BOOK REVIEW: ALLEGIENT by Veronica Roth

* Book Review:  The Last Wild by Piers Torday
* How To Write A Real Page-Turner, Part IV

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ALLEGIANT
Veronica Roth
HarperCollins
544 pp.
Ages 14-17

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.

MY REVIEW:

I'll just be blunt. The third and final book in the Divergent trilogy just didn't do it for me. Sorry.  I liked Divergent pretty well. Insurgent was okay. This was disappointing for two reasons, the first of which I can tell you, the second I can't.

Here is reason #1. Unlike books I and II, which were told from Tris's perspective, Allegient is told from two perspectives: Tris and Tobias. That is and of itself was fine, except that certain expectations were established in the first two books, and I felt that suddenly including Tobias's point of view was akin to changing the rules in the middle of the game. I knew the author had to have done it for a reason. I made two guesses as to what that reason might be, and I was right on both counts. In other words, it felt contrived, and I, as the reader, felt manipulated.

There are a lot of shocking big reveals in book three that, quite frankly, are not even hinted at in the first two books, which leads me to believe that the author had no clue how this trilogy would end when she started writing it. There was some good action in the beginning and at the end of the story, but I slogged through the middle, and the end fell completely flat for me. That is reason #2, and you'll just have to read it yourself if you really want to know why.

But now having gotten all that off my chest, I will say Allegiant was enjoyable enough to make it through to the end. I know there are plenty of readers out there who will completely disagree with my review, and that is fine. In fact I know of at least two friends of mine with whom I plan to have a hearty debate about this over lunch.

I give Roth's book a lukewarm:

CONTENT RATING:

Profanity:  Mild

Sexuality:  Moderate

Violence:  High