Allegiant - Veronica Roth

Title: Allegiant (sequel to Divergent and Insurgent)
Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins), 2013 (Hardcover)
Length: 526 pages
Genre: Young Adult; Dystopian Fiction
Started: November 5, 2013
Finished: November 14, 2013

Summary:
From the inside cover:

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 of what 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' 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.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, bring the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

Review:
Like millions of other readers, after I read Divergent and Insurgent in 2011 and 2012 respectively, I was instantly hooked and this quickly became my new favourite series....and now it's over *cries*.

This really was a wonderful trilogy, the entire series is well-written, with admirable characters, great themes and discussion points, and a great plot that doesn't lag.

The one thing I wish I'd done was re-read Insurgent prior to delving into Allegiant, because you jump right in in the beginning and there's isn't any recap, so that's one thing I recommend to readers. You can get by without re-reading, but you'll be confused for a few pages till you remember what's going on.

Both Tris and Tobias/Four narrate this book, each take turns narrating alternating chapters. The addition of Tobias' voice did take some getting used to, especially since I couldn't always tell the difference between him and Tris right away.

The plot gets very political in this book, like it started to in Insurgent. Tris and Tobias get a chance to venture beyond the fence in the hopes of fulfilling what they believe the Divergent were meant to do, and in turn end up discovering that what they were lead to believe was completely false and new truths need to form. I did enjoy that all the characters are shown to be good and well-intentioned, as well as being a little bit of the villain and causing chaos and destruction, there is no black and white, everyone is shades of grey, just like humanity always has been.

There are lots of wonderful, quotable lines in this book that relate back to the great themes and discussion points readers can delve into. Towards the end of the book, Tris needs to make some really difficult decisions (can't say much more for fear of spoilers), and needless to say she stays true to her beliefs and moral code and is at peace with her decisions.

Recommendation:
Just read it, you will have a lot of mixed emotions while reading, but I think it's worth the ride.

Thoughts on the cover:
I like the continuity between Divergent and Insurgent, everything fits together nicely.