Scan barcode
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
this_is_lee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
After all those years of feeling only rage towards this book I can happily say that I don’t think it’s that bad. I’ve come to realize that my biggest critiques of the book aren’t deal-breakers so much as annoyances that don’t take away from the reading experience in any huge impactful way.
Overall not as good as the previous two, but still a great Instalment. It’s Divergent after all, I’m not reading it for it’s masterful writing or super unique and creative world, nor for its perfect storytelling.
Overall not as good as the previous two, but still a great Instalment. It’s Divergent after all, I’m not reading it for it’s masterful writing or super unique and creative world, nor for its perfect storytelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Classism, Child death, and Violence
anniereads221's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Violence, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
romiress's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Half star for the ending.
The third book basically ignores everything built up in the first two books and sets up an entirely new conflict that has little to do with it. There is some good character building moments, but it's hard to feel invested when 90% of the cast is dead because the author wanted it to be the next game of thrones where ANYONE CAN DIE. There are morals and themes, but they end up being dragged around in the mud until you can't even tell they're there.
The only character who gets what they want is the most awful character of the lot, the Tris/Four chapters read identically and I kept getting them mixed up, every character acts like an idiot all the time...
Just awful.
The third book basically ignores everything built up in the first two books and sets up an entirely new conflict that has little to do with it. There is some good character building moments, but it's hard to feel invested when 90% of the cast is dead because the author wanted it to be the next game of thrones where ANYONE CAN DIE. There are morals and themes, but they end up being dragged around in the mud until you can't even tell they're there.
The only character who gets what they want is the most awful character of the lot, the Tris/Four chapters read identically and I kept getting them mixed up, every character acts like an idiot all the time...
Just awful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
marisabenn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is the first book to ever make me cry, but that doesn't mean it was great. It did feel rushed and hurried to wrap up loose ends at some points. I really admire the ending and how the author went a less conventional route. I also loved the two POVs. My second favorite in the series, and honestly I think it concluded everything about as well as it could.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
theespressoedition's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I could probably just write UGH and that would sum up how I feel about this book. But I'll go slightly more in-depth, I suppose.
Okay, it's been nearly ten years since I read this the first time, and I only raised my rating by a half-star. I think that's a pretty good indication of how I feel about this conclusion to the series. Ms. Roth - WHY?
There are countless people who haven't even read the trilogy who know what happens at the end because of how damaging it was to the original audience. Ground rules for writing a story: you don't kill the protagonist. If you decide to break those rules, do it in the second book, not the final. If you choose to break THAT rule, at least do it at the beginning of the book and not with only a handful of short chapters left to wrap things up, for goodness sake.
This book drags on. It really does. Nothing exciting or illuminating happens within the first three-quarters of the story. We learn about an experiment that has a ton of holes in the explanation. Tris and Four have the worst communication skills of all time. It's heavy and depressing and then SHE GOES AND KILLS THE MAIN CHARACTER AT THE END. There's no feeling of hopefulness as you end this book. The epilogue is pathetic. Four's response is pathetic. I can't find a single good thing to say about that finale.
I will never get over how scarring this ending is - and clearly, it didn't age well.
Okay, it's been nearly ten years since I read this the first time, and I only raised my rating by a half-star. I think that's a pretty good indication of how I feel about this conclusion to the series. Ms. Roth - WHY?
There are countless people who haven't even read the trilogy who know what happens at the end because of how damaging it was to the original audience. Ground rules for writing a story: you don't kill the protagonist. If you decide to break those rules, do it in the second book, not the final. If you choose to break THAT rule, at least do it at the beginning of the book and not with only a handful of short chapters left to wrap things up, for goodness sake.
This book drags on. It really does. Nothing exciting or illuminating happens within the first three-quarters of the story. We learn about an experiment that has a ton of holes in the explanation. Tris and Four have the worst communication skills of all time. It's heavy and depressing and then SHE GOES AND KILLS THE MAIN CHARACTER AT THE END. There's no feeling of hopefulness as you end this book. The epilogue is pathetic. Four's response is pathetic. I can't find a single good thing to say about that finale.
I will never get over how scarring this ending is - and clearly, it didn't age well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
desiree_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Grief, Gun violence, and Violence
More...