BOOK REVIEW: ALLEGIANT BY VERONICA ROTH

Allegiant by Veronica Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It has been hours already since I’ve finished reading Allegiant and I’m still in awe how Veronica Roth concluded the series. Just whoa. I didn’t expect something major like that to happen. As of now I’m having a book hangover, all the events from Allegiant are just playing over and over again in my head. I’m trying to let every single detail sink in to my mind and heart. I really can’t get over with that ending. *deep sigh*

For me, Allegiant is a good conclusion for the series. To see the Divergent world to come full circle; lies unravelled, truths explained and sacrifices here and there it was just beautiful, amazing and heart-warming. It wasn’t just a story about the journey of Tris, Four, Caleb and so on and so forth but it’s also a story in which all of us can take something from and most importantly use it in our daily lives.

With it being classified as a dystopian kind of novel it truly explored all the possible things that may spring out amidst the turmoil happening in their society. Roth did not hold back. No one was particularly safe in her hands.

Style. Roth’s style is easy to identify or very distinctive. Veronica Roth is practically labelled or written all over her writings, specifically in Allegiant. What she studied in college, Psychology (considering that psychology holds a big part in how the series got started) just shines through it. With what her characters are constantly going through they are bound to be like questioning and questioning and continue on questioning with what is right and what is wrong, in terms of the problem solving and the decision making factor and the specific behaviour that accompanies those decisions. I think, Roth really invested in this element of the book, analyzing the minds and actions of the characters.

There were parts where us, readers, will also be like questioning ourselves (with the DUAL POV happening), “Who’s telling the truth?” “What’s right?” “What’s wrong?” and “Where do I stand among these life threatening situations?”. In some ways, it feels like annoying (‘cause all we want is to just read what’ll happen next to the book’s characters) but on the other hand it makes us evaluate ourselves – if we were in Tris’ and Four’s shoes what will we be doing and how are going to behave/act?

Roth's great in describing places, things, what’s currently happening in the scenes of the book and how the characters are feeling. She also have this intricate/tricky world-building and back-up explanation for the “behind the fence” element of her story and it was just uhhh whoa! But for me it didn't come across as mind-boggling sort of thing. It was just a plain narration/explanation of everything about the truth.

DUAL POV. When Veronica Roth announced that the book is going to be in Tris’ and Four’s perspective, I was pretty much giddy and scared at the same time. Giddy because we are going to be given a chance to read and explore the Divergent world in a much broader scope. Like there may be things that Tris can pick up on but Four can’t and that can go the other way around. Scared because there’s a chance that it will pave way for something bigger or a game changer in terms of the story’s plot, just like what happened in *coughs* Origin *coughs*! Seriously, dual POV's scare the hell out of me!

And I was right with that. Giddy and scared it is.



In the early parts of the book, it feels like the POVs were muddled - like I can't distinguish the difference from Tris and Four's voice. But as the story progresses and there's this change with Four's character, now that's it. I’m amazed with both of the character's train of thought and how Tris and Four process and comes to a conclusion with regards to all of their decisions made in Allegiant. In some parts you can read the contradicting sentiments that they have and will leave you in a way to be frustrated in one or both of them.

(view spoiler)[ FOUR! Gahhhd! I was so frustrated with him during that first attack they conducted against the Bureau! He basically jump to the first option that he had! That was plain stupid! But arghhh! Four's emotional quotient in this book is really really low, for that GD factor really brought him down. EQ over IQ! *sobs* (hide spoiler)]

Direction and pacing of the story. So, what’s behind the fence? Allegiant just picks up where Insurgent left off. If you’ve re-read Insurgent days before Allegiant’s release, well then I think it’ll be easier for you ‘cause you’re still be like feeling the fvckin feels it left us.

The pacing of the book was good and I was carefully treading with the pages of it to let all those information soak in my head. So, if you thought that you've already mastered the Divergent world with just reading Divergent and Insurgent ... well you're up for another round to fully perfect it.(view spoiler)[ Oh yeah. Time to reveal the whole truth! Come on, Divergent and Insurgent world-building elements were all controlled! Ughhh! That part kind of annoyed and frustrated me, it's as if I've been told that my whole life was a lie! With that, it took most of the pages of Allegiant to expound about the real world of the Divergent series. (hide spoiler)]

Nahhh! I won't discuss here all the things that happened in the book. Here you go, rapid description about stuff in Allegiant: Messy situations. Shocking truths were revealed. Shocking decisions. Shocking events. Too much to handle and too much to take in! Allegiant is a helluva roller coaster ride! BAMMMM!

Four – Tris. I commend Veronica Roth for taking such a big risk in handling this element of the story. A very bold move. FourTris ship is a very popular ship in the YA world and it has been sailing every since Four and Tris laid their eyes to each other. (view spoiler)[Some authors will end their series with unicorns, rainbows and all that jazz/will just truly cave in to what the FANDOM wants ... But it was only you, Ms. Roth who would kill your own heroine, kill the other half of the ship and clearly not succumb to the needy shipper hands of FourTris fans. So yeah. No happily ever after from this series in terms of sailing ships. This is clearly a reminder that not all stories or ships ends in a HEA. *panicssssssssssss*

I know all of us were wishing that Tris could've made it until the end of the book ... but Roth took it to another level when she said that Tris is brave, fearless blah blah. What could be a great way to prove that point? Well, she obviously chose - DEATH! *sobs* In some way, I was thinking that she didn't need to take it that far to prove her point because that act alone of Tris volunteering herself in the last minute instead of Caleb. That already shows who she truly is. She didn't need to kill Tris ... WHYYYYYY? She could've just let her live! Tris already proved herself! *breaks down* *throws a fit*

*INSERT FEELS* Yes huehuehue I'm depressed! I was utterly shocked by the turn of events and I'm still in that in denial stage. HUHUHUHUHU I can't! Just looking back at Allegiant's Four-Tris moments, Oh dear this feels like a nightmare! Huff. I can't avoid not to be sad, not to weep and not to be disappointed about Tris’ death. And to see Four crying there, oh man! It just broke my heart.

I'll just include this one in here ... URIAHHHHH WHYYY???? The most jolly and playful person in the Divergent world also died! Seriously, I'm experiencing a book hangover/depression! I'M AN EMOTIONAL MESS RIGHT NOW! *WEEPS*

*PEP TALK - still convincing myself* The consolation to that major twist is to see them stand back up after this loss that they've experienced. And most importantly is the thought that Tris died with reason, purpose and for the greater good.
(hide spoiler)]

Ending. It's a love it or hate it type of ending. So, I'm sure Allegiant will get mixed reviews amongst readers. (view spoiler)[I may have typed in those words above but HONESTLY, I still don't know how to feel about this ending ... A part of me knows that it's a great way to end the series and that major scene was just so TRIS! I can really imagine her doing it. But the other part of me is just totally devastated about Tris' death. I NEVER saw that one coming. I may have thought already of the possibility of Four not making it til the end of the book BUT not Tris. Not Tris. Tris is the foundation or the most important voice of the series and and ... *deep sigh* (hide spoiler)]

There's so many things that I would love to comment on but jfcjsd this is all I can put up for now. Maybe in a couple of days or months, I'll revisit this post. *sigh*

"Life damages us, every one. We can't escape that damage. But now, I am also learning this: We can be mended. We mend each other."

Help! Someone mend me…

Bye x
PS: Messy review? Obviously, my emotions are all over the place ...
Rating: 3? 4? 4.5? 5? Idk. I'm a mess! I'll just evaluate this in a few days.


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