Allegiant: The Divergent Series

Author: Veronica Roth

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books

Publication Year: 2013

Hardcover: 544 pages

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she's known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

- Roth

It's hard not to get attached to a book when it's part of a series. Harry Potter fans know this feeling all too well. You become emotionally invested in a character and their lives that by the time the series is over, you feel as though you have lost a friend.

I'm very familiar with this feeling but it especially hit me hard when I finished the Divergent series with Allegiant because, spoiler alert, the main character dies.

All throughout the series, readers connect with Tris Prior, the outcast in her family, looking for every chance to fit in somewhere in her post-apocalyptic world. The story takes place in futuristic Chicago, where government forces have taken over and broken the people up into five factions. Tris's home faction, Abnegation, rejects her as much as she rejects them. She takes a chance and chooses to change to the Dauntless faction in an effort to better understand herself.

Allegiant continues this story and introduces readers into more emotional backstory for the main characters as well as introducing new ones. 

I realized something was going to be different about this particular book because it was told in Tris's perspective as well as the other main character, Tobias.  As an English major, it's habit for me to analyze aspects of writing like this--I knew it was for a reason. And it turned out it was, the reason it wasn't told entirely in Tris's perspective, like the other two books were was because Tris dies with about five chapters left of the book.

I've come across several readers that were extremely disappointed with the ending of this series, but I think their judgment is clouded by this shocking death. It's understandable that people are upset but it's not enough reason to put down the author of the series. I think the Divergent series ended perfectly. Tris Prior is an inspiration to many young women in the world, and her sacrifice does not change that.

Why I read this book: My friend recommended it to me based on our mutual love for the Hunger Games series. Turns out I actually love the Divergent series more!