Allegiant by Veronica RothSeries: Divergent #3
Published by: Katherine Tegen Books on October 22, 2013
Genre: Dystopian, Post Apocalyptic, Science Fiction
Pages: 526
Source: Purchased
Buy on Amazon • Book Details
Rating: ★★
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 explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth's #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.
Before I begin, I think it’s important that I kind of let you know where I stand with the Divergent series up to this point. I LOVED Divergent so much. It pulled me out of a massive reading rut and made me fall in love with YA again. Then I read Insurgent and was not wowed. Honestly, I think I should have given the book more like 2.5 or 3 stars (I gave it 4.. no idea why, especially after re-reading my review).
I was excited about Allegiant because of the big bang ending that was in Insurgent, but honestly my hopes weren’t that high. I wasn’t convinced that Allegiant was going to wow me, and I was right.
I’m going to break up this review into clear sections of what I didn’t like.
I don’t like how Tris and Tobias pushed aside their problems by making out
Tris and Tobias’s relationship still isn’t perfect in Allegiant. They have things they need to talk about and discuss. But ANY time this situation comes up, they bury it by making out. It’s literally like:
“We need to ta—”
Suddenly I felt his mouth on mine. [Cue make out scene.]
Paraphrasing, but that’s the gist of it. SO.MANY.TIMES. It’s almost like they thought they had to make up for their fighting/distance in Insurgent, but this was not the right way to do it! You can’t just hope your problems will go away by cutting them off with a kiss. It doesn’t work like that.
I kind of wish Tris and Tobias just didn’t have a relationship at all
I grew to hate Tris and Tobias’s relationship. Adding onto the previous point, I just felt like their relationship was so half ass. Except when they were making out, they didn’t act like a couple. They didn’t treat each other like equals. There were still plenty of times when they didn’t clue each other in on their thoughts/plans. They just didn’t feel TOGETHER.
Maybe this is extremely stereotypical of me, but there were so many moments when I felt that Tris and Tobias should have reacted in a certain way as a couple (like comforted the other person, or sought comfort from them), but they reacted so indifferently instead.
I could stay and try to comfort him, but I need answers about my mother, and I’m not going to wait any longer.
Except when their lips were glued together, I just didn’t look at them and think, “You guys are dating. You love each other.” Instead I saw.. colleagues? Maybe friends?
I felt like labeling what they had as a relationship just brought the story down. I honestly would have preferred if their relationship was just cut from the book because it kept disappointing me.
“But no more lies. Not ever”
“Okay.”
I feel stiff and squeezed, like my body was just forced into something too small for it.
Because being completely open and honest with Tobias makes her feel restricted and contained? *eye roll*
Tobias and Tris sounded the same
In Allegiant, the chapters switch between Tris and Tobias’s points of view, but I couldn’t tell them apart. I often had to double check the chapter heading because I couldn’t tell whose point of view I was reading from.
I think if you’re going to have alternating points of view, you have to have two very distinct voices. Tris and Tobias didn’t sound or feel particularly different.
I didn’t love any of the characters
Overall, the character development and relationships were poor. I already talked about Tris and Tobias, but I couldn’t connect to ANY of the characters really. I just felt so little for them.
Tobias on his own was weak. I remember loving him in Divergent because he was such a hardened badass. In Allegiant he’s constantly doubting himself, wallowing in grief, blaming himself for everything… it got to be a bit pathetic and I just wanted to yell at him and tell him to quit with the self pity.
I loved Christina in Divergent, but I was indifferent towards her in Allegiant.
There were a bunch of other characters but they all felt so fleeting. They dodged in and out of the book and I never got a sense of who they were and never formed any attachments to them.
I hated how we had two separate societies and two separate rebellions
It made it hard for me to figure out where I should concentrate. On the one hand we had the rebellion within the Chicago city. The factionless rebelled and are trying to take over and convert the whole city into a factionless society.
Then on the other hand, we have the whole of the United States. With this society we have a whole other rebellion. Once this one started up, I felt like I was being pulled in two different directions. I didn’t know if the rebellion in Chicago was still important, and I didn’t know what to even focus on! I hated how we were introduced into one conflict, and then suddenly jerked into a different one.
Mostly I just didn’t like how we spent two books being told what was important: Chicago, the factions, the rebellion there. Then in book three, all that changed. We’re told to just throw that out the window, ignore it, let it sort itself out. Instead, we move onto ‘bigger’ and ‘more important’ things.
The time period was weird
In Allegiant we get the sense that the story takes place at least hundreds of years in the future. We know that the experiments have been running for at least ~7 generations (about 210 years). But I don’t think that when they started was 2013 either. It was probably at least 2050 when they started (if not later), then that means Allegiant takes place around 2260.
The exact timing isn’t important, but what is important is that the Divergent series takes place hundreds of years in the future. And yet… I thought there was so little advancement. All the tech seemed like 2013 tech. It’s like advancement was stunted, but the years kept rolling by. They still use guns, normal trucks, airplane travel seems the same, etc. With all the wars and uprisings, I would have expected really advanced weaponry.
Sure they had the serums and the fear landscapes, but that’s about it…
I didn’t like how the serums felt more like magic than science
In particular, I’m talking about the death serum. View Spoiler »
I’m sure the memory serum lacked plausibility as well, but at least I was able to buy into that a bit more.
I did not like the ending
Maybe some people will like it for being ‘powerful’ or ‘gutsy’ or ’emotional’. I just didn’t like it.
View Spoiler »Allegiant was about what I expected
After Insurgent, I think Allegiant was exactly what I expected it to be. I don’t feel like Tris and Tobias’s relationship ever “healed”, and for the rest I was just mildly indifferent. Throw in a few other problems, and it’s about what I expected it to be.
I still look back on Divergent fondly, but I think overall I just don’t like where the series went. I hated how it destroyed Tris and Tobias’s relationship, I didn’t love where the plot went, and I hated the ending Roth chose.
The Verdict
Now I’m doubting about whether or not to even start the series. xD
Well damnit. I had to skim your review because I am starting this book pretty much tonight. But only 2 stars? Gee, something must have really gone wrong 🙁 I was starting to feel the series slip in Insurgent, looks like this series is on a downhill slide.
Great review, Ashley! <33
I like Divergent, but Insurgent is not amazing for me. The rebellion is kinda stupid, seriously the one who seperated a country to 5 factions that connect each other should know that’s where another rebellion will be happened. It built narrow-minded, shut self down from other factions, eventually became hating each other.
I want to read it because I like Caleb (lol), but seeing your review, I don’t think I should read it pretty soon.
She makes you despise Caleb. That’s another fleeting character/problem Tris experiences.
I also agree about the Tris/Tobias viewpoints and how they sounded the same. I remembered reading a two chapter thing after Divergent that was Tobias’s viewpoint in one of their scenes together and Tobias had this hardened thought process about him that was so different than the Tobias in this book.
And don’t get me started on how the actress for the movie looks nothing like Tris.
I liked Insurgent more than you but I also had this bad feeling about Allegiant. Your review mirrors so many others. It seems like this book has universal problems. And that sucks. I had high hopes for this series when Divergent came out. I hate when relationships and characters don’t evolve and develop, and I hate when the main character dies at the end. I love when important characters die because it makes a book unpredictable, but the main character? Then there is no point in reading the series for me.
I might not read this book at all. I want happy thoughts to remain when I think of this series, even if it is a delusion.
*siiiiigh* I always did want to read this one, and had a copy reserved, because the ending to Insurgent just sparked much curiosity in me. So naturally, I just HAD to read Allegiant. I was really expecting it to end with a bang, and everyone would be crying and laughing and wishing the series didn’t have to end, but so far, I’ve only really seen reviews 3 stars and below. It saddens me, but I still have to know what happens. So in the meantime, I’ll read it. Perhaps it’s more to my liking than yours! I just hope Tris and Tobias don’t annoy me to no end with the relationship. And great review Ashley! <3
I pretty much completely agree with this review. I finished the book myself and I was very meh with it.
Your entire review was very well detailed and thought out. I liked that. For me, the best part of the review was the spoiler for the ending. I liked that you gave me your reasons for why it didn’t work. Thanks for that.
I also don’t know if I want to waste my time on the entire series when it seems like you weren’t invested enough in the characters and their relationships.
I’m the same as you – I loved Divergent (ironically enough I just posted my review today), but Insurgent didn’t wow me as much. Mostly because of Tris’s attitude – alternating between hyper-selfsacrificial and frozen with fear. I still can’t wait to read Allegiant, since some people have loved it and some really haven’t. I’m glad I spoiled myself, so now I can go into the end knowing what will happen and being emotionally prepared for everything 😛
This book had so many issues. Even if you’re okay with the ending (I was shocked and sad, but understood why it happened), there were so many other things wrong that it made for an overall disappointment. I totally agree about Tris and Tobias sounding the same. I didn’t want their relationship to end. I like them together, but one of my issues with this book is that they never really worked their crap out. It was infuriating. Good point about the serums being more magic than science. That was one question that I had about the ending. How? Makes no sense. And I hated the outside world. I just wanted them to go back into the city and deal with the rebellion there. I didn’t even care about the outside world. I gave it three stars because there was still some things that I liked, but it was pretty disappointing. 🙁
I didn’t make it through Divergent, and didn’t attempt the rest of the series, but seeing the reviews roll in for Allegiant, it makes me think that the problems that bugged me in Divergent just snowballed throughout the next two books. I’m sorry the series ender was a letdown for you. It sucks when the things we enjoy fizzle out.
I love your formatting of summarizing your points with that great boarder. Ah, I hate being disappointed. Sad that this book wasn’t for you. I loved Will and Christina from Divergent and everything from divergent. I always need distinct POVs as well.
You did a great job of articulating what I haven’t been able to. Thank you. 🙂
I wasn’t a huge fan of this book either…unfortunately. I was very excited for it and then it was disappointing. I totally agree with you about the death serum. I had those same exact thoughts while reading it! It just doesn’t make sense.
Your review pretty much summed up all my feelings for Allegiant. I didn’t mind the ending, but it’s definitely not the ending I would have chosen. I understood why it happened that way, and was fitting for the character, but not the ending I envisioned. Tris and Four’s constant kissing to resolving their issues annoyed me so much, but the biggest problem was their chapters sounding the same. I had to keep on checking to see whose point of view I was supposed to be reading.
I rated the book a whole star and a half more than you did but I think it’s just because I was WAY more understanding of the overall conflicts in the book and the ending. But in general I do agree with so much that you said. I think though that dystopian endings are always a bit messy when it comes to world building questions. It’s just the way it is and while I think Veronica didn’t a bad job explaining them I felt they were all dumped too fast on me and didn’t meet my expectations.
Tobias and Tris. Ahh I loved the idea of then while reading Allegiant. I liked what I saw from them in Divergent and Insurgent. But where did that all go in Allegiant? It’s like Tris grew up and Tobias started acting like an upset impulsive kid. Seriously I think Tobias was extremely weak in this book. I think Veronica wanted to make him seem vulnerable but theres vulnerable and than theres weak and Tobias was just weak. Great review Ashley!
Lily
Im not gonna lie, i cried. I cried my eyes out. I become so attached to tris in divergent and insurgent and the end just let me down.
I agree with most of you. Tobias was just weak in this book. I loved his BA reputation in divergent. And while reading allegiant i was just like, where did his streak go. Truly i was hoping that Tris would break up with them. Their relationship just wasn’t what i wanted. I expected better from this book and i didn’t get it. I dont even know if i will go see the movie because i dont want to get attached all over again, just for me to see the third movie and be an emotional wreck. Them not knowing anything about the outside world, like what airplanes were and the U.S. Sure i get it but it still annoyed me. Idk this book just wasnt what i expected
It sucked.
I just posted my review of this book today and I enjoyed it WAY more than you did, but I can understand your points. I definitely agree with you about Tris and Tobias’ relationship – I was SO glad when they finally seemed to get it together about three-quarters of the way through the book, but I wish I hadn’t had to wait that long. I actually liked the ending, though and overall enjoyed the book – more than most people did, it seems!
I agree with all of your points. I was completely enthralled with Divergent, and I mowed through Insurgent in like 2 days. I didn’t like it as much as Divergent, but I enjoyed it enough to preorder Allegiant.
I felt that the whole book was disappointing in general and Tris and Tobias were just downright annoying. They didn’t move forward in their relationship (unless you count them maybe reaching home plate) but they seemed so wrapped up in themselves and their own personal conquests that they had no time for it.
I was glad when they broke up (except those painstaking chapters narrated from Tobias’s POV (gag)). I was even hoping that Tris and Matthew were going to hit it off.
And yes the ending was awful and seemed untrue to the plot. Like Roth knew the whole time she wanted Tris to die, so even when she could have very logically written the scene without David, she had already sealed Tris’s fate.
Allegiant is entertaining enough to read, but the majority of the book made me feel cheated.
I cannot express how upset I am with this book and I am glad I have others in agreement. I studied dystopian fiction and YA fiction and from what I learnt, the reader must always be left with hope- when Tris died, she died. There was no hope. I understand where Roth is comming from saying Tris needed a powerful ending but to me the whole death syrum could have been avoided. Perhaps it could have ended with Caleb dead not her? Because you get to a point as a reader when you’ve read the books where the main character dies and books where they don’t. This might just be me, but from experience in YA and Dystopia, main character deaths are not powerful, they are cowardly and an easy way to end a story. What is powerful about sacrifice when at the start you could have both refused the task of death. What is brave of sacrifice when you parents sacrificed themselves for you only to ‘honour’ them by loosing your life and the value of their sacrifice too. Don’t get me wrong, Veronica Roth is amazing and talented but to me the factions made the whole thing better which to my disappointment was disbanded in INSURGENT. Then Roth took away the only real thing Tris and Tobias shared no matter what- divergence. I’m sorry but this story was a let down, one that seemed as if it was planned without much consideration (or little guidence.) Sorry about my rant and I’m sorry Veronica but this is not what I consider YA fiction. It’s as if you read to be let down. You read to be disappointed. Sorry, but this was not for me a favourite, especially since her death was planned since the very start.
Ok! WTF?! I LOVED ALL THE BOOKS!! Even If I cried my eyes out at the end of Allegiant I LOVED THEM! And they were SUCH a cute couple!! I LOVED IT!! YOU PEOPLE ARE CRUEL!!
I didn’t really enjoy this book. I loved how Tris and Tobias were a couple I just didn’t think an author could end a book that way. And i also didn’t like the ending at ALL. It ruined my life and I cried my eyes out.
Your words could have easily been mine. I agree with you on everything. I loved Divergent, and even Insurgant. Loved the story and the love between Tris and Tobias. But allegiant was a real disappointment, not just the ending, everything.
Couldn’t agree more with your review. I feel like so let down with this book, especially the ending. It was just the worst.
i absolutely 100 % agree with you! i finished the book a month ago and i hated the ending and tris and fours relationship was pathetic! i absolutely loved divergent but allegiant was horrible! in divergent at the starting tris couldn’t even watch edward and myra kiss but now she solves all her problems with her boyfriend by making out!? i also agree how you said that tobias was so bad ass in divergent and now he always self pities himself!? i liked the tobias who was bad ass not this self pity party dude! i would probably rate the book a 3 and a half out of 10 i was just reallly disappointed 🙁
I agree with this review wholeheartedly. Usually, when I get to the end of a series that I have enjoyed, I take time to think about it fondly and dream about what comes next for the characters. Having literally finished reading Allegiant no more than twenty minutes ago, I find myself here, having searched the web to find out if anyone was as disappointed as I am now. The sheer number of negative reviews I’ve found is sadly unsurprising. There were just too many pitfalls to the plot, characters and technique of this book. I too found myself a little lost within the twists and turns of the storyline… And not in the good way. I found myself wondering about the relevancy of most of the drama and by the time I reached the end of the book, I was exhausted. Tris and Tobias’ relationship had deteriorated beyond the point where it could still have been salvaged and I found myself hating them both – Tobias a little and Tris a lot. It’s no wonder then that her fate had absolutely no affect on me. Their voices in the narrative were exceedingly annoying; I was excited when I first read a Tobias chapter but that excitement faded quickly as his voice began to resemble hers more with every page. Overall, a hugely unsatisfactory end to the promising trilogy started in Divergence.
I had to come back and repost about how shitty this book is. I recently read a few interviews where Roth defended Tris’s death, stating that sometimes we don’t get what we want, etc. I completely agree with her… Yes, sometimes we don’t get what we want in books, IF IT WORKS. In this case, there was no reason at all for Tris to die. A common theme we are all discussing is how no one believed her death. Not because we were sad about it, but because it didn’t make any sense. When Sirius died in HP, it was devastating, but we get it. There is a reason. But with Tris, what was the point? Unless it was to rid us of her constant whining, which I get.
Total waste of time!! and to think I waited for this book to be published.. grrrrr…. it’s like hunger games..book 1 is good , book 2 is not so good and book 3 is sooooo so bad.. I hope Partials of Dan wells would be different since first two books are great.. 😉 I’m also waiting for Tahereh Mafi’s 3rd book..
I didn’t like the series as a whole. I personally thought it was too similar to Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and Twilight to take seriously.
The plot of Divergent was just rushed and random.
Insurgent was baffling, cliche, and if not predictable. All Tris ever did was not listen to what anyone said and make a mess of everything to look badass when it really just looked stupid.
And altogether Allegiant was just a disappointing end. Where I once slightly cared about Tris, all emotional investment for her by this book was gone. Tobias had an amazing character and it was defiled and ruined by the end.
A good book series is supposed to leave you feeling hopeful and proud, not hopeless and empty.
I thought the 3rd book was good. (3½ of 5 stars)
I was not angry with the ending as some were. I thought it fit the setting of this world well. That said, I did not like what happened to Tris.
I don’t like how Tris and Tobias pushed aside their problems by making out
I agree, but this can be very typical of some relationships. People will (at times) )try to avoid what needs to be said/done, especially if it is not easy or comfortable.
I kind of wish Tris and Tobias just didn’t have a relationship at all
I understand your sentiment. At times it would have been easier for me to read. Their relationship was strained at times, but I would have liked to think that it could have worked out in the end. It probably could have been done without affecting the main idea of the story, but without seeing an alternative it is difficult for me to see how the story could have worked without Tris’ and Tobias’ relationship.
The lying and lack of communication between Tris and Tobias became tiresome after a while.
Tobias and Tris sounded the same
I agree.
I didn’t love any of the characters
Perhaps that is one reason why I was just disappointed with the ending. I had an interest in what happened to the characters as their tale related to the story, but I generally did not care too deeply about what happened to any individual character.
Part of this might be due to not seeing enough of any individual character (except Tris & Tobias) to form a strong connection between me and them.
I hated how we had two separate societies and two separate rebellions
Mixed feelings about this. It almost seems that there should be another book to deal with the world outside of Chicago. Part of me does like there is more than what meets the eye.
The time period was weird
I did not think too much about this. I thought it was about 250 years in to the future (~2250-2300). Interesting point about apparent technology.
I didn’t like how the serums felt more like magic than science
It did seem amazing how Tris was able to be so resistant to the effects of the different serums (especially the death serum).
I did not like David being in the room at the end. It would have been more plausible to me if Tris was able to activate the oblivion serum while succumbing to the effects of the death serum.
I did not like the ending
I would have preferred it if Tris survived, but it did not bother me that she did not make it.
Additionally, I thought the ending with Tobias and his mother was so… lame… and easy.
It was much easier than I expected. I thought it would have been easier to get at the father. I did not expect any reconciliation between Tobias and either parent.
Although, it could be possible that the mother had a change of heart when it appeared that she lost her son for good. When the opportunity of having a relationship with her son arrived unexpectedly, she realized the error of her ways and went after what really mattered to her.
Overall I thought the trilogy was good. It was not a perfect ending, but I was OK with the ending. I liked the ending more than the Hunger Games, although I cared more about the characters from Hunger Games. (Go figure 😉 )
Thank you for your review.
I thought there were several good parts from Allegiant that could be applied to current political climate. (Unfortunately, I will need to look for them in the book.)
Ch34
That strikes me as naive, for someone who once lived in my city and saw, at least on the screens, how many secrets we kept from one another. Evelyn tried to control people by controlling weapons, but Jeanine was more ambitious—she knew that when you control information, or manipulate it, you don’t need force to keep people under your thumb. They stay there willingly.
That is what the Bureau—and the entire government, probably—is doing: conditioning people to be happy under its thumb.
“Well your home is perpetuating the belief that genetically damaged people need to be fixed—that they’re damaged, period, which they—we—are not.
I walk past one of the lean-tos and see a little girl crouching just inside the door, her arms wrapped around her knees. She sees me through the crack in the layered tarps and whimpers a little. I wonder who taught these people to be so terrified of soldiers. I wonder what made a young boy desperate enough to aim a gun at one of them.
Waste of time just as the review said. Loved the first book and felt Roth stole the possibility of something amazing coming from the beginning story line with this last book. It left me feeling as if I lost time and money to be disappointed. I will not read anything she publishes after this horrid experience.
What a waste of time. I can’t imagine how they allowed Insurgent and Allegiant to be published. Was there even a book editor? Divergent had potential to be great and I was hoping the sequels would be better but I guess the author just wanted to cash in. 🙁
This last book was just so boring. The switching POVs were confusing and didn’t help move the story forward. And then part way through the book, I just had a moment where I had to groan out loud when I realized that there was ANOTHER uprising?! To top that off, everything about how the society came to be had to be explained to death. I was both bored and annoyed with the plot, the way the story was progressing, and the romance. Finally, I went from annoyed to kind of angry that Tris seemed to die for no good reason.
But I do have to say that I’m quite done with this author. She’s lost me as a fan with this third book and I’m sorry to say that have no interest in ever reading anything from her again.
Worst ending ever?!:'( the ending of this book killed it.. awful ending, loved the first 2 though.. I hope they will change the ending in the movie
I loved Tobias and tris relationship and wish she wouldn’t have died so they would have a family
The book as a whole was just awful, and I love that you pointed that out. A lot of people just complain about the ending (as a few of these comments do) but they neglect to see that the entire book was just big atrocious flop. Even the title didn’t make sense to the content of the book.
You pointed out that the serums felt more like magic than anything else. I never thought of it that way, but you’re right. They just started becoming cop-outs for everything. Everybody started proposing every serum imaginable as solutions and that’s not how this works. As for the whole genetics thing? Ugh. Just ughhhhh.
I also have a post about how awful Allegiant was: http://salexmartinauthor.blogspot.com/2014/04/why-allegiant-is-worst-ending-to.html
Good post, and good to see that someone else has in-depth explanations for why the whole book — not just the end — was awful.
Thank you for sharing your post! I’ll check it out.
The book went on and on and on and landed on a perfect timing with a much praise-able ending. Very Tris-like, if you ask me. Worth every penny. And not only this last installment but the books before were just as worthy, as this was. Phenomenal!
I know that people have felt differently about Allegiant. I fall on the disappointed side. I know half a star seems harsh but when I think how this could have turned out after such a great premise in book 1……the factions, the conflict, the brutality and the challenge of understanding who you are and who you want to be. I feel that book 2 and 3 are all hard work, there is little joy, comfort and support for Four who basically keeps Tris alive in book 1 through pushing her, challenging her etc. It’s hard to critique without spoilers but I feel gaping holes in plot line and just lack of emotional connections in both 2 and 3 really disappoint. I could truly right a whole essay on this.
In truth I feel number 3 is actually quite poorly written. Alternate POV books are supposed to show distinct personalities…this doesn’t and I had to flick back to check whose viewpoint. I hated the Tobias character development in 2 and 3 it just didn’t make sense..it reminded me of tv series’ that go on too long and so for interest they destroy seasons of character development / story to extend the life of a programme. If it’s supposed to be a shocking finale book to the trilogy….I thought it was more of a cop out throughout and not just the end. At 37 I know that fairy tales are just that……so it’s not just fan- shipping or whatever they call romanticism these days.
The genius of imagination is that you can rewrite the end ( or in this case whole book) in your minds…it’s what I do when I feel short changed. Will not be in a rush to see the next three films….yep folks Allegiant is split in two.
To be honest I feel like u just hated the books. I feel like you had two much hate.