Allegiant starts off with one the most visually impactful scenes of the entire series (which is a little weird to say about a novel, but it works). We know that the city is a rough outline of what present day Chicago once was, and we can see it in the buildings and the trains. As the group drives beyond the gate, Tris can see the shadow of the past in the crumbling buildings hiding in the trees and the pavement worn down by roots and weather. There were once humans here, but they are definitely long gone.

Beyond the scenery and - of course - the big reveal of the city’s secret, it was the characters that really stood out to me in this book. Tobias continues to be one of the most intriguing characters. I think it was a fantastic development and change in character motivation for Tobias’ fear landscape to change him into the monster he’s feared for so long. In fact, there was a point in the story where Tobias got angry, like scary angry, and I worried for a second that he would end up killing Tris in a fit of rage. Luckily, that didn’t happen, or I would have rioted.

However, Tobias isn’t just getting angrier. That would be too simple of a plot line for our complicated hero-adjacent boy. We also see him caught in the gray areas between groups and struggling to do what he thinks of as right.

One moment in particular that stuck out in Tobias’ narrative was when he realized his actions had inadvertently killed Uriah. The devastation he feels is almost palpable. Maybe it was just a misstep in the writing, but it tells you a lot about his character that Tobias was more fearful of facing Uriah’s family than any of the fighting going on around him.

I think having characters reflect on what they thought was right but ends up being hurtful is important for their growth and realism.

Another character whose story line was enriched in Allegiant was Peter. First, we come to know him as an evil initiate. Then, we learn he’s just looking out for himself and will do whatever he can to make sure he’s ahead in life. We see a glimmer of hope for the cruel boy in Insurgent, when he does what Tris thinks is the most Dauntless thing by telling her the time.

I thought Peter was included in the story to show how people just looking out for themselves can become cruel or just apathetic. Then, he was given so much more when Roth gave him his chance at redemption. Peter has the chance to just leave the city behind, but he asks to take the memory-wiping serum. More than that, but he want to know nothing about his former self, to become an entirely new person.

Last in our remarkable character line up is Tris herself. I really felt like Tris came into her element in this book. She was constantly learning from those around her and skeptical of every viewpoint presented. She toiled with the grief and stress of everything that had happened over the last two novels.

As readers, we learn that the thing that makes Tris special is that she’s completely normal, near exactly like us. This is the book where you’re really able to see the good and the bad in all groups. From the corrupted factions to the factionless to the people running the city behind the scenes, there’s merit in almost every view point presented. There is also their belief in what they’re doing is right. Tris has the empathy to see the world through different eyes and consider different options, which is basically a super power in a world of genetic handicaps.

I feel like my notes for this one are really general, but that comes from being so immersed in the book that I really only stopped to take notes when I had to stop reading for one reason or another. In fact, I didn’t take any notes for the last 100 pages because I was just engrossed in the story.

In this last book, Roth really drove home some of the major themes of the series without making it too heavy handed. It really laid out the struggle of finding your identity and belonging,

from the abolished factions to the GD or GP.

We see how the labels can divide, but also how they provide community. While I wish it had been a bit better paced, Allegiant was a satisfying end to Tris’ story.