If Divergent (2011) boasted a stark clarity and Insurgent (2012) bordered on the incomprehensible, this trilogy finale falls squarely in the middle: though plenty of fat goes uncut, the plot is both followable and logical. While Roth's strength has never been characterization (side characters continue to be more or less interchangeable), she does, by the brave ending, elicit a long-in-coming and, frankly, well-earned emotional response. Power couple Tris and Tobias, on trial as traitors, manage to escape their dystopic Chicago only to land in the hands of the Bureau, a government agency that is watching the "experiment" of the Factions unfold. This pulling-back-of-the-curtain and the accompanying "fight against genetic damage" may be the single most fascinating idea of the entire series, though there isn't much lingering upon it before, once more, Tris and Tobias must judge a new cast of characters as friend or foe between episodes of bickering and kissing. While the prose feels hasty and repetitive, it does turn pages, which is the meter by which the gargantuan fan base will judge it. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This heir to The Hunger Games is arguably the highest-demand book of the year. Expect total saturation leading up the 2014 movie. Resistance is futile.

In the final installment of Roth's Divergent series, the factions are dismantled and the city is in upheaval. Tris and Tobias set out with a group of rebels to seek answers about the world beyond the fence. Amidst all the deception and betrayal, Roth provides meditations on love, loss, and sacrifice that ponder the complexities of free will versus genetic destiny.

Roth shakes up her storytelling (and will do the same to some readers) in this highly anticipated, largely satisfying wrap-up to the Divergent trilogy. First, the majority of the story takes place outside the city walls, since Tris and Tobias (aka Four) have joined the rebel group known as the Allegiant, whose goals are to fight the factionless and discover what-s beyond the city-s boundaries. Second, Roth alternates between Tris-s and Tobias-s viewpoints as readers learn about genetic tampering that the U.S. government performed generations earlier, which gave rise to the faction system. Roth-s plotting is, as readers have come to expect, intelligent and complex. Dangers, suspicion, and tension lurk around every corner, and the chemistry between Tris and Tobias remains heart-poundingly real. The alternating perspectives are bothersome at times, due to the similarity between Tris and Tobias-s first-person narratives. However, for those who have faithfully followed these five factions, and especially the Dauntless duo who stole hearts two books ago, this final installment will capture and hold attention until the divisive final battle has been waged. Ages 14-up. Agent: Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary & Media. (Oct.)