A shipping error caused copies of Allegiant to arrive in the hands of some readers a month early, and now the author is asking those who receive it to remain tight-lipped.
Publisher HarperCollins and Divergent trilogy author Veronica Roth confirmed the news this afternoon in separate statements. Roth took to her official Tumblr to inform fans of what happened and requested that those small number of people who received it don’t spoil it for others.
“If you are one of the people who received Allegiant early: I would love it if you wanted to wait to read it until October 22nd alongside your fellow Initiates,” she writes. “However, I can’t blame you if that’s just not going to work for you. I do ask, no matter what you decide, that out of kindness and respect for your fellow Divergent readers and their reading experiences, you do not post spoilers or quotes anywhere. I know I can count on you to preserve the mystery with me— I may be biased, but I think I have the best readers ever.”
Allegiant is set to be released on October 22, and the shipping error was blamed on a Canadian-based distributor. It’s unclear how many copies of the book leaked and if they were shipped or on-sale in any specific area.
One user shared a copy of the book on Instagram, which proves the leak and the fact that it’s in the hands of some readers. The video is spoiler-free:
As anticipation for Allegiant grows, the book continues to have strong pre-order sales. The third and final tome has been sitting towards the top of the Amazon Best Seller list for weeks and will likely continue to ascend as we inch towards late October.