NOT LIKE THEM AT ALL). I feel so old (and I'm only 17... This does not bode well for my future!)

Anyway, Tris has changed a lot since the start of Divergent and I think reading them all in order one after the other really helped me to see that. She's brave and strong and I loved that by the end she was exactly who she wanted to be and she was able to stand up for herself and be a strong and independent individual. I think she sends a great message to the impressionable youth of today and for that I'm really grateful to Veronica Roth. Tris always says what she thinks and although she got herself into a lot of trouble for it I think that ultimately it served her well and I wish more people would be like her.

Allegiant is told in dual narrative, for the first time in the series, with the other narrator (besides Tris) being Four. While I sometimes forgot that the narrative had switched (the narration styles were pretty similar and so it was kinda difficult to differentiate) I really liked seeing inside Four's head and seeing his more vulnerable side. I mean, sure we got some glimpses of that side of him through Tris' eyes in the previous books when she brought it out in him, but never to the same extent as the dual narrative allowed. I really liked seeing him in a more realistic way and seeing him flip out over things just made me love him more. (Also, I'm not gonna lie, but having seen the film now and picturing Four as Theo James in my head did not hurt matters AT ALL... XD ) Anyway :P

Despite not being so sure about Allegiant at first, I ended up loving it. It really reminded me of why I loved this series so much when I first read Divergent three years ago, and I'm sure that it will be a series that I revisit in the future (now that I'm getting better at rereading, yay!). I cannot recommend this series enough to both boys and girls, especially if you want something that's action packed and exciting but not mindless. The Divergent film is also GREAT so you should definitely watch that - although obviously, READ THE BOOK FIRST! :D


*Huge thanks to HarperCollins for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review. In no way has this affected my opinion of the novel.