Allegiant (Veronica Roth)

Title: Allegiant

Series: The Divergent Trilogy

Author: Veronica Roth

Released: 2013

Rating: 4/5

Basic Plot: For Tris Prior, the society based on factions she knew and believed in was destroyed by corruption of power, greed, loss, and violence. So when she got a chance to see and experience the world beyond which she knows, she is ready for that. Maybe there, she and Tobias will find a life which is much more easy and simple, free of pains, lies, and betrayals.

But her new surroundings are much more dangerous and difficult than her previous one. With the discovery of new shocking truths her world changes again and she has to fight her way out of it.
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Two Points of View
Now having multiple narrators in a book is a great thing to have. Not only do you expand the subplots that can happen, but you can show how different characters view the same event. Roth doesn't use this to good effect in Allegiant except to expand subplots. The different viewpoints is also good for an event near the end of the book which I won't talk about as it's a huge spoiler. The biggest problem about the different viewpoints is the fact that you can't really tell Tris' point of view from Tobias'. I was very glad that it wasn't just me making sure of who was narrating the chapters.

Explanation for What Happened in the First Two Books
Insurgent left us all with a need for the ending to be explained. What did it mean? The ending of Insurgent is explained, in detail, in Allegiant. Even what being divergent means is explained. While some might find it underwhelming I can say that it ties into what we already know about being divergent.

Eugenics
This book talks about that making people 'perfect' is not the way to go solving things. That if you get wrapped up in making the perfect race that you leave the important issues unsolved and put down those that are worth just as much as you. I feel this is an important subject to talk about and glad a YA book decided to discuss it. While a lot of people have said it's an allegory for racism I saw another angle. I have Asperger's Syndrome and other things that make it hard for me to tell what's happening outside of me and inside of me. So I took the eugenics theme to discuss how people like me aren't worth less than others just because our genes are different. But it really covers the broad subject of anyone who has been hurt by the dangerous 'science' of eugenics.

Final Thoughts
This book is the weakest in the series. It also seems to be set in a much different world than the first two and if it wasn't for the themes connecting Allegiant to Divergent and Insurgent, I wouldn't know what it was doing in this series. The writing is also weaker. I thought it was just me but others could see it too. However, it is good closure to the series. I finished the book and in an hour or two the pain really set in. I am glad that Roth tackled difficult subjects in this book (and at one point a finger is wagged at anti-gay policies) and didn't give us a happy ending. Too often happy endings in YA fiction happen and so the intended audience expects them. I would suggest Allegiant to those who have already read the first two books as you can't really understand this one without reading the first two first.
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