~REVIEW~ Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Synopsis

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.

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~MY REVIEW~

The Plot

Allegiant starts off a few days after Insurgent and Tris and her friends are being held prisoners by Evelyn. When they are exonerated after Tris is put under the truth serum, they watch as the new order functions. When the faction members decide to fight back the Allegiant are formed. Tris along with Tobias, Christina, Caleb, Peter, Cara, Uriah and Tori set out to find out what exactly is behind the fence they have always protected. What they find is shocking and turns up to be much worse than the faction world they were raised in.

The group sets out to uncover the truth of the Bureau and bring back order to their home as well as the new world they discovered. Lives are taken, betrayals are made, and at the end the ultimate sacrifice is made for the good.

The Characters

Okay lets starts of with Tris because I think she is a pretty kick ass heroine. Tris has always had the best interest at heart but she has grown to be a selfless leader. In Divergent and Insurgent she worried so much that she was selfish and also made some mistakes by jumping the gun. That changed in Allegiant. She was a soldier, but a strategic and kind one. She thought things through before acting and she learned to be leader. She was a hero. And although she loved Tobias I was happy to see her stand up to him and point out his wrongs and his worries about being “damaged”. She was a stronger version of the girl that we met in Divergent and I can’t say how much I adored her growth as a character.

This leads me to Tobias. I wish I could say he was everything I loved in the story. That’s not the case. He kind of disappointed me a lot in this book. In Divergent he was this wonderful guy that was strong, bad-ass, kind and caring. I wanted to see him grow and open up to the people that loved him. That didn’t really happen. In Allegiant, there is really not left of “Four”. For the first half of the book, all that is left is an insecure and disappointing, Tobias. He spent the whole book struggling through insecurity over what others thought about him and in the first half, made a really stupid decision. A decision that had terrible repercussions. I have to admit there were times at the beginning of this book I wanted to punch him and shake the stupidness out of him. When we reach the middle of the book we finally get to see that kindness in him again and that hurt he has never been able to let go. That “weakness” in him made me want to reach through the book and hug him. Nonetheless, I didn’t see now growth in him and in a way I feel like I should have felt more a connection to his character than what I felt at the end.

Now the secondary characters have always been my favorite. I loved Christina and Uriah and seeing their growth through the series was pretty fantastic. I also have to admit that I liked Peter, Caleb, Cara and Matthew. Although I have had a strong hate relationship with Peter and Caleb, at the end I feel like they at least realized their wrongdoings.

The Romance

Umm…yeah I’m not even going to touch on this because there is no reason too. Nothing happens that’s different from the prior books. To me romance wasn’t even a part of this book.

Love on the other hand was and that all knowing and self-sacrificing love was something I cherished about this series.

The Wrap-Up

So okay I had many issues with the first half of the book which made this a 4 star read for me. It was slow, boring and repetitive. I was about to give up but decided I had to make it through this. I’m glad I did because the second half is action packed and what I fell in love with in Divergent. I can’t tell you how many times I cried, how much heartbreak I felt and how much anger. This series had a different ending than I’m used to, but somehow I couldn’t see it ending any other way. At the end of it all sacrifice for those you love is one of the themes touched about in this whole series.
Overall, if you’ve started the series, end it with this. Prepare for a slow start but bear it and you will see the finale to Tris’s story.

HAPPY READING!! 

Favorite Quotes:

“There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater.

But sometimes it doesn't.

Sometimes it is nothing more than gritting your teeth through pain, and the work of every day, the slow walk toward a better life.

That is the sort of bravery I must have now.”

“I fell in love with him. But I don't just stay with him by default as if there's no one else available to me. I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other. I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me.” 

“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.”

“I belong to the people I love, and they belong to me--they, and the love and loyaty I give them, form my identity far more than any word or group ever could.” 

“Yeah, sometimes life really sucks," she says. "But you know what I'm holding on for?"

I raise my eyebrows.

She raises hers, too, mimicking me.

"The moments that don't suck," she says. "The trick is to notice them when they come around.”

~REVIEW~ Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth

Synopsis

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

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~REVIEW~

OMG!!! What a cliffhanger!!

Insurgent was a great continuation to the series! In this book we start off right where Divergent ended. Tris and the group are in Amity and are trying to regroup. But regrouping is not easy when you are in a different faction from what you are accustomed to and when you are being hunted. A war has begun among the factions and this book will have you delving deeper into the secrets kept from everyone.

I enjoyed getting to know more about the other factions and to be able to see how they kept the "harmony" in their society. If there was one thing I was disappointed with was the secrets kept between Tris and Four. If it weren't for their stubbornness some things wouldn't have gone down the way they did.

Overall, Insurgent as a great sequel and I am looking forward to reading Allegiant.

Pick this book up! Read this entire series!

HAPPY READING!

FAVORITE QUOTES:

“No matter how long you train someone to be brave, you never know if they are or not until something real happens.”

“People, I have discovered, are layers and layers of secrets. You believe you know them, that you understand them, but their motives are always hidden from you, buried in their own hearts. You will never know them, but sometimes you decide to trust them.”

“I’ll be your family now,” he says.
“I love you,” I say.
I said that once, before I went to Erudite headquarters, but he was asleep then. I don’t know why I didn’t say it when he could hear it. Maybe I was afraid to trust him with something so personal as my devotion. Or afraid that I did not know what it was to love someone. But now I think the scary thing was not saying it before it was almost too late. Not saying it before it was almost too late for me.
I am his, and he is mine, and it has been that way all along.
He stares at me. I wait with my hands clutching his arms for stability as he considers his response.
He frowns at me. “Say it again.”
“Tobias,” I say, “I love you.”
His skin is slippery with water and he smells like sweat and my shirt sticks to his arms when he slides them around me. He presses his face to my neck and kisses me right above the collarbone, kisses my cheek, kisses my lips.
“I love you, too,” he says.”

REVIEW: Divergent by Veronica Roth

About the book:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

“One Choice

One Choice, decided your friends.

One Choice, defines your beliefs.

One Choice, determines your loyalties - Forever.

ONE CHOICE CAN TRANSFORM YOU”

My Review

So I hadn't had the chance to pick this book up for awhile and wasn't quite sure I wanted to read it. Then I saw the movie news and the slew of actors that will be starring in this book adaptation so I had to read it. I picked up this book and was done the next day.

This book will capture your attention and suck you into Tris's world. Tris starts off as a naive sixteen year old with the yearning of something new. She loves Abnegation but also struggles through some of their beliefs. When it is time for her testing and her results are inconclusive she gets the chance to decide where she belongs. Her decision was not an easy one. But in the end she knew what had to be done. Tris joins the Dauntless and encounters a whole new faction. One where everyone is selfish, everyone looks out for themselves, and rules are constantly broken. But one where you are free. Free to live your life without constraint. As she goes through initiation she struggles through one on one combat, fears that she needs to acknowledge and to fight so that she does not become factionless. At the end of it all Tris becomes a different girl. 

Throughout Divergent we meet the initiates of the Dauntless as well as the leaders. We learn of their own beliefs and their ruthlessness. We learn a little about each faction through the transitioning initiates and are witness to their strengths and weaknesses.We also meet Four, who is currently my alpha male hero! He is so wonderful through this book and being able to learn about his past and his beliefs about the factions was a great addition to this story. He is a perfect mix of each faction: brave, honest, peaceful, intelligent and selfless.

I loved every aspect of this book. From the thrills and exhilaration of Dauntless initiation to the romance brewing throughout the book. The end was heartbreaking and had me in tears. I cannot wait to read book 2 and then see how it all ends in book 3. 

And with that I leave you with a few of my favorite quotes in this book:

“I am not Abnegation. I am not Dauntless.
I am Divergent. And I can’t be controlled.”  

“It was him or me. I chose me. But I feel dead too.” 

“We believe in bravery. We believe in taking action. We believe in freedom from fear and in acquiring the skills to force the bad out of our world so that the good can prosper and thrive. If you also believe in those things, we welcome you.” 

“My father says that those who want power and get it live in terror of losing it. That's why we have to give power to those who do not want it.”  

and a little of the romance...

“I think we've made a mistake," he says softly. "We've all started to put down virtues of the other faction in the process of bolstering our own. I don't want to do that. I want to be brave, and selfless, and smart, and kind, and honest.” 

“I have something I need to tell you," he says. I run my fingers along the tendons in his hands and look back at him. "I might be in love with you." He smiles a little. "I'm waiting until I'm sure to tell you, though."

"That's sensible of you," I say, smiling too. "We should find some paper so you can make a list or a chart or something."
I feel his laughter against my side, his nose sliding along my jaw, his lips pressing my ear.
"Maybe I'm already sure," he says, "and I just don't want to frighten you."
I laugh a little. "Then you should know better."
"Fine," he says. "Then I love you.” 

“You know, most boys would enjoy being trapped in close quarters with a girl." I roll my eyes.
"Not claustrophobic people, Tris.” 

“You nearly died today,' he says. 'I almost shot you. Why didn't you shoot me, Tris?'
'I couldn't do that,' I say. 'It would have been like shooting myself.'
He looks pained and leans closer to me, so his lips brush mine when he speaks.”  

“Be brave, Beatrice. I love you.”

Buy this. Read it. LOVE it.

Buy at: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble

Happy Reading!