Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Date Finished: 30 November 2013

Series: Divergent, #3

Rating: 5*

View on Goodreads.

I had too many mixed feelings on this book, so in addition to this review, I posted a “feels” blog here.

Note: I finished this book a couple hours after I posted my Nerd List, and was too lazy to change the whole list to incorporate this book, so I’ll include it in the December Nerd list, even though I did technically finish it in November.

I honestly couldn’t think of a better way to end off the Divergent series. Allegiant was just… perfection. Of course, there were a few things that I need to discuss with the author, such as the issue of killing characters that she purposefully makes the reader fall in love with… But that can wait for another time.

The Divergent series has always managed to surprise me. The first book was amazing, and I honestly didn’t think it could get any better. I was hesitant to read Insurgent, because of the way authors usually seem to get bored during the second book of their series – with the exception of Catching Fire – but it turned out to be almost as good as Divergent, if not better. Allegiant, however, was just incredible, and had more action, betrayal, suspense and excitement than the first two books combined.

I have to admit, it takes an insane amount of talent to be able to blow the reader off their feet in the final novel in a series, and then get away with it. As much as I hated Veronica Roth while reading those final few chapters, I now hold a lot of respect for her. I hate to say it, but there was no other way that the series could’ve ended with the impact that it did (clam your panties, I’m not spoiling the plot for all those of you who have not read it yet – although you should probably go do it now).

Then again, the amount of tears I shed during the final few pages alone could’ve filled my entire house, so don’t interpret my words as an indication that I loved the ending and was happy about what happened. I most certainly was not happy, but you cannot deny that if the series had ended any other way, it would not have had the same effect as it did.

I feel as though I lost a part of myself to Allegiant, and I will never be the same again after finishing it. There’s a sort of melancholy thing about finishing a series that you love. You are never able to experience that exact feeling of sadness or surprise or excitement ever again, and it just decreases with the amount of times that you throw yourself into a world that starts off as so real, but slowly becomes an imagining.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Divergent series has put itself on the list of books my children will be forced to read for the good of humanity, along with The Hunger Games and The fault in Our Stars, and that they will enjoy it, or face the consequences.