Allegiant by Veronica Roth Review

Photo from Goodreads

Title: Allegiant
Author: Veronica Roth
Published:October 22, 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books

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?

Review in one word: Wow. Phenomenal. 

I absolutely loved this book. I'm not even sure where to start with this review. Let's just look at all the things I liked. 

One thing I have found rare in the books I have read is a couple that fights and stays together. I find this to be very refreshing, as usually the scenario would be to fight, get back together, stay happy forever. Roth made their relationship feel like a real relationship, not just glamorous and happy. Through the trials and tribulations, they choose to be with each other.

I'm going to try really hard not to spoil the ending, so I'm going to be really vague in this next section. The way I saw people reacting to the ending led me to believe what happened would happen. And while I was hoping I was wrong and was sad, the ending was executed beautifully and I applaud Roth for her writing. 

As for things I didn't like, some of the characters introduced in this book where a little stagnant. David seemed like a stereotypical corrupt leader, and Nita seemed like the usual pretty rebel. It also felt like it was just one big incident after another at times, which is understandable for the tumultuous time these characters are going through. But at times in the first half it felt like we were just moving from one major plot point to the other.  

One thing I have found really refreshing about this series as a whole is that it deals with the complexities of human nature. I mean, the characters choose based on which aspect of human nature they most value. There are many beautiful ideas  throughout this book about love, grief, and bravery. Basically, everything that makes us human is found in this book, which I think is why I like it so much. 

Overall, I would highly recommend this series to anyone who is interested in dystopians, young adult literature, or the complexities of human nature. 

Insurgent Book Review

WARNING: While this will not contain spoilers for Insurgent, it will contain major spoilers for Divergent. Read at your own risk.

Picture from Goodreads

Abnegation has been utterly destroyed and the Dauntless are split in half; half traitors staying in Erudite, the other half taking refuge in Amity. War looms as conflict between the faction grows even more heated and the Divergent are consider an even bigger threat. Tris tries to pick up the pieces of her city while still trying to come to terms with the events of the last book. Tris must decide where her loyalties lie- to her faction, to her family, or to herself.

I'm gonna level with you- I put off reading this book for awhile because I was concerned about the number of feels I would have after reading it. This was an accurate concern.

There was truly never a dull moment in this book- full of action, yet it wasn't battle after battle. There was a lot of character development as well. Tris goes through quite a lot of development from the self-sacrificing hero that is frequently found in young adult fiction. Other characters also receive a lot of development. One thing I really liked that it showed Four and Tris as a couple fighting and dealing with real couple things like each other's families. In this book we also get a better look at the other factions besides Dauntless and Abnegation, which makes the world seem more real. Also, the ending will leave you craving the next book... Which doesn't come out until 2013.

Overall, if you've read Divergent, but haven't read Insurgent you are depriving yourself of a good book.

Divergent Review

In a dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions that represent a particular virtue- Abnegation for the Selfless, Amity for the peaceful, Candor for the honest, Dauntless for the Brave, and Erudite for the Intelligent. When Beatrice is sixteen, she must choose the faction that she lives in for the rest of her life, just as every other sixteen year old does. Many choose to stay in the faction in which they are born. But there are several surprises at the Choosing Ceremony. In the very competitive initiation program that follows, Beatrice renames herself  Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are and where romance will fit into the life she's chosen. But Tris is has a secret, a secret she must keep from everyone because it means death. Conflict among the factions threaten to destroy the only life she's ever known.

So when I look at this plot summary now, it looks like your normal dystopian novel. Female character is special, society is crumbling. But I promise you, my dear readers, that this book is a phenomenal dystopian novel. I don't like to use the phrase "the-next-Hunger Games" (because the only thing these books but if there was a gun to my head and I had to name a phenomenal book that I could see gaining a lot of popularity in the next year or two, this would be  that novel because it is just that good.

This is very much a plot-centered book, and it has a strong plot to back it up. If you are very knowledgeable about dystopian as a genre, you may be able to guess what will happen, but I can almost guarantee you will not get every detail right. I can somewhat guess how the whole series will progress (Yes, it's a series and the second one comes out in May.) However, after the end of this book, I am excited to see how the series will progress.

I also really like the characters. Beatrice is probably my favorite though, not only because she is the protagonist and we are supposed to like her. It's because she is A STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER. I like books with strong, empowered females. She makes all her own decisions and doesn't play the whole "woe-is-me" game. Like, "Woe is me! I have to leave my faction and my family." No, she chooses to leave her faction and family and lives with the consequences of her choices. Yes, there is a romantic side plot of sorts, but I wouldn't say it influences any of her choices throughout the book, except at the very end. And not to give away any spoilers, but if she had done what she was probably supposed
 to do, I would've considered her a heartless monster.

Overall, an excellent book and I would definitely recommend it to people who liked The Hunger Games. And even if you loathed The Hunger Games, you may like this.