Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Note: this isn’t a “review” per se. Just my thoughts on certain moments and events. Ok, continue reading!
Allegiant is the conclusion to Veronica Roth’s dystopian young adult series. Most of the novel deals with what the characters find beyond the fence. I found that Allegiant was quite face-paced, but less action-driven. A welcomed change from the first two books where it felt like there was an attack of some sort every other chapter. Read on below for my thoughts on some things/events that stuck out to me. And, yes, I talk about THAT ENDING. So, if you haven’t read the book or don’t want to be spoiled, stop reading now! Read the book, then promise me you’ll come back and leave me your thoughts. I believe it’s something this fandom should talk to each other about.
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***THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING OF SPOILERS***
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Beyond The Fence
Tris and Tobias are hungry to uncover the unknown, and a select few decide to tag along only to discover that what lies beyond the fence is more revelations and misguided attempts for the “greater good.” The Bureau’s explanation for their experiments was a bit ridiculous, and it was honestly weird how Tris or anyone else from Chicago didn’t lunge at David’s throat firsthand. How are you going to treat people like lab rats?! Moreover, if you’re a scientist, how can you not see that people can’t be strictly defined by their genes? Christina = not Divergent, but she wasn’t just “honest.” There were other great aspects of her being. Marcus = Divergent, but he was a disgraceful human being! They really believed that because some GPs where surrounded by GDs that that’s why they weren’t exactly “whole” hence imperfect? Please. Despite genes, people have and make choices. Period.
Tobias’ Point of View
I loved being in Tobias’ mind! It was like getting to know him as a new person. Getting to read about his complex feelings toward his mother, getting a deeper understanding of his insecurities and, of course, getting into his mind on his relationship with Tris was such a treat! It makes me wish Veronica would have written Insurgent from his point of view as well.
“Fourtris” Moments
Part of the reason I think why there was so many steamy moments between Tris and Tobias was because Veronica wanted to give the fans plenty of happy moments before she stabbed us in the heart at the end. Nonetheless! I couldn’t get enough of Tris being less and less shy about her sexuality, and Tobias making sure to steal moments alone with her. One of my favorite moments was when they went on a date, and they talked about some of their issues from Insurgent. I’m glad Veronica didn’t avoid that.
The “Sex” Scene?
There’s a question mark because I’m not sure it happened. Like, it was a metaphor: something about her being the blade and him being the whetstone. I had to re-read that whole part to figure out if anything happened. Perhaps it’s left to interpretation, so I choose to believe they finally worked on Tris’ fear.
Lack of Evil People Dying
I’m going to take a page from Natalie Prior’s book and acknowledge the evil inside me. It disturbs me that no one evil died in this book. Not Marcus…not David…not Peter. Yes, I understand not everything is black and white, but, like not one evil person died?! David was the leader of the Bureau. He lead their sick plan to give Jeanine power to control and kill people, and THEN they wanted to wipe away everyone’s memory just so they can reset their “experiment.” Like those people in the city didn’t matter. You’re telling me David walks away with NO punishment ?? C’mon…
Tris vs. Tobias
I have a confession: every time I got to a Tris chapter, my excitement got a bit deflated. Maybe it’s because since we’ve never been in his head before, that’s what made Tobias’ chapters more interesting or made me hungry for more? Anyway, I think Tris had more chapters than he did, and I wish we got into his mind a little more.
The Death of the Series’ Central Character
I guess I’m a masochist because I read and re-read Tris’ death scene and Tobias’ reaction over and over. In one way, it makes complete sense. Tris, since book 1, has been that selfless girl. Yes, she was “blind with her brokenness” in Insurgent by making reckless attempts at self-sacrifice. But ever since Divergent she was that girl who stood up for Al. She was that girl who would have let Tobias kill her while he was in the simulation. She was that girl who stood up to Marcus on behalf of the love of her life. So, was it out of character for Tris to decide to take Caleb’s place at the end? Certainly not. It follows in line with every other brave thing she’s ever done. In another way, it still totally sucks. She could have gone to the Weapons Lab, gotten a NON-fatal shot and survived. But, no, Veronica decided that it was finally Tris’ time to join her parents. In Allegiant, Tris decided she didn’t want to die anymore and that she welcomed life’s challenges. So, it was a bit of a surprise, for me, that she just gladly went with her mom. That she didn’t fight to get back to the living world. Back to Caleb, her friends and Tobias. I just don’t see why she had to die. It almost changes the whole story for me. To me, the story of Divergent was about a girl who is on this journey to figure out herself and understanding the world, and she always rose to the occasion against difficult obstacles. In Allegiant, Tris rose to the occasion yet again–doing the right thing by taking her brother’s place– but she paid the highest price for it. Her own life. And poor Tobias holding on to her ashes for over two years, and before that, almost willingly erasing his memory because the pain of losing her was too great to bear. AGH. That scene between him and Christina KILLED me. As you may have noticed, I have conflicted feelings on the on the book. I understand why it went down the way it did, but that doesn’t mean I like it– at all.
I was planning on re-reading Allegiant because I usually end up reading the last book in a series too fast. But I cannot see myself going through that again when I know the tragic ending. When I watch the movies, I’ll always have this lingering sadness now…
Feel free to leave me your thoughts on the book! Was there something that stuck out to you that I didn’t mention? And if you need a virtual hug after reading the book or want to talk about it, my twitter is @YaGirlMelberne
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