Series: Divergent #3
Published by Katherine Tegen (10.22.2013)
Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover, 526 pages
Source: I own it
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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.
My thoughts
Since I was young, I have always known this: Life damages us, every one. We can’t escape that damage.
With all of the hype and the negativity surrounding the final installment of the Divergent series, I was kind of afraid to read it! I can’t really say it lived up to the hype, and I wasn’t blown away by it, but I still enjoyed it.
Tris improved greatly in this one. In Insurgent, she pissed me off so badly that I wanted her to be a real person just so I could throttle her. Unfortunately, that role switched to Four in this book. He annoyed the crap out of me! My main issue with him was that he supposedly loved and trusted (and respected) Tris, but when times got tough, he didn’t trust her judgement. There was one time in particular that she was right and he was too blind and petty to see it, and royally f*cked up because he didn’t trust her. I do like that he screwed up, because it made his character more real, but I hated him for it because of the outcome of his mistake.
I’m glad that Tris and Four finally came to an understanding, though. I hate when couples fight when things get tough, because I think that if they really loved each other, tough times should bring them closer together and they should turn to each other for support and understanding. It came much later than I was hoping, but better late than never I suppose.
I did however love Tris and Christina’s relationship! Now that is what it means to be a true friend. Even though they both screwed up and hurt each other (Tris more than Christina), they still stuck together and supported each other. Their friendship put Tris and Four’s relationship to shame!
I can’t say I cared for the switching POVs. It was confusing, and there were many times when I got lost in them and forgot who I was reading. They didn’t have distinct voices, so it was difficult to tell them apart. I got so used to reading Tris that I forgot when it wasn’t her. Although I do see the need for the dual perspective, I think it could have still been mostly written in her POV to minimize confusion.
And am I the only person that saw then ending coming? View Spoiler »But just because I was prepared for it, didn’t make it suck any less. I was very surprised that this book made me cry at the end. I didn’t get much feeling from anything else in the series, so I truly didn’t expect it to affect me much, even less because I kinda saw it coming. That is what ultimately made me go for a higher rating, because the majority of the book would only elicit maybe 3 heartbeats.
I know many people didn’t like this one, for the same reason that most didn’t like Mockingjay. But I did. Why? View Spoiler » Life sometimes requires sacrifice. Not everyone gets a happy ending, especially in war. It was real.
While the ending wasn’t necessarily satisfactory for some, it was wrapped up nicely and it made sense. Actually, it was a great ending in my opinion, and that’s what made this book worth it for me.
But now, I am also learning this: We can be mended. We mend each other.
Favorite character: Cara. She was blunt and sometimes abrasive, but she called things like she saw them. She was a good person with sound judgement under the tough, no-nonsense exterior. She was forgiving and was true to herself and to the people she cared about. I loved her!
Favorite Quote
I used to think that when people fell in love, they just landed where they landed, and they had no choice in the matter afterward. And maybe that’s true of beginnings, but it’s not true of this, now.
I fell in love with him. But I don’t just stay with him by default as if there’s no one else available to me. I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other. I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me.
If only that realization had been earlier than page 372…
Overall Assessment
Plot: 3.5/5
Premise: 4/5
Writing style: 3.5/5
Originality: 4/5
Characters: 3.5/5
World-building: 4/5
Pace: 3.5/5
Feels: 3.5/5
Cover: 4.5/5
Overall rating: 4/5
Four had to be one of the biggest let downs for Allegiant, he was such a pussy at times. I did question the thing you said about the dual POV change, but the idea was quickly brushed off because I found it ridiculous at that time.
Glad you liked this one, Jessi! <33
Ugh, yes! He really was!
And yeah, it’s hard to believe any author would have the balls to do such a thing! No wonder so many people were up in arms about the ending, haha ;)
I completely agree with your take on the sacrifice point. I really thought that was such an important part of the book. Especially since it is so true to character.
It really was!
Great review! I never even wrote a review for this book because I didn’t really know what to say. Sometimes I find it hard to write reviews for books that are either in a series (not the first one) and/or are super popular and hyped up and there’s already a ton of other reviews out there. But I did like it…although I was kind of annoyed by Four in this book and I didn’t like how similar their narrative voices were.
And I still can’t make up my mind about how I feel about how much the story changed in this book. There was a lot introduced in Allegiant that was never discussed in the previous books, and even though the book was long, I don’t feel like everything was fully addressed and explained the way I wish it would’ve been. I almost wish that she hadn’t brought up a few of the new plot points, but I do think that as a series ending in general it was pretty good. A lot of it made a lot of sense and I totally agree with you about the spoiler.
Yeah, the world building was never given 100%. I would have loved to know more!
I’m glad that you actually really liked this one in the end! I agree, I’m reading this one right now and the POVs are virtually indistinguishable. I also think Tobias is SOOO weak and annoying, but the rest of it so far has been pretty good. I’m glad that this one did live up to your expectations, and I already know the ending because of my friends hinting at it after it first came out but hopefully I find that it’s a fitting ending too :)
Fantastic review, Jessi! <3
Oh no, spoilers!! Well I hope it still shocks and awes you :) Can’t wait to see what you think!
AAh we need to discuss this!! I liked this book too even there is so much negativity!!! I agree quite a bit with what you’ve said about this book and EEK! There’s just so much to talk about!! Great review Jessi!
<3 Inky
I totally agree with you about how annoying Tris was in Insurgent and then how annoying Tobias was in this one! I ended up appreciating the ending though because I think it made Tobias a much better person, especially after Christina confronted him. I saw the ending coming because of the negativity surrounding the book and figured that was probably what happened, but there was that moment where it did happen where I was still like “wow- that actually happened”! And to be fair to the changing it up to do the multiple POV thing, The Matched trilogy added a POV to each book and it was not for the same reason as Allegiant’s, so it can happen. Anyhow, it was a 4 star book for me as well!
I’m glad you liked it more than I did! I wish Tobias hadn’t been such a pussy. :P
I saw the ending coming as well! And for the exact reason you did.
Haha, I actually DNF-ed the series after Insurgent, but I’m glad you enjoyed it :) I’ve heard about the ending, and I actually think that it’s a good one. I know some people were upset about it, but I never liked Tris that much… (but imagine what would have happened if it was Four instead of Tris who…) I think the fans all love Four a lot more than Tris.
Honestly, if you already know the ending then you’re not missing much. That’s the ONLY reason this got a 4 star review! The first half of the book would probably have been 3 stars for me. Tris DOES get better in Allegiant, though! And Four was the one who was annoying >.<
I honestly didn’t question her adding Tobias’s point of view because everyone seems to be doing that these days so I was so surprised by the ending! I will admit that Veronica had some balls to end it the way she did!! I thought it was pretty interesting what she did but I still hated that it happened. :/
I feel kind of sadistic because I actually liked the ending XD