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A review by theespressoedition
Allegiant by Veronica Roth
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