Review: Allegiant

BY MELANIE SMITH

If someone were to make a list of all of humanity’s flaws, the list would never end.  We harm others, cause wars, steal, and numerous other things.  However, what is the root of these flaws? Is it a single factor or many? Is it something we can control?  All of these are interesting questions raised by Veronica Roth’s novel Allegiant, and should set the book up for instant success. Yet, somehow Roth allowed it to fall short of becoming an excellent ending to a series.

Allegiant is the final installment in Veronica Roth’s trilogy, Divergent, and is preceded by two other novels, Divergent and Insurgent.  The main characters, Tris and Tobias, eventually escape a dystopian Chicago and learn that everything they had once thought about their home had merely been a genetic experiment.  Scientists had removed a gene from their ancestors to see if flaws in humanity, such as violence, cowardice, low intelligence, selfishness, and deception, could be removed; the subjects were then placed within the city for several generations to study.  Later, Tris and Tobias go through many tribulations in order to discover the true nature of this experiment and how to save those still inside the city.

The first two books in the series were riveting, thrilling, and addictive.  Fans anxiously waited all year for the release of Allegiant, but after finishing the book, many words come to mind, but one word summarizes it all: disappointing.  With the previous books, I was captivated by Tris’ strength and independence, the action packed plot, and fascinating theme; with Allegiant, I found myself struggling to get through a single sentence.  The entire plot was changed and disorganized and the focus on the main character was lost, replaced with romance.

Preceding Allegiant, Insurgent ended on a cliffhanger, expertly placed to keep readers excited for the next book.   However, that happened a year ago.  Allegiant started right where Insurgent left off, which would be fine, if all of the events were reintroduced.  Roth failed to provide a brief recap to lessen the confusion of readers. Even when I sorted out what exactly happened, the plot itself was not closely tied to the rest of the trilogy.  The last two books revolved around corruption in the government.  When the protagonists left the city, the conflict was completely changed into trying to understand the genetic research project.  The entire setting and conflict shifted so much, that I felt like I was reading a spinoff series.  Not only did the entire plot of the series change, but the main character did as well.  Up until the last book, readers looked through Tris’ eyes and were inside her head throughout the series.  However, during Allegiant, the point of view switches from Tris to Tobias.  Not only is the inconsistency an eye sore, her characterization seemed to cease completely.

With the plot weak at best and character development practically invisible, the author turns to a redundant, cliché, Twilight-esque romance.  While the relationship between Tobias and Tris was cute at first, a constant stream of “I love you”, kisses, and personal contact has resulted in rolled eyes and annoyance from many fans.  I preferred the action-centered plots of Allegiant’s predecessors, with romance sprinkled in.

Allegiant reads as if it’s part of an entirely different series.  Everything that I admired about the series is gone, replaced by things that cause me to avoid other books.  Any positive feelings I do have for Allegiant is purely part of the sentimental attachment I have for Divergent and Insurgent.  It is very disappointing to have loved a series, and to have waited so long for the finale, only to find it not nearly as half as good as you had hoped.  My advice for those of you who have not read the trilogy: read Divergent and Insurgent, and then Spark Note Allegiant.