I know you’ve all been dying to hear my thoughts about Allegiant (approximately a month after everyone else has already moved on). I aim to please.
I normally don’t reveal anything too spoilery in my reviews, but this is the kind of book where I’d like to discuss the Big Things that happen, and spoilers are necessary. I’m also going to assume that a great many of you have read this one already.
Overall, I liked it. I didn’t love it, which is in keeping with my feelings about the series as a whole. Generally, the third and concluding volume of a dystopian trilogy is the one chock full of the most secrets, usually huge ones about the very nature of the society’s existence. Allegiant falls very neatly in line with this trend – the revelation about the Genetically Pure (divergent) versus Genetically Damaged (non-divergent) was the sort of thing I expected. It wasn’t earth-shattering or hugely imaginative, but it made sense within the context of the story and I was satisfied by it.
That said, I was frustrated by a few plot contrivances. Partway through the story, we’re told by one of the scientists helping to run the experiments that he thinks Tobias may not be truly divergent. The scientist runs genetic tests on both Tris and Tobias, and it turns out that Tobias is, indeed, “genetically damaged,” and non-divergent. I would have accepted this more readily if there were an explanation given for the scientist’s initial suspicion. What was it in Tobias’ behavior that made the scientist believe he may not be divergent/GP? We never find out. Instead, it seems this is a shortcut to give Tobias motivation for his next set of disastrous actions and the necessary rift between him and Tris. I was disappointed by this – it seemed like forced plot manipulation, rather than something that grows organically from the story and its characters.
The introduction of Tobias’ perspective has mixed results. I loved getting into his head and discovering that he is flawed, that he fears. The subplot involving his relationship with his mother has been derided by some reviewers, but I thought it was pretty great and very teen (albeit magnified). Seeing him without Tris’ filter is quite illuminating and humanizes him greatly. His voice, however, is so similar to Tris’ that I found myself flipping back a few pages every now and then to remind myself who was narrating.
The biggest thing, and the thing I’m most torn about, is Tris’ death. Roth set up the situation perfectly so that it had to be Tris to face the death serum. She’s the one with the resistance, we’ve known this since the first book. She’s also the one who tends to sacrifice the most, even for those who have betrayed her. It had to be her to go into the room. And it would have been impossible to believe that she could have escaped alive, knowing that their plan was pretty sloppy. Of course someone was waiting for her. It seemed like Roth had made this very big decision – to kill off her protagonist – early on in the series. Because of that, it didn’t feel manipulative. It’s incredibly gutsy, and I love that she went there. The way it’s written is heart-wrenching and highlights the importance of familial love, which always gets me.
My problem is with the existence of the serums in the first place. Yes, they’re there from the beginning, so they don’t quite feel like basic plot devices…but they actually kind of do. They seem so simplistic. Death serum causes you to die. Truth serum causes you to tell the truth. There doesn’t seem to be much science (or even “science”) behind their makeup, and the reason they exist in the first place is pretty weak. And I’m still waiting for an explanation as to why Tris was extraordinarily resistant.
My review up until this point makes it sound like I was pretty tepid toward the book, which is not the case. I liked it quite a lot. It’s a hefty book, but the pages flew by for me; I was thoroughly engrossed. Yes, I’ve read better books, and yes, I found flaws, but this concluding volume was so readable and so well-paced and so exciting. It’s certainly better than the second book. It has great ideas. It holds true to its characters. It expands the dystopian world. It introduces some hefty themes about human nature and violence. It’s a solid closer and I’m a bit sad it’s all over.
I’d love for others to chime in with their thoughts, particularly if you agree/disagree with any of the points I addressed here.
I'm with you here. I decided that if I did review this–and other final books of 2013, but especially did–it would be flash style, sometime in 2014, when spoiling wasn't much of an issue! Tobias changed so much in ALLEGIANT…that was my big grievance with it. I didn't like that this book was in two POVs when the others weren't and couldn't understand the *need,* because all it did was make me like him less…until, of course, it made sense. I love that Roth went there, too. I was shocked as all get-out and expecting it not to be true at first, but I agree. It is so gutsy, and Roth was so brave. Tris was in line with her character and who she was, and what she believed, and it worked so well and didn't feel contrived. Because of this, I personally think Tris will live on and be one of those forever characters.
I have come to the conclusion, over a month after finishing the book, that the whole purpose of the series was for Tris to sacrifice herself. You may think, "Yeah, obviously." However, I think Roth may have gotten that idea when she wrote Divergent and the rest of the series suffered as a result. I did not cry, get mad, throw my book across the room, or drop my jaw when Tris died. What does that say about her death that I simply didn't care? I think the conflict was a little too confusing, perhaps because it had a few too many holes. A simpler cause could have made for a more effective sacrifice.
I have come to the conclusion, over a month after finishing the book, that the whole purpose of the series was for Tris to sacrifice herself. You may think, "Yeah, obviously." However, I think Roth may have gotten that idea when she wrote Divergent and the rest of the series suffered as a result. I did not cry, get mad, throw my book across the room, or drop my jaw when Tris died. What does that say about her death that I simply didn't care? I think the conflict was a little too confusing, perhaps because it had a few too many holes. A simpler cause could have made for a more effective sacrifice.
I also agree with your review. I thought Tris's death was completely true to character and consistent, and therefore, while I was sad, it didn't diminish my enjoyment of the book or series. (I told my husband right after he finished the book and we could talk about it, that I'd watched way too many Joss Whedon shows to be too upset at the ending. People often sacrifice themselves at the expense of their own happily-ever-after) I hadn't read the first two books very recently, so I can't compare Tobias from books one and two and Tobias from book three very closely, but nothing jumped out at me except that I enjoyed getting his point of view. One thing I've enjoyed throughout this series, and especially in this book, is how Roth explores the dynamics of relationships: how they evolve and develop and change, and how they change us too.
THANK YOU for marking spoilers. I am reading this book now and will stop on by to chat about it when I'm done!
I had so many problems with this book, I hardly know where to begin. I, like you, had problems with the serums, but I also had a large problem with Tris deciding to release the memory-wipe serum on the compound–exactly what the "bad guys" were going to do to the Chicago people. She was concerned about innocent people being hurt, yet was willing to hurt all the people in the compound, many who were also completely innocent (presumably). Tobias was a completely different character in this book, jumping to conclusions and allying with a group of people who literally came out of nowhere. But I think the biggest disappointments for me were that being divergent just meant that you were normal and that, at the end, everyone was back where they began, in Chicago. It didn't feel like it MEANT anything.
I mostly agree with you. (Serums are weird, some of the plot contrivances were frustrating, Tris and Tobias sound EXACTLY THE SAME, Tris' death had me simultaneously thinking, "Woah, that was gutsy," and "WTF?!" etc.) I think my biggest problem with the ending is not that Tris died (one of the themes of the series seems to be sacrifice, after all) but rather how she died. If tragedy has to happen because it is completely unavoidable, or absolutely necessary to the story, then I understand. Actually, I get upset when stories blatantly sidestep some obviously inevitable death or other tragic event for no reason whatsoever. (Breaking Dawn, I'M LOOKING AT YOU.) My issue with this ending is not that it is sad. It is, rather, that it is utterly unnecessary. There were so many other options they could have chosen that would have accomplished their goals. So many other things they could have done to protect those they loved. The tragedy in this book is not sacrificial, it's stupidity. They are not just stopping the serum from being released on Chicago, but turning it on other innocent people, therefore becoming the very villains they are fighting against. These characters are not strong, they are rash and irresponsible. That is what makes this ending so unsatisfying. It could have so easily been avoided if they had just taken a nap instead of jumping headlong into situations they obviously didn't understand.
On the bright side, though, this book did manage to elicit a strong reaction from me, which, even though it was a negative reaction, I appreciated that Roth was able to get under my skin.
/rant.