Review: Allegiant by Veronia Roth

Allegiant

Series: Divergent #3

Author: 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.

Review

I went into this book very, very, very apprehensively. Since it took me a little while to get my hand on the book, I had already heard some of the buzz around it, and a lot of people were very unhappy with the ending of the book. I loved the first one so much, the second one a little less than the first, so I was afraid I would all together hate the third installment. As it is, though, I don’t. And I am glad that I didn’t end up hating it. It would have been a devastating end to a great trilogy.

Insurgent ended with a big revelation that I don’t think anyone in world saw coming. It definitely knocked me for a loop. The worst part about it was that we had to wait for another book to come out to explain it. Tris, Tobias, and the rest of their Divergent (and non-divergent) friends come to find out that the world is not what they had been led to believe. They had been deceived for generations with no knowledge of how the world really worked. I was really unsure of how I felt about it because I was getting a little tire of Roth’s “here’s how the world is, no wait, here’s how thing really are…wait…wait..wait, just kidding. Now, let’s change things one last time.” It was a little unsettling to feel like I never knew what was really real.

The third and final installment had a lot to live up to. In the last book, the readers always want everything wrapped up nicely. We want to know what happened to every single character and what is coming next for them and their world. Roth did a good job doing so.

There were some tragically sad moments that left me clutching tissues and screaming at the universe for letting it happen (Maybe cursing Roth just a little, but it’s the mark of a good author), but there were some wonderfully wonderful moments in there too. Roth had a good balance in this installment. I will say, I wish there was a little more, because I always want a clearer ending – and a little more about the characters’ lives after.

I would definitely suggest it to anyone looking for a good read – as long as they read the first two first. (:

Rating

That's What HE said Thursday - October 24, 2013

Every Thursday, Chapter Break is hosting a brand new meme called:That’s what HE said Thursday. For more info on what this meme is all about click here.

“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."

Four to Tris Prior in Veronica Roth's Divergent

I just think this was the cutest way to tell someone that you love them. He did it in such a cute way that let her know that he loved her without having to say it at that moment.

Waiting On Wednesday: Allegiant

Allegiant

Author: Veronica Roth

Series: Divergent #3

Expected Release Date:October 22, 2013

Summary

One choice will define you.

What if your whole world was a lie?

What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?

What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

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.

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.

Reason for Waiting

I realized that this book released yesterday, but I am still waiting on it. I can't get it right now because a lack of funds - therefore, I am still waiting on it. I loved the first two books (the second more than the first), so I have full faith in Veronica Roth to deliver with this installment.

Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent

Author: Veronica Roth

Series:Divergent #2

Goodreads

Summary

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.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

Review

If you thought Divergent was a good book, you are going to think that Insurgent is a great book. As someone who loved the first book, I went into this one with high hopes. It's hard enough to write a good book, it's even harder to keep the story going well when another book is added to a series. A lot of authors drop the ball on the second or third, etc books in popular books. Veronica Roth, though, was able to elevate the series in the second book. I was very pleased with this book.

Tris is back and more dauntless than ever. The world as she knew it before she was sixteen is gone. The factions are no longer co-existing and working alongside each other peacefully. She thought her initiation day was going to be a giant celebration, but that was not the case. She is suddenly thrown into a new situation that she knows nothing about. Life or death situations, war, conflict, grief, pain, and emotional trauma - things that her upbringing as a Abnegation could never have prepared her for.

Tris is such a dynamic character. While she is somewhat predictable in some of her decisions, she is interesting, smart, and she does whatever she thinks needs to be done in order to save her friends and family from danger. I think she is compelling in every sense of the word. She is character that could fight her way to the edge of the earth and back if it meant that her loved ones were safe.

Veronica Roth did it again with this novel. Unlike the first novel in this series, the big reveal of the novel completely caught me off guard. Most of the big things in the first book were easily discovered, but Insurgent took my feet out from under me and made me nearly gasp aloud. It takes a lot to make that happen.

I loved this book. It is definitely a great read, and I would suggest it to anyone.

Rating

Thursday Quotable #2

Thursday Quotables is a weekly meme featured on Bookshelf Fantasies. It's "the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written."

This Week’s Thursday Quotable

“Can you be a girl for a few seconds?"

"I'm always a girl" I frown.

"You know what I mean. Like a silly, annoying girl"

I twirl my hair around my finger. "Kay.”

― Veronica Roth, "Divergent"

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Series:Divergent #1

Goodreads

Summary

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, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Review

This was another series that I had never heard of until I saw the preview for the movie. When I asked my older sister to borrow the Mortal Instruments series, I also asked to read the Divergent series since I knew she had them and I figured that I would want to watch the movie when it finally comes out. I didn't know anything about it, not even the main characters name. I went into it knowing nothing.

My first thought when I started reading the book was: This is going to be like The Hunger Games. I hadn't read The Hunger Games because I couldn't get into the first person present telling, but I had watched the movie. The post-apocalyptic world with a new order-type story. But I decided to give it a chance because I had a feeling that I was going to enjoy it.

And I did. I like the idea that the world was broken up into factions that honored the virtue that they think is best. It shows a great, chasm-like divide between these groups of people. The world is definitely different place in this book, and I think that is part of what made it so believable.It follows Beatrice Prior, a sixteen year girl who is days away from having to decide whether she wants to stay in her faction or choose another and leave her family behind forever.

The only thing I really had a problem with was a few elements were predictable. There was a slightly big reveal over halfway through the book, but I already saw it coming. Instead of being astounded that I missed it, it just confirmed what I was thinking already. The biggest plot reveal was the same way. There were just so many hints to what was coming that there was no real mystery in what was coming for the characters and the story.

My favorite decision in the story is Beatrice changing her name to "Tris." I think is signified a major change in her during the course of the story. It was such a subtle thing, but it was a powerful decision. Names are important.

I would definitely suggest this book to anyone who was looking for a good read. I look forward to reading the next one.

Rating