Veronica Roth's 'Divergent' finale, 'Allegiant,' is released
鈥淎llegiant,鈥� the much-anticipated third and final installment of Veronica Roth鈥檚 鈥淒ivergent鈥� trilogy, arrives in stores today.
As we noted in an earlier article, Roth鈥檚 novel was already topping the advance sales numbers from a month before the release of 鈥淢ockingjay,鈥� the third book in Suzanne Collins鈥� 鈥淗unger Games鈥� trilogy. Now 鈥淎llegiant鈥� is the top-selling book on Amazon and is number two on Barnes & Noble.
Last night, Roth鈥檚 website posted a video of the author reading the first chapter of the book at midnight. Meanwhile, various bookstores planned release parties, with shops from all over the country telling they were scheduling events. Some locations went above and beyond, with St. Paul bookstore Red Balloon Bookshop planning on offering tattoos and tests to see what 鈥渇action鈥� partygoers fit into (a plot point in Roth鈥檚 books) for their event.
New Jersey store Well Read New & Used Books co-owner Bill Skees acknowledged the younger age of "Divergent" fans in his party-planning. "I鈥檓 trying to keep the event pretty tight, timewise, so there鈥檚 less of an impact on homework," he told PW.
So far, reviews have been scarce because of the secrecy surrounding the book, but critic Hillary Busis awarded the book a B+.
鈥淚n this dystopian universe, nobody is safe,鈥� she warns, writing that 鈥渢he plot, which finds Roth's characters venturing beyond their city's walls only to discover a new network of conspiracies, is straight out of the sci-fi handbook, clumsy racism allegory and all.鈥� However, Busis found herself wowed by the book鈥檚 conclusion, calling it 鈥渟hocking.鈥澛�
The first of Roth鈥檚 books, 鈥淒ivergent,鈥� is being adapted into a film starring 鈥淭he Spectacular Now鈥� actress Shailene Woodley as protagonist Tris and Kate Winslet as villainous Jeanine Matthews. The movie is set to be released this March.
As for Roth鈥檚 future, she told the she would be taking 鈥渁 little break.鈥�
鈥淚 think I'm going to... just kind of play around with some ideas,鈥� she said of future books. 鈥淚 do love writing for teens, so I don't see that changing anytime soon.鈥�
