(Be warned there are some spoilers, in case any of these are still on your “to read” list. Also, some previous reads.)
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
3/5
Not as good as Divergent overall and I was starting to lose interest after the first third, but it definitely gained steam as it went along. As expected, it ended on more of a cliffhanger than the first book, and I’m curious to see where it goes next.
Allegiant by Veronica Roth
2/5
It’s a bit strange to give a book only 2 stars when I read it in a mere 3 days…but that’s what I’m doing. I have no idea where to start with this one, so I’m just going to write thoughts in no particular order:
By the end of this one I feel like the only reason I was still reading was that I had become invested in the characters two books ago. Divergent totally captivated me, Insurgent was good enough, but Allegiant somehow lost all of the dynamics that gave this whole world appeal. It was such a let down after the first two.
I wanted to know what was outside the fence, and wasn’t surprised to discover that Tris and company were far from alone in the world. But the shift from the dynamics between people and factions to genetics and experiments and discrimination…maybe it was supposed to convey a larger message, but I found it overwrought. It was just…boring.
The sudden addition of Tobias’s viewpoint, when the first two books were solely from Tris’s POV, was jarring and sometimes hard to follow. It also hinted at the ending, which made it less of a surprise when I got there. (It would have been unsatisfying to end with Tris’s death, so you’ve got to have Tobias to wrap things up a couple years later.)
I didn’t love the ending, but I didn’t hate it. I’m not sure Tris really needed to die; after everything she’d already been through and survived, having her die just seemed like contrived way to hammer a point that had already been made — that bravery and selflessness (Dauntless and Abnegation) are two sides of the same coin. Still, all things considered, the last few chapters were the best part of the book for me and kept me from feeling like reading Allegiant was a total waste of time.
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
3/5
I suppose I should start by saying this book took me 2 months to read, which seems kind of crazy for something to which I ended up giving 3 stars. I did enjoy the story, but for some reason I just never got into it for more than a chapter or two at a time. (I was reading during a busy period in life, but still.)
I think my favorite part was actually the setting and atmosphere. Simonson did a great job conveying the town of Mary St. Edgecombe, Major Pettigrew’s attachment to it, Pettigrew’s sense of tradition and duty and manners, etc. It all felt very authentic and I think is what kept me plugging along despite my slow pace.
I did take a couple weeks off from reading it entirely towards the end when I was busy with other things, and happened to come back to the book right as it hit its climax at the end. Perhaps due to that lengthy break, the last several chapters almost felt like a different book to me. I suppose the entire story had been building to the confluence of crazy events at the end, but it felt somewhat rushed.
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
3/5
Hiking the Pacific Coast Trail is one of those things that I will very likely never do, but will daydream about what it would be like if I ever did.
I had a lot of trouble identifying with Strayed’s both intense and extensive reaction to the death of her mother, and to her self-destructive behavior in the years that followed. I don’t begrudge her these things — her emotions and reactions are hers alone and I respect that. I just had trouble empathizing with the depth and potency of them, and I think that did take away a bit of the power her story might have otherwise had for me.
That said, I still enjoyed this book and I absolutely loved the way she chose to get her life back! Her vivid portrayal of life on the trail, the people she met along the way, her growth from very inexperienced to seasoned hiker, and the shifts in her emotions from day to day, hour to hour, and even minute to minute — her PCT story was truly engaging and heartfelt. It made me wonder what I might learn about myself if I did something similar.
(Note to self to rent this movie now.)
