Book Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

So I finished Allegiant this Sunday, and I figured I should write a review to help myself cope with the ending. So here goes nothin' .

The Cover:

Isn't the cover great? Everyone's trying to figure out what the water means, and I realized after I finished reading that the water is the tears of the fandom.

The Book:

First, I'd like to point out that I didn't like the plot much, not that it wasn't good or anything, it was great. But, I just kept asking myself, Why are they in the Bureau? What are they doing there, what's the purpose? But then I remembered, so it's okay. Maybe I wasn't paying attention enough (to be fair, my family was watching football when I read this) but the book itself, I loved. The things that Tris and Tobias talk about are just so interesting, for example: 

 “She taught me all about real sacrifice. That it should be done from love... That it should be done from necessity, not without exhausting all other options. That it should be done for people who need your strength because they don't have enough of their own.”

“You don’t believe things because they make your life better, you believe them because they’re true.” 

"Knowledge is power. Power to do evil...or power to do good. Power itself is not evil. So knowledge itself is not evil.” 

The plot was well-paced, nothing felt dragged, things kept happening, and there wasn't a time where they weren't just sitting there doing nothing, except for, like, meals and all the Fourtris scenes. 

Let's get to the elephant in the room, shall we?

Tris's Death:

At first, I was numb with shock, I didn't know what to think or how to feel. I admit, I was mad, I thought, Why would she do this, why would she kill off Tris?! But then I thought about it.

Tris didn't die in vain, she died accomplishing what needed to be done, and she saved her city, her mom and dad's city. That's why the future looks so bright two and a half years later, because of what she died doing. She died displaying her selflessness, wisdom, and bravery. She died as Tris, not Tris the GP, not Tris the Dauntless, or even Tris the Divergent, but as Tris, who would rather have herself die than her brother for the wrong reasons. She died knowing she'd leave Tobias behind if it meant that everyone else in the city and future kept their lives. And in that moment, she really was being selfless. And what did her mother say? "They'll take care of each other." And what were Tobias's final words of the book? "But now, I am also learning this: We can be mended. We mend each other." Honestly, it was a beautiful way to end the book, Tris dies finally and completely understanding what it means to be selfless, and she knew what the benefits and consequences were. In Divergent, she wouldn't let Tobias get shot, but shot Will in the head. She was being selfless, protecting someone she loves, but she'd rather live than die, shooting Will, which tells us that she doesn't comprehend what it is to be selfless. In Insurgent, she was also being selfless, but to an extent, because she kept throwing herself out there, being reckless and self-destructive. She realizes that her parents didn't just give up their lives for her to act that way. Finally, in Allegiant, she sacrifices herself so that the city and everyone she loves can have a better future, even if it meant dying.

Tris undergoes character development. In Divergent, she says, "Can I be forgiven for all I've done to get here? I don't know. I don't know. Please." In Allegiant, she says, "Can I be forgiven for all I've done to get here? I want to be. I can. I believe it." She's done so much for her city and people that she believes she can be forgiven, and she has.

In conclusion, I'd like to thank Veronica Roth for creating a beautiful series that I will continue to cherish and love in the future, the books have taught me so many things, like being the kind of person you should be and how to act. You've changed my perspective and morals about life and myself as a person. No one's ever done that, and I applaud you.

If you haven't read Divergent, I highly recommend it, it's such a fantastic series. Please tell me what you thought of the book and your feelings on the ending.

Be brave.
-Lauren