Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Buy the book at 

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Author's 

Website / Facebook / Twitter

Book summary:

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. 
Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings 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.

Tanja: You know that moment when you are reading the last installment in series and you have like 100 pages or so left and then you start to remember how your journey with the book started. I remembered everything - fractions and their ideas, the choosing ceremony, The Ferris Wheel, etc. Gosh, so many memories.
Glass: And you do not want to read that last 100 pages because it will mean it is finally the end and it is bittersweet feeling - you love everything, but still try to make it last just a little bit longer. Especially when it comes to epic stories like this. Do you know what I remember? How I refused to read it because I thought it would be nothing special. How foolish of me! Allegiant was perfect, the best book in the series for me, but I do understand now why so many readers were disappointed.
Tanja: Exactly. You want to keep it just for a bit longer, because you know that no matter how many times you re-read it the magic of reading these words for the first time end when you read the rest of it. Yes! Me too. I though that I'd end up disappointed as many have, but I made the mistake with Mockingjay and it though me a great lesson when it comes to my feelings. But gladly we were both blown away by this one.
Glass: What I liked the most is how serious this book turned out to be - it is about politic, moral, science, education. I even quoted Slavoj Žižek in one of my status updates: "The function of ideology is not to offer us a point of escape from our reality but to offer us the social reality itself as an escape." Allegiant is a book about ideology and fantasies of control. How far humans are willing to go and what to do in the name of something that is bigger than us. It is not just a story about group of kids fighting for their place in futuristic version of high school drama.
Tanja: Right and what society is willing to sacrifice - it's own people as rat mice in order to create idea about their perfect care for its people, which is contradictory when you look at it, but at the same time in some lesser or greater degree we all are living in such societies. That's why I love this idea and the whole story so much. On the surface it tells you about teenagers and their coming of age but when you scratch under that surface you see that it's actually a book about society and mainly about human nature. It remains me of all great classics I've been discussing about at my classes.
Glass: But lets talk about that ending. I know you want to. I still can't believe that Veronica Roth decided to finish trilogy with that "bang". It was a risky move, as you can see by all the reactions, but I think it was perfect. Especially because of the way Trish was portrait from the very beginning.
Tanja: Honestly I didn't expect it at all. Not in my wildest dreams. Of course I had some ideas about how it all could end, but that was one I wasn't even aware of it, until it happened. It was a really brave move on her side, but after you go back and remember certain things it makes perfect sense. What do you say about Four and his portrayal at the end?
Glass: I loved it - she didn't try to romanticize him or give us two years later epilogue were everything is rainbows, butterflies and unicorns. World is not perfect, so their lives aren't perfect too. He is different person than the one you placed in your fictional harem, isn't he? But we love him even more. I just have to say that I can't wait to see what will Veronica Roth write next.
Tanja: He is, both Trish and Four were different people in this book, or after they discovered the background of the fractions. I cannot wait to see what she plans next and wherever she does I hope she will tackle something related to human psychology as she does it perfectly. I guess we should wait and see. At the end what are your thoughts about upcoming movie? I truly believe it would be as good as books at least.
Glass: I really hope it will be good - I am so sick of movies that make my favorite book look bad. We are so going to watch it together. Plan your holidays around that date, you are coming to visit me.
Tanja: I guess you prepared your whip so I don't have much choice, do I? Kidding girl, we'll make it happen.

Rating: 5 stars.

Until the next time,