My New Year’s resolution was to read more. I set my goal as at least two books a month and by posting here I can hold myself accountable. I am happy to say I am still on track!

2014 Book Total:

• George Washington’ Secret Six
• looking for alaska
• Fangirl
• Divergent
• Insurgent
• Allegiant

After flying through the first two books, I eagerly opened the third book. And I was surprised. Suddenly Veronica Roth changed from one narrator to two. For me, I felt like the change slowed me down as a reader. At the beginning of each chapter, I had to figure out which character was narrating. I felt like the plot moved more slowly than in the other two books. I had to push myself to finish the book. SPOILER ALERT: if you have not read book three stop now. I am so disappointed in Allegiant and how it ended. I was disappointed in how The Hunger Games trilogy ended, but I could see why it ended the way it did. Katniss was broken, Peeta was broken. They had both endured so much in such a short period of time, there had to be an element of sadness to the ending. But I liked how they ended up together in the end, leaning on each other for support to heal and move on. The Divergent trilogy ended on a sour note for me. I don’t see why Tris needed to die. It would have been a far better ending for her to have become the leader of a society exhibiting each of the five factions traits to some degree: Dauntless courage tempered with Abnegation humility, Erudite love of learning used with Candor’s love of the truth in mind. Four/Tobias surviving to become a leader of the new city seemed a little out of place since we was always a reluctant leader. After his training he turned down a leadership role for a job behind the scenes in the systems department. For me a more satisfying end for the trilogy would not necessarily involved Tris and Tobias being together in the end. I just wanted to see Tris continue to be the leader she was learning to be. The way the book ended, her death makes her look irrelevant, and maybe even rebellious in the end. I felt sad because she had done so much, but would be forgotten by everyone but Tobias and Christina.

I loved the movie and will see the other two movies, if they are made. But I cannot enthusiastically endorse the third book. I assumed I would be alone in my feelings, but as I talk to others who have read the books I am surprised by the number of people who either still have yet to finish reading it or they gave up all together.