Review - Allegiant by Veronica Roth

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.

Well, I was sad to get to the last book in the series. Allegiant by Veronica Roth did not disappoint me. Well, at least not in a "Well, that book sucked" kind of way.

In this last installment, Tris, Tobias and Co. have ventured outside of the fence line in search of the truth behind the truth they'd been slapped in the face with. They come face to face with the fact that everything they thought they knew has been more or less a lie. They've been pawns in some kind of experiment in realizing genetic purity.

They think they've broken out of the prison of the war between the factions and the factionless yet they've ended up in a situation far too similar to what they'd been trying to leave behind. Tobias is losing himself in his attempt to gain control of himself, and Tris - the ever skeptical of ANY situation - is just trying to find out the nuts and bolts of it all.

The story is told from two different perspectives. Which is fantastic, I love being able to see in to the mind of both Tris AND Tobias... but sometimes I forgot who I was reading and had to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to see who it was. Minor snafus, that's all.

I miss Tobias. The Tobias that I met back in book one when he was Four. The strong, somewhat silent but definitely strong Dauntless instructor. I can definitely understand why he has unraveled and become what he has, but it's just so sad. He's a shell of the person he used to be. But he has the small hope that after everything is over, he finally gets to be with Tris. No wars... no government take-overs...

Tris has gone from being unsure of herself, to being completely suicidal, to being steadfast and sure of herself, no matter what the outcome of any given situation. She doesn't define herself by the labels placed on her by anyone and doesn't pay any attention to them when they concern anyone else either. I really liked her this book. After her Katniss-meltdown in book two she really pulled herself back together.

Allegiant is still a relatively new book, so I can't say much (I know, I've said that in all three reviews, but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone). But this book just completely crushed me. Like in the movie Titanic when Jack and Rose make it through being handcuffed, shot at, stuck on steerage deck, going down with the ship... just for Jack to freeze to death waiting for rescue in the water. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel... but the light ends up being a train.

Yeah, that's kind of how it felt. Like a giant train comes out of nowhere and just completely ran me down.

I don't know if this is the type of book that you can LIKE, per se... It was definitely a good book. But it just broke my heart. For days after I finished it I couldn't pick up another book because I just didn't know what I could possibly read after that.

If you've read Divergent and Insurgent, then you have to read Allegiant. You just have to. But be prepared for the kick in the gut that it's going to give you.

Review - Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Fighting for survival in a shattered world… the truth is her only hope.

The thrillingly dark sequel to No. 1 New York Times bestseller, DIVERGENT.

I have done bad things. I can’t take them back, and they are part of who I am.

Tris has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes ever more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.

Yet if Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she must be stronger than ever… because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead.

I don't know if I said this when I reviewed book one, but I am super glad that I waited such a long time to read this series. If I had had to wait ANY length of time in between reading Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth, I think I would have gone crazy. I don't recall ever having read a book before that literally had my heart pounding like mad. So Insurgent had a lot to live up to.

It starts off where book one left us. Tris and Four have just been completely devestated by the loss of almost all of the Abnegation factor and Tris's family, on top of the fact that she had to kill one of her closest Dauntless friends who was going to murder her under the simulation serum. After revealing that fact under a truth serum, she has to suffer through the fall out while Christina wants nothing to do with her and Four is upset that she seems to have issues being honest with him.

They seek refuge in Amity who decides to remain neutral. But, in an effort to remain the ever peace-keeping faction, Tris and her crew are not out of the woods yet.

I loved that we got to take a look in to all of the different factions more closely than before. We were so saturated with Dauntless and were only given glimpses of  the others. The world building and the descriptions and depth that's gone into during this story is absolutely fantastic. I've read a lot of stories where you get JUST ENOUGH to know what's going on, but nothing else. And those types of books always leave me wanting more. This series, though, Roth is wonderful at describing everything in such incredible detail that I feel like I can close my eyes and picture it perfectly.

Along with setting, feelings and emotions were thrown at me with such ferocity that I found myself feeling them right along with the characters. I got this throbbing ache in my chest following Tris through her emotional turmoil and could totally feel Four's fear as Tris spiraled further and further down in to the black hole she had fallen in to.

She kind of had a Katniss Everdeen breakdown. More like a Katniss Everdeen/Bella Swan (sorry, I know.... I hate making the comparison, I promise) breakdown. She was so stricken by grief that she was reckless, thinking that the only way to honor the sacrifice made by so many before was to do everything she possibly could to join them.

As with the previous book, I really don't know what else to say. There were so many amazing characters to write about, but I don't feel like I can just pick one or two (apart from Tris and Four) to talk about and do them justice. Books with so many characters sometimes have a hard time giving life to all of them. But these characters are each given personality and flaws and back stories that are just fascinating.

Again, I recommend this book to dystopian fans. Fans of the Hunger Games series and... just exciting reads in general. It may be a little too complex for younger readers to understand so it's probably better for an older crowd, but I think EVERYONE should read this. After you've read book one of course. Because it literally picks up RIGHT where the first story left off. Go read it! Now!