Allegiant - Big Spoiler!

There are lots of opinions out there about this book, the final in the Divergent series by Veronica Roth. Some people don't like it. Some people love it. Some think there is too much character development and not enough government conspiracy details and others agree with them, but liked that.

Here's my take on the book. My first critique is that the duel voices telling the story (Tris and Four...because I just can't bring myself to call him Tobias) aren't distinct. They both sound so similar that I had to look back to remember who was narrating. I recall this as a problem with the previous books as well, so I wasn't that put out by it and even kind of expected it. So it didn't bother me.

My second critique is that although I absolutely loved the book, I was disappointed in the lack of details regarding the government role in the whole Chicago experiment. Was David a rouge government agent? Or was the US government in control of him? I think that Allegiant is more about human nature than conspiracy, which was disappointing. While I loved all the human nature and character development, I wished there were more about the government.

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the end. Oh. My. I got so involved with the characters of this trilogy that when Tris died, I was shocked. I wept. I went back and forth from hating Roth for her ending to loving her. It's really the first of the genre to kill off the main character. I love it. I hate it. The message that is told about true sacrifice is beautiful. Caleb wanted to sacrifice his life out of guilt and Tris knew better. Sacrifice should be done out of love. With a pure motivation. So while I wept at Tris' death, I also wept at the love and forgiveness her death portrayed. And I also love the redemption of Four and his mom. The overarching themes of forgiveness and sacrifice are amazing in this book.

Overall, great series. I highly recommend it. And while a little disappointed with the dystopian aspect at the end, I think overall it's the best trilogy in the genre.