On the one hand, it becomes a little difficult for me to believe that Tally is always the one caught in the crosshairs of the battle between the establishment in the world of the future and the people who want to fight it every step of the way. On the other hand, there is always a single person who sets off a chain of events that can lead to a revolution. It makes perfect sense. This novel, though, is different from the other two in the trilogy. It doesn't involve Tally purposefully deceiving the government. As an Ugly, she learned the truth about the world she lived in and decided not to betray her new friends. As a Pretty, she fought against what the government had done to her, intent on changing the world. But as a Special, Tally likes who she is and sees everything differently. She doesn't want to transform anymore; she feels as though she is above that, above everything and everyone else.

And that is exactly what makes this novel better than the last two. Tally is the reluctant hero, and her character flaws are more magnified. When Shay accuses her of being selfish, of feeling like the world revolves around her, for the first time, I can agree with her. In the previous novels, I always found myself taking Tally's sides in arguments, finding Shay to be selfish and immature, but this time around, Tally's not a main character I can trust. Being Special has changed her in a way she can't see, but it also hasn't changed her. Tally is someone who resists change without realizing it, holding on to bits of her old life even while she looks down her nose at it. It transforms the feeling of the novel completely, making it that much more interesting.

One downside: for as long as this novel is, there isn't enough time spent with the other characters. I know that Tally and Shay are the focal point this time around, but I would have loved to spend more time with the characters we got to know in the first two books, like David and Zane. Each of them are a big part of who Tally has become. The first book was largely David and Tally's relationship, while the second was Zane and Tally's, but neither of the characters get their due in this conclusion to the trilogy. Both make appearances, and both have big effects on Tally, but we still don't get to spend a ton of time with them.

All in all though, this novel does provide a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. All of the adventures Tally and her friends have been on, all of the dangers they have suffered — it all finally comes to a head in a way that may not be entirely unexpected for the reader, but is definitely unexpected for characters who are used to lives of harmony and lives without violence. Everything shifts in the story, and everything falls into place.