I just finished Allegiant, the final book in the Divergent trilogy. The Divergent series is also one of the last 2010 Dystopian trilogies to wrap up (I'll be writing about all of them in another post).
I'm in shock.
On the one hand I want to commend Veronica Roth for doing something I've yet to see a YA author (even JK Rowling) do: kill off her protagonist. For good. I've read some reactions online about how the fans were angry because she didn't think of them, but of the plot, and that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.
Of course an author would put the plot first. It's her story to tell. And I understood her motives behind it: the whole series revolve around what sacrifice really means, and to have Tris, the protagonist, fully and truly understand that made a good ending. Still, understanding why Tris had to die didn't stop me from bawling my eyes out (and I
never cry).
In Allegiant, the PoVs switched between Tris and Tobias, with a header in each chapter stating their name. The thing that cemented her death for me (it
is YA, and authors are never above killing someone then bringing them back. I'm looking at you JKR and Melissa de la Cruz) was when the final chapters simply had the chapter numbers printed, with no note on whether it was a Tris or Tobias chapter. It meant that Tobias was the only one left to tell the story.
Tobias was the cause for my tears, in fact. Not that I wouldn't miss Tris, I would. But that moment when Tobias was contemplating taking the memory serum broke my heart. I can't imagine having to make the decision between grieving your whole life but having the memory of your love, or forgetting and living in peace. He eventually chooses not to, as he realizes it's not what Tris would want him to do. A few pages later, the epilogue shows Tobias' life two years later: He's got a job and his own apartment. All the while I was thinking, that should be
their apartment. They should be rebuilding their life together.
In the end, though, it was a series that taught the lesson it was meant to. It didn't stray from its true purpose. It was about being free: not just having the freedom to take risks and do what you want, but also having the freedom to make the choice of sacrificing yourself for the good of others.
“There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater.
But sometimes it doesn't.
Sometimes it is nothing more than gritting your teeth through pain, and the work of every day, the slow walk toward a better life.
That is the sort of bravery I must have now.” -Allegiant
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