Book Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

What if your whole world was a lie?

The thrillingly dark conclusion to the No. 1 New York Times bestselling DIVERGENT trilogy.

What if a single revelation – like a single choice – changed everything?

What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

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.

Faction-based society is over. A dictator stands in charge but an uprising is brewing. When Tris and her friends are offered a chance to escape, to go beyond the fence and see the outside world, she is ready to accept. 

They were told the outside world was in danger and they needed the Divergent to survive. But this proves to be just one more lie to influence decisions. The reality is far graver than Tris or Tobias could ever have imagined. All of them will have to face the bottom of human natures, and closely examine themselves. They must decide which is a lesser evil and if betrayal can ever truly be forgiven. 

There has been a lot of hype over Allegiant and I can honestly say this book did not disappoint me in the slightest. We have alternating view points from Tris and Tobias, and both are equally enjoyable to be shown the story through. 

It has been a pleasure to watch Tris grow during this trilogy. She has turned into a strong, resourceful and independent young woman. She is brave and truthful and loyal to the select few she lets in. By getting his POV, we learn a lot more about the inner workings of the stoic and mysterious ‘Four’. I have been a major fan (okay, embarrassingly eager) of his since the beginning and it was brilliant to get inside his head. Tobias takes a lot on himself and I think the hardest person he finds to forgive, or give a break to, is himself. He has leadership qualities and he feels responsible for everyone around him.

Tobias and Tris clash quite often, especially in this installment. Both are stubborn and headstrong which more often than not is a recipe for disaster. But together these hard, broken people come together into something beautiful and unyielding. 

We get quite a lot of new information in Allegiant. It has less action that the previous two books and it comes across quite political at a few points. Tris and her friends are essentially in the middle of civil war that is pulling the world as she knows it apart. So while there is a lot of details, it didn’t feel like an information dump. My mind whirled with every page as I tried to keep up with the characters and figure out what move they could possibly make next.

In a lot of ways, I feel so proud of the characters in this series. The road hasn’t been easy and a lot of mistakes have been made. But each of them have been shaped by the events, by their decisions, and mostly by each other. 

You could describe this series as a dystopian novel about a flawed government with a tender romance. And it is, but it is also a story about love and courage and bravery and betrayal and forgiveness and good versus evil. This series has a huge beating heart at its centre and I will truthfully mourn that it is over. 

I adored this series, and I adored this book. It always feels like the end of something special when a treasured series comes to an end and it is no different in this case. I will miss these characters and while I can always re-read it, you can only read a book for the first time once. 

And really, they were magnificent.