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readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The writing is better in this one than in the previous too, you can see the growth, but this one is far less exciting than Insurgent and Divergent.
This one is the farthest off from the movies and I think the book is slightly better than movie where I’d disagree with the previous two. There is more character development, a variety of characters, and I think where the characters end up is better than the movie. However, the lead up to it was very boring. I think the author could have done more to make the Bureau grander and more descriptive so it felt exciting rather than just another location that had similar living conditions.
With the switching POVs, I know why it was done, but I felt like there wasn’t a distinct change between Tobias and Tris. I had to keep checking which POV I was in because I couldn’t remember or tell the difference. Their thoughts tend to be very similar, even when they have different opinions. They process emotions similarly, sort of bouncing between several different emotions and thoughts so it never feels distinct and cohesive. I don’t have an issue with a variety of thoughts but it didn’t help trying to know which POV I was reading.
Some major differences in this one to the movie were how immediate things became, like the development of the Allegiant with Cara and Johanna in charge, Uriah having a much bigger character arc, more characters in general like Amar and George, Tris’ mom’s journal and her journey and relationship with David, Tris being directly aware of what the Bureau had done and their involvement with Abnegation’s demise, Four being involved in a plan behind Tris’ back and them nearly breaking up, Tris going to the fringe, Peter wanting to reset, and just the entire ending being so different. Once again, I found Four to be less tolerable in this one than in the movies. Especially with telling Tris she was jealous of Nita because she’s pretty. I didn’t care for that.
I will say, that although I have harsh criticisms, I cried a lot. I don’t know what it is but despite me not liking these characters all that much I still end up caring about them. What I will also say is there are elements in here that are uncomfortable because of relating to real life, like Pure genes and such, and I know it is a critical take, but I imagine some communities will take a bit of an offense to it. Aside from that which I feel some uncertainty about, I think Veronica Roth was ahead of the times in a lot of her writing. Given the queer rep, although not great by today’s standards, and disability rep, and not being fatphobic or such in the stories. I feel like a lot of authors at that time had so many incredibly offensive things in their books because it was more “acceptable” to be in books, but this one is a bit easier to stomach than most. That is not to disregard some other issues in the book, but I think it did fairly well in terms of comparison.
This one is the farthest off from the movies and I think the book is slightly better than movie where I’d disagree with the previous two. There is more character development, a variety of characters, and I think where the characters end up is better than the movie. However, the lead up to it was very boring. I think the author could have done more to make the Bureau grander and more descriptive so it felt exciting rather than just another location that had similar living conditions.
With the switching POVs, I know why it was done, but I felt like there wasn’t a distinct change between Tobias and Tris. I had to keep checking which POV I was in because I couldn’t remember or tell the difference. Their thoughts tend to be very similar, even when they have different opinions. They process emotions similarly, sort of bouncing between several different emotions and thoughts so it never feels distinct and cohesive. I don’t have an issue with a variety of thoughts but it didn’t help trying to know which POV I was reading.
I will say, that although I have harsh criticisms, I cried a lot. I don’t know what it is but despite me not liking these characters all that much I still end up caring about them. What I will also say is there are elements in here that are uncomfortable because of relating to real life, like Pure genes and such, and I know it is a critical take, but I imagine some communities will take a bit of an offense to it. Aside from that which I feel some uncertainty about, I think Veronica Roth was ahead of the times in a lot of her writing. Given the queer rep, although not great by today’s standards, and disability rep, and not being fatphobic or such in the stories. I feel like a lot of authors at that time had so many incredibly offensive things in their books because it was more “acceptable” to be in books, but this one is a bit easier to stomach than most. That is not to disregard some other issues in the book, but I think it did fairly well in terms of comparison.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Antisemitism, Medical trauma, Blood, Gun violence, Death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Murder, War, and Mental illness
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Homophobia, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Suicidal thoughts
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