Review Detail

Book finales are always tricky. You want them to have a good ending and everything wrapped up in a nice little bow. Allegiant was the most-awaited book this fall, I guess, and pretty much every Divergent fan was waiting to see how Roth ended this series.

The entire series we are shown the struggle humanity has with themselves. How the stay true to their ideals in front of the challenges presented to them and Tris was such an excellent character to view this from. That being said, I did, however find it lovely that Roth even included Tobias’ POV for this book – especially given the ending of the book. As we came to know in the last book, everyone finds out they are part of a giant experiment to know whether human virtues can save humanity in the end and the extraordinary people Divergent were supposed to be the big help to the people on the outside.

In Allegiant, everything we know from the last two books has been totally turned around – I mean, nothing could have prepared anyone for the reveal in Allegiant. The reason for the experiments, why the factions exist, why the Divergent are important. The problems in Chicago are also on the outside, just in a different context, and here is where Tris and Tobias are challenged. Their world has been expanded to such limits as to make them feel inconsequential and yet they manage to leave such a mark in this book. The problems in the outside world are much worse than what they had in their closetted little city and the stakes are much higher. They have to make tougher decisions and find out what lengths they are ready to go to save the ones closest to them. The entire series has been a glorious study in human nature and what is based on what we know to be true and what we are. If you are told something for as long as you remember, it becomes truth for you – whether or not it is real. I think Roth particularly wants to say that we are limited by our own selves and not by what we are brought up on. We can endeavour to be what we want to be.

The writing is as usual, spectacular – I was hooked for all the 8 hours that I spent reading it and it still doesn’t feel enough. I want more but oddly I am satisfied too. She gave the book such a real ending, not great, but real and I know not everyone is happy with it (I gathered this much despite avoiding all mentions, reviews and spoilers online) but I am content with it. I wouldn’t say happy because it wasn’t the way I would have wanted it to end but then it is her story and I like to be surprised too. That was what made me feel so good about this book – Roth did something we never expected her to do but even so you can’t begrudge her the powerful way she did it. Full points for the most explosive final book ever.