I Pledge to Finish Allegiant!

I feel like I am dragging this book out! I am honestly not meaning to. I am reading my required minutes per week but, for some reason, I am moving through this text slowly. I read for 15 minutes on Tuesday, 45 minutes on Wednesday, and 10 minutes on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and today. Did I mention my niece is getting married on Black Friday. Yeah, they just thought they'd make the holidays even more hectic! ...by the way, I am baking and decorating the wedding cake. (Maybe I'll hold an icing tip in one hand and my book in the other).

I am taking so long reading this book that my daughter said, "You're still on that book?" Obviously, she is used to me being a much faster page turner. My student who has graciously loaned me the next series I plan to read is biting at the bit for me to finish so that we can discuss her books. I am getting there! I promise!

On the bright side, my main characters - Tris and Tobias - are working together as a team again and I am not nearly as frustrated with them. I finally feel like they are both on the same page and working toward a common goal. They have worked on forgiving one another and loving each other for who they truly are. Some real life couples never get to this stage!  Earlier in the week (eight chapters ago -- see, I am making progress), I was blown away by an insightful and beautifully written passage. I wanted to share the words with you:

"I used to think that when people fell in love, they just landed where they landed, and they had no choice in the matter afterward. And maybe that's true of beginnings, but its not true of this, now. I fell in love with him. But I don't just stay with him by default as if there's no one else available to me. I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other. I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me."

Now, how amazing is that? The Divergent series has been scattered with an underlying romance, but it hasn't been the main focus of the text. For this reason, I was emotionally stunned when I read through these paragraphs. The lesson contained therein is one that so few people learn. Giving up comes easy. Seeing another's flaws becomes the only view. It was refreshing to see wisdom displayed through a novel -- fact in the midst of fiction. Our author, Veronica Roth, has learned what it means to love through dedication and has shared her secrets with us in the mind of Tris Prior. Powerful!