What would you do if you found out that your entire world, everything you believed in, is a lie? That all you are is an experiment to bring order into the chaos that has engulfed the rest of the country? What if you found out that the one thing that made you special meant nothing at all?
The truth of these questions are the life changing revelations that the main characters, Tris and Four, and their friends are faced with in the third and final installment of Veronica Roth’s gripping Divergent series, Allegiant, which is no less riveting than the rest of the series.
The previous book, Insurgent, left off with the government of their city getting overthrown by factionless, the lowly citizens without a faction to belong to. The people are left without the structure and support of the faction system that they have relied upon for generations, and they have found out that there is a whole world around them that has been kept a secret. Now in Allegiant, some people are ready to uncover what lies outside of the crumbling city.
The truths that are revealed to Tris and Four when they escape their fallen city are overwhelming to say the least, and on top of that they have even more problems to deal with that they thought they had left behind when they left for the outside world. The rest of the book surrounds their struggles to cope with and fix the evils that had been thrust upon them when they entered the real and crumbling world.
Although, for a dedicated reader of the series, it was quite odd to be outside of the city for the majority of the book, and the dual perspective of Tris and Four was different, but it was refreshing to really get an insight into Four’s thoughts instead of only Tris’s. Then there’s the ending, which has received mixed reactions from the fans, the majority of them being angry and upset. However, the ending was the only thing that could really do the series and the characters justice, even though it was upsetting to read. It was a bold move for an author to make, but it means so much more than the fans think. Upsetting as it is, the ending is hopeful and really ties up the themes of the series as a whole, bringing the moving story full circle. Besides, it isn’t fait to reduce the story to something less than it is just because of a controversial ending, because it really is a good book and a good finale.
The entire series, along with the final book, incorporates everything the factions in the Divergent world stand for- kindness, honesty, intelligence, bravery, and above all, selflessness. The importance of the lessons the series teaches is the best part about it. It is also the reason why fans, myself included, feel so strongly about the books. Although Allegiant is not my favorite book in the series, it no doubt keeps up with the quality and the power of the first two books.
It is very upsetting to see this incredible series come to an end, but don’t fret! There are still the remaining short stories in Four’s perspective and a movie adaptation of the first book to look forward to in the coming months.