Allegiant (novel)

Did You Know?

• A free electronic companion book titled The World of Divergent: The Path to Allegiant was released online four weeks before the novel.
• The companion book contained ten teasers from Allegiant.
• The Path to Allegiant included a quiz on 'Factions' and answers by Roth about the trilogy.

Plot

In a future version of Chicago, society is split into five groups based on personality, and anyone who fails their group's training becomes Factionless, a lower class. After previous events, Evelyn Johnson-Eaton takes over as leader and makes all factions live equally with the Factionless. Tris, Christina, and Cara are forgiven for their part in the uprising. Tris finds out from Tobias about a rebel group called the Allegiant that wants to bring back the faction system. A fight between faction members and the Factionless kills several people, including Evelyn's top aide Edward. Tris is asked to a meeting with the Allegiant, whose leaders Cara and Johanna Reyes aim to overthrow Evelyn and send people outside the city. Tris is chosen for the trip, along with Tobias, Cara, Christina, Peter, Uriah, and Tori. Tris asks Tobias to save her brother Caleb from being executed and bring him. Tori is killed by the Factionless as they flee, and the rest escape to meet Tobias's mentor Amar, who was thought dead. They are taken to the Bureau of Genetic Welfare and its head David. David says Chicago is a government experiment meant to create genetically purer Divergents from a genetically damaged population. David gives Tris her mother Natalie's journal. Tobias learns he is not a true Divergent and joins a rebellion against the GP staff. A bomb set by Nita leaves Uriah brain-damaged. Tris stops Nita by holding David hostage, then wounds and arrests her.

Background

At the July 18, 2013 San Diego Comic-Con panel for the film Divergent, Roth revealed that Allegiant is told from the points of view of both Tris and Four. She stated that writing in only Tris's voice did not work because her perspective was too limited for the story. Roth wanted to let two characters experience different things and react differently to the same events, giving a better sense of the whole picture. She noted that she always saw Four as a plot-mover alongside Tris, making him the obvious choice for the second point of view. Roth said she did not try to choose titles ending with '-ent' for all three books, and that the title was always Allegiant, which she defined as 'One who is loyal or faithful to a particular cause or person.'

Critical reception

Hillary Busis of Entertainment Weekly gave the novel a B+, praising its twisty plot and the Tris/Tobias love scenes. Publishers Weekly noted that the alternating perspectives are sometimes bothersome due to the similarity between Tris and Tobias's first-person narratives, but stated that the final installment will capture and hold attention until the divisive final battle.

Film adaptations

On December 16, 2013, Summit Entertainment announced the film adaptation of Allegiant would be released on March 18, 2016. Lionsgate later split it into two films: The Divergent Series: Allegiant and The Divergent Series: Ascendant. Noah Oppenheim wrote the screenplay for Part 1. Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Naomi Watts reprised their roles. Robert Schwentke directed. Principal photography began in Atlanta on May 18, 2015. The film received generally negative reviews and was a box office disappointment, grossing $179 million worldwide against a $142 million budget. Ascendant was planned for June 9, 2017, but after Allegiant's poor performance, it was redeveloped as a television film with a spinoff series. Woodley backed out in February 2017, and both the TV movie and series were canceled in December 2018.