Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Third in the Divergent series (and final), this one didn't fall flat like some of the other 3rd books in trilogies (looking at you, Mockingjay).

Tris, Tobias and crew are stuck inside Chicago where Evelyn, Tobias' mother, leads the new city, by forbidding factions and keeping the factionless armed and patrolling the city. Just another tyrant on the wall.

The Allegiant is formed, a group of people who want the old way of life and who want to follow Edith Prior's video of leaving the city walls. A small group of Divergent, including Tris, Christina and Tobias, head out and discover..... an airport. Otherwise known as the government who is using people as experiments. Now we're getting creepier.

Allegiant explains the purpose of the Chicago experiment and genetically "damaged" vs genetically "pure". It all got very Hitler/Nazi-esque to me, which I suppose is what it was supposed to do.

Someone has to rise against, and they do, with some dire consequences to some main characters. I'll give props to Roth on the ending. Quite powerful.

Since I refuse to spoil, I'll finish with: this is a great ending to a great series. Bravo!

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

I think I forget what being a 16 year old girl is like. Through quite a bit of this book, I was sighing at Tris and rolling my eyes. But as it progressed, I got it.

I had a rocky upbringing but obviously wasn't taught to battle, use guns and take over Erudite headquarters as a 16 year old. I didn't watch my parents die bloody deaths and I didn't have to kill my best friend. (thank goodness).

Tris is now having panic attacks when she has to hold a gun (don't blame her there) and seems to be recklessly throwing herself in the path of death and mayhem for no particular reason, although she'll be happy to give you all the reasons she made up. Naturally, Tobias (aka Four aka Tris' boyfriend) is getting fed up with all of this especially since they are in the midst of a deadly war between factions.

Spoilers, dear reader.

The Dauntless end up back at their home base when it's clear the other factions would rather turn them over than stick their own necks out. Sweet. Anyway, they attempt to blind all of the cameras that the Eurdite have placed in Dauntless headquarters but they miss some. That results in very young Dauntless being mind-controlled to commit suicide until a Divergent (such as Tris or Tobias) hands themselves over to Eurdite headquarters. Tris, suicide mission bound again, walks herself right in to hell. Good girl.

She's experimented on by the head of Eurdite and lo and behold, Tobias walks himself right into hell with Tris because, at first it was a "You die, I die" deal (very Shakespearean) but then it becomes clear Tobias has no intention of dying with Tris and is trying to find the control rooms of the headquarters for an attack later. Fortunately, he doesn't want Tris dead either and they do make it out.

From there, an attack on the Eurdite headquarters is planned by Dauntless and the factionless. Tris joins up with others to get there first because the data must be saved.

And I leave you there. Because it's quite a fiery, bloody end to the book which leaves you hanging and desperately cursing the library for not having enough copies of Allegiant. Not that I would curse the library.....

Divergent by Veronica Roth

A lot of hype because of the movie so I was sucked in. I got this from the library just a day before my vacation and sat out in the sun reading this, beginning to end.

I'm hooked!

It's no Hunger Games and honestly, that's good. I did love the first 2 books of The Hunger Games so don't get me wrong.

Divergent is set in dystopian Chicago, of all places, with groups of people divided up into factions. We have Candor (honest), Dauntless (brave), Erudite (intelligent), Amity (peaceful) and Abnegation (selfless). The theory is that all factions make up one excellent society.... *cough*

The Dauntless are the soldiers and Abnegation is the government. Beatrice and her brother Caleb are part of the Abnegation faction and, as per the rules, once they turn 16 they take a test to determine which faction they will stay in, either the one they are born in or one of their choosing. They get one shot at it or else they become factionless.

Possible spoilers.....


Both Caleb and Beatrice choose to leave Abnegation. Beatrice, hereby known as Tris, chooses Dauntless and begins her training as a soldier. She meets several other Dauntless folks, including Christina from Candor and Will from Erudite. She also meets Four, her trainer. Sparks started flying early on, but surprisingly it didn't ruin the plot of the book.

Ok, no more spoilers....

Except people die because there is no utopian way of doing things!!! People never learn.

Ready for book two......