Allegiant

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

This is the third book in the Divergent Series.
This book really brought out the whole question of society and how it works or how it should work.  The expectations we lay upon members of society and in what situations do we expect less and should we expect less or more.

I found myself comparing Roth's societal discourse to that within the Hunger Games trilogy (mostly because I just saw the movie Catching Fire).  The worlds were similar in that there was a controlling government that was monitoring the activity of the controlled.  In the Hunger Games, the people of the Districts knew they were being monitored and controlled.  In this trilogy, the people of Chicago are in ignorance of the reality of their situation.  There are cities mentioned who know they are monitored and controlled and their societal structure is much more broken and dissolute than that within the walls of former Chicago.

I found this book, and the series, entertaining and thought provoking.  I think it would be a good avenue for discourse with young adults about society and the expectations that we place on ourselves and others in order to live and function within society.  This series didn't have the rated R psychological twisty-ness of the Hunger Games nor was is as violent so I think it will have a broader audience.

There is one more book in the series which is Four: A Divergent Collection. This gives us a more in depth look at Tobias Eaton aka Four and why he is the way he is.  I am fine skipping this one although I'm sure it will be an entertaining read as the others have been.  Roth also has a series of Divergent Short Stories.  I think I've lived in this world of her long enough and I'm ready to move on.