Author: Ally Condie
Publisher: Penguin
Group (2011)
Pages: 255
Format: eBook
Description:
The highly anticipated second book in the Matched
trilogy!
Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way
to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky--taken by Society to his certain
death--only to find that he has escaped into the majestic, but treacherous,
canyons. On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life . . . and the
enthralling promise of rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices everything to
reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game. On the
edge of Society, nothing is as expected, and crosses and double crosses make
Cassia's path more twisted than ever.
Review:
Oh dear… Whenever I
think about it, this book still gives me the chills.
I have such mixed
feelings about this one. I remember reading Matched
a couple of years ago and absolutely falling in love with it—the world created,
the ambiguous characters, the amazing concept, everything was new and fresh and
exciting to me. I guess that, and this happens way too often, I was left with
high expectations towards the next books in the trilogy and after knowing that Crossed was not going to be published in
my country, and seeing how eagerly I wanted to know how the story ends, I
decided to just read the originals. What a mistake it was—not the decision of
reading Crossed, but the enthusiasm I
was expecting from it— and, right now, I can’t believe how disappointed I still
am. There’s something in this second book that just didn’t convinced me, that
is lacking immensely. In a way, I do understand what the author was meaning to
pass on to the readers, the messages and dangers of living—or better, surviving—in
the outside world, but at the same time, I can’t seem to find enough
information, and answers to established questions, and developments in general
to justify such a book. I honestly think this is a way too long narrative for
what it actually brings to the story in its whole, and I seriously don’t want
to say this, ‘cause it hurts me deeply, but I actually felt kind of bored in a
couple of scenes, with my eyes rolling in odd ways, and with this crazy desire
of just wanting the torture to end.
The book has good
things, no doubt about that—not everything is bad—yet it wasn’t what I was
looking for after such an incredible first volume.
Watching the changes
in Cassia’s way of living and all the new and different shades in her
personality was extremely interesting. She knew, right from the start, that
finding Ky wasn’t going to be easy, but I don’t think she was truly aware of
how difficult it was meant to be. So many dangerous situations came across her
path—since having to trust in people she had never met before to actually
needing to cross a canyon where her chances of survival were minimal—, all the
major and unknown challenges, all the sorrows and things she was forced to
witness changed her completely, and that innocent girl who would once believe
in everything the Society would tell her—the one we first met in Matched—no longer lives in that body.
Adding a second POV
to the story was a genius move, especially because it was Ky’s. Besides being a
great and more intimate way of getting to know more about his own story before
moving to Oria, this also gives to readers a different and much appreciated
perspective towards certain events happening. Ky’s a very rational character
when Cassia isn’t part of the equation, and he’s clearly a natural born leader,
but the way Condie sometimes describes his thoughts and desires is a bit
repetitive. I wish I had been able to know more substantial things about Ky,
things that would make me doubt of his intentions, of his actions, that would
make him a more dubious character in order to create conflict, but the truth is
that it was all very simple, and plain, and expected.
I did liked the side
characters, I give you that. Indie always kept me on edge and Eli was the most
adorable boy ever! Vick won my heart somehow, and Xander, in a smaller role
this time, was actively present throughout the entire book even when he wasn’t.
Too bad some of these characters, along side others, probably won’t be seen
again mainly due to the circumstances created, but at the end of it, it was
just a pure delight to get to know them. And now that I really think about it,
it was because of them, all of them, that I continued to read Crossed, otherwise I would probably had
given up on him.
It was relatively
curious to finally understand a little bit of what happens to all the people
who are reclassified/classified as Aberrations and Anomalies, and to all of the
others who maintain residence somewhere in the Outer Provinces. They might live
quite freely, with the sky as the limit, but some of the basic needs that the
Society offers, such as medical supply, is something they have no access to—and
that makes all the difference. Again, this was something that didn’t last for
long, seeing that a lot of what’s going on in this book is related to Cassia
wanting to find Ky, to Ky questioning himself whether Cassia continues to love
him or not, and to the small group who survived trying to find The Rising.
Overall, I get the
intention behind the text, I just don’t feel like Ally should had done a whole
book about it—especially when Reached
has that size. It’s a story that acts like a passage from being part of the
Society and now wanting to fight it; is about Cassia erasing her doubts and
crossing half the country looking for Ky; is about Ky realising that Cassia is everything
that matters to him; is about Indie letting go of the pass and believing in
herself and in what she feels like being the right thing; is about The Rising
starting to really fight for what they have faith in; and is about… truthfully,
is just about crossing from one side to the other, from one belief to another, from
something that is known and deceitfully safe to some other thing that could
bring piece and freedom to all.
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