Inaugural Post. A review of Alligiant by Veronica Roth

It has been suggest that I begin a blog dedicated to the world of writing.   I plan to review many of the books I have recently read in addition to sharing some of the interesting things I learn from these books.  I will include items on the craft of writing and perhaps a small glimpse into my own portfolio.

Photo from Amazon.com

Lets begin with the most recent book I read. Allegiant by Veronica Roth.   I would like to begin with a disclaimer.  I truly enjoyed the two previous books in this trilogy.  However, this final book fell a little flat for me.  I still enjoyed reading it, but I did not really feel the end of the story was very well constructed. With the movie Divergent coming to theaters soon I am sure there was a push for this amazing author to get her final book into print.

I will not ruin the story, in fact, I would encourage you to read the entire series as the concept is fresh and interesting.  I will warn you however, just like Suzanne Collins Hunger Game trilogy, the final story does leave a little to be desired. BUT the joy for both of these books is in the journey.  Enjoy the well crafted stories both of these women have created.

CRAFT TALK:  One of the things that I found difficult, in final book ,Allegiant was the POV (Point of View).  Roth took a dual first person POV and it became tedious at times for me to remember which character's voice was being used.  Because Tris and Tobias are intricately involved on the same "side" and often speak of or to the same characters. The reader may find this confusing.  Flipping to the front of a chapter to remind myself of the character that is speaking became a break that was very unwanted.

  I don't know why Roth chose to go between the to characters but I would not recommend this styling when both of the characters often speak with or interact with the same personalities in the story.  It caused confusion and caused me to "leave" the story several times.

NO SPOILERS The end of this book, after the big semi (not really) surprise, drug on forever. I recall specifically looking at the number of pages left and thought to myself what else is coming.  I was on the look out for something surprising and it never came. I think this is why there are many others reviewing the book and giving it poor rating.  I think the Divergent fans expected more, and it was not delivered .I don't think many of them are deserved, I think the writing was SOLID but the end needed more time to craft and  I wonder if Ms. Roth's editor was barking at her to finish regardless of the protest that she needed more time.

OVERALL, I think the movie coming out pushed this final book to be completed and harmed the integrity of the story. I do however, look forward to seeing more work from Ms. Roth.