I’ve finally read the last book in the Divergent series,
Allegiant. What forced my stubborn hand and made me take the plunge, you ask?
The final movies is set to release soon and I couldn't possibly see the movie
without having read the book first. The movie always manages to leave out the
juicy bits I love most.
So, what did I think of this final book in the series? As an author, I loved the final book. As a reader, I wanted to find Veronica Roth’s address, stake out her house, and when I saw her, I wanted to force her to change the
ending in a new book with a twist. Like, tada! I fooled you all didn’t I? Yeah,
I really wanted that.
Why the dual reaction?
As a reader, you grow to care about certain aspects of the
story (characters, setting…) and when the author changes something drastically,
you either hate or love it. If you’ve read the final book, you know what I
mean. If you haven’t read the final book, shame on you. It is beautifully
written and left me smiling and near tears for days (okay, weeks, okay, I’m still near
tears). When an author makes HUGE changes, the reader is forced to make a
decision – should I go find her and cut her, or should I just roll with it and
endure the pain. Me. I’m enduring the pain. Thanks a lot, Veronica!
As an author, I admire the heck out of Veronica Roth’s guts.
She is a true Dauntless! She gave the middle finger to everyone and did what
she thought was best. And it worked. Yes, I know what I said above but that was
as a reader. Now, I’m an author. And as an author, I want readers to feel. I
want them to be pissed with me for doing what I wanted to do to the characters I
created and they love. I want them to want to stalk me because those emotions will have readers clamoring for my next book. It's like a high for people
who really like to read. When a story is so good... so wrought with tension and
drama that you just can’t stop thinking about it for days (okay, weeks…). I
want that. Every writer wants that.
That's actually one series I haven't read. I thought about starting it, but then everyone was reading the last book and so angry. I read for an escape, not all the crazy feels, so I decided it probably wasn't the best series for me. Regardless, I with you in applauding courageous authors!
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean about reading for an escape. If I had known it was going to end like that I might not have started it myself but I was a fan before the movies and all the hype. But yes, you have to applaud courageous authors.
Delete