Crossed (Matched, #2)

Dec 05, 2011 Steph Sinclair rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Strong fans of Matched

Recommended to Steph by: Myself

Shelves: dystopian, 2011-reads, alternating-povs, could-have-been-better, disappointment, ebook, glad-it-s-over, poor-world-building, triangle-of-love, young-adult

Psst...Stephanie. Wake up, it's over.

Oh, man. Did I fall asleep again? It's not my fault. Really, it isn't. If only Crossed had just a little bit more action and a lot less poetry, it would have been able to keep my attention focused on reading the book instead of hitting my REM cycle. That's not to say I didn't entirely enjoy Crossed, but it also didn't live up to my expectations.

Crossed picks up where Matched left off. Ky had been sent away to the Outer Provinces and Cassia is currently resi...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Ferdy rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian, love-triangle, whiny-annoying-blah-heroine, disappointing

1.5 stars - Spoilers for Matched and Crossed.

Cassia wuvs Ky. Ky wuvs Cassia. They both wuv poetry and art. Wuv. Nobody else understands their wuv for poetry and art. That's why they wuv each other. Cassia and Ky's wuv is forbidden. Wuv. Society no approve of their wuv. Sociey seperates wuv-birds. Cassia should wuv her Society chosen match Xander. Xander wuvs Cassia, cos we can't be deprived wuv triangle. Cassia confunded, does Cassia wuv Xander too?? Cassia has epiphany, she wuvs them both - oh...more

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Nov 07, 2011 karen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dysto-teque, why-yes-i-ya

no one told ally condie that the second book in a trilogy is not a resting place, not an opportunity to catch your breath and count your cash. you gotta write something, too. is that mean? probably.is it true? definitely.

even though i wasn't crazy about matched, i wanted to read the next installment just to see where she was going with her brand of dystopia, and with these characters. and also, truthfully, because i am such a sucker for covers, and i love these. i think she might put more time a...more

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Oct 28, 2011 Phoebe added it

Shelves: young-adult, sci-fi, dystopian, intergalactic-academy-reviews

Full review at the Intergalactic Academy.

I was a bit hesitant to read Crossed after having had a mixed experience with Matched, the first in the series. While reading Matched, I was initially thrilled by the strong, lavish writing; an early scene even moved me to tears. Unfortunately, a lukewarm romance eventually tempered my enjoyment of the novel. Condie had us take a few too many walks with her chaste teenage couple, Cassia and Ky, and I found myself fairly bored by the novel’s conclusion.

I’m...more Full review at the Intergalactic Academy.

I was a bit hesitant to read Crossed after having had a mixed experience with Matched, the first in the series. While reading Matched, I was initially thrilled by the strong, lavish writing; an early scene even moved me to tears. Unfortunately, a lukewarm romance eventually tempered my enjoyment of the novel. Condie had us take a few too many walks with her chaste teenage couple, Cassia and Ky, and I found myself fairly bored by the novel’s conclusion.

I’m sad to say that I had an almost identical experience with Crossed.

Crossed also began with promise. Now removed from the safety of the Society, Cassia Reyes is living on the outskirts in a work camp, where she’s taken an assignment in the hope of finding her sweetie, Ky. Ky, meanwhile, is living in a decoy city meant to fool the Society’s enemies into thinking they’re more prosperous than they really are. There were interesting shades of “we’ve always been at war with East Asia” here, and I thought that, if Condie was going to mature the dystopian society of her first book (which seemed to borrow liberally from Lois Lowry’s The Giver), then there are worse authors to riff off of than Orwell for that growth.

Soon, Cassia and Ky begin two separate journeys across the wilderness to find each other. The chapters prior to their reunion are nicely paced and lively. With the focus turned to survival, rather than the love triangle of the first book, I found myself riveted.

But then Cassia and Ky reunite, and all that wonderful tension unravels. While the romance is a shade more passionate than what’s found in the first book (the kids kiss more than once), it still didn’t feel like the epic love story needed to carry a novel like this one. Condie also seems shy about addressing the desires of her adolescent characters. It’s not that I mind that Cassia and Ky’s romance is unconsummated–plenty of teenagers don’t do it. But they don’t struggle with this choice at all or even meaningfully contemplate it. For Cassia and Ky, abstinence is easy–even when their lives are at stake and they spend all of their time unsupervised. This aspect of Crossed, and Condie’s approach (there’s one scene that could be read as a sexual interlude, but where, as we later learn, the teens merely hug) puzzled me.

But in truth, many aspects of Crossed felt similarly muted. Cassia still doesn’t have a very strong personality, and she can be frustratingly obtuse sometimes. There are a host of minor characters here, and all but one are conspicuously underdeveloped. The teenagers should be preoccupied by survival, but instead countless pages are spent contemplating poetry. These are odd choices for a book about a rebellion and a forbidden, star-crossed romance. Ultimately, Cassia and Ky’s journey felt slow, and by the end of the novel I was more frustrated than entranced.(less)

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Dec 26, 2011 Isaiah! rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned

Matched was one of my most favorite dystopian lit. books. That being said, I really looked forward to reading Crossed this year.

Did it disappoint me? No. But there are a few things that, I don't know, let's just get on with it:

First of all, I was quite shocked when I found out that the book was written in two different points of view. There's nothing wrong with it, but still, it had me thinking that without Ky's point of view, there would be a whole lot of holes to fill just to complete the stor...more Matched was one of my most favorite dystopian lit. books. That being said, I really looked forward to reading Crossed this year.

Did it disappoint me? No. But there are a few things that, I don't know, let's just get on with it:

First of all, I was quite shocked when I found out that the book was written in two different points of view. There's nothing wrong with it, but still, it had me thinking that without Ky's point of view, there would be a whole lot of holes to fill just to complete the story. Plus, since the first book was written entirely in Cassia's POV, and this one with both Ky's and Cassia's POV, then the series isn't that consistent. I mean, it would've been great if Matched was written in Ky's POV also. But still, I'd have to say that I really like how Ally Condie decided to add Ky's POV here.

Second, I'm not really sure if it's just me, but one of the things that I really loved in Matched was how creative it was narrated, like somehow that words didn't sound like prose, but poetry. In Crossed, it didn't seem as much. But anyways, all in all, I loved Matched and I would give it a 4.5 if only Goodreads would allow us to give half stars.

Here comes the spoilers because I just can't help not sharing them :)) If you're tempted to read them, go on ahead, they're only three anyway. :)) ;)

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1.)WHAT THE HELL?! Xander is part of the Rising!!! Now I didn't see that coming :)) All along, I thought that Xander's double crossing would have something to do with giving away Cassia's mad chase for Ky and bringing her back to Society or something.

2.)LOL, the love square is growing pretty quickly. I hope that Indie does end up with Xander, so that Cassia and Ky will finally get together in the end.

3.)It's really quite annoying how hard it was to find the Rising yet it was so easy for them to just return Cassia to Central. Not to mention, it's also annoying because I don't even know anyone from the Society yet, who the real leader is. Because I was really looking forward for Ally Condie to shed some light on the Society. Like in the Hunger Games, there was President Snow. I'm still looking for the Snow character in this series.

UHH, looking forward to Book 3! Can't wait to see if the Rising is just like the Society, like how District 13 was just like the Capitol in THG. So excited! :)(less)

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Nov 09, 2011 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: bea-2011, own-arc, signed-arcs

I feel alone in my feelings for this series.

I will admit that I enjoyed reading Crossed more so than I did Matched. Perhaps it was because I wasn’t expecting much.

I liked getting into Ky’s head this time around. Crossed is told in two point of views, between Ky and Cassia. Although at times I found it hard to differentiate between their two character voices, despite the chapters being titled “Ky” or “Cassia”. And I liked getting to learn a little bit more about Ky and his history.

Condie is an...more

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Nov 24, 2011 Ghirardelli rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who are against brain cells

Recommended to Ghirardelli by: My poor eyes

Shelves: dystopian, sigh, damn-love-traingles, brain-cell-killers, i-become-a-snark-shark-for-this, read-em-once-then-it-s-done, the-hell-was-this, um-what, why, why-is-this-a-series, ya, plot-was-on-vacation, structure-whats-that

Rage.
Hardcore TURKEY RAGE.
(Happy Thanksgiving all my American buddies by the way)

What WAS THIS?
This was a book? Really? This didn’t have the components of a book.
Okay...total components: Allusions, characters, exposition, characterization.

There really are no words properly defining my rage. Ally Condie CANNOT tell a story. A story should draw you in with its writing and send you off on an adventre that does a good job at blowing your mind. Crossed did not do that. It refused to do that. In fac...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Micheline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia-utopia-future, magnetic-male, love-the-romance, young-adult

'Crossed', is the second book in the 'Matched' trilogy and while I know many Matched fans were let down by this second installment, I personally found it just as good as it's predecessor. As it was with Matched, the cover is simple; yet insightful: Cassia is beginning to break through...

'Crossed' features dual narratives; while we keep Cassia's POV, every other chapter features Ky's. I thought this was done very well. Anyone who follows my reviews knows I love getting the boys perspective after...more 'Crossed', is the second book in the 'Matched' trilogy and while I know many Matched fans were let down by this second installment, I personally found it just as good as it's predecessor. As it was with Matched, the cover is simple; yet insightful: Cassia is beginning to break through...

'Crossed' features dual narratives; while we keep Cassia's POV, every other chapter features Ky's. I thought this was done very well. Anyone who follows my reviews knows I love getting the boys perspective after the fact. Especially the way it was done in Crossed with both narratives intertwining together. It added depth, suspense and added insight into Ky's character. This played a huge part in my overall impression of the book, and it's subsequent rating. Girls can usually relate to how the girl is feeling, but like with the forbidden excerpt from Midnight Sun, it's always much more interesting from the boy's perspective ♥ ...once you already know the girls side of it, to see how they fit together. And in the case of Crossed, much of Ky's chapters involve flashbacks of some kind. Of his childhood, of his memories in The Society, of Cassia. So you get to relive their romance in little bits through his memories while getting to know in a way that would have been impossible if Crossed had only featured Cassia's POV. I thought it was very well done...even so it was sometimes frustrating to have to switch narratives right when the story got interesting ;) It certainly stopped me from putting the book down one more than one occasion!

On of the ongoing highlights for me throughout this series has to be Cassia's ongoing transformation. She's stayed true to her inherent nature in all the ways that count, but she has really begun to break out of the control & oppression that 'The Society' has been delving out for far too long. She's become brave, resourceful and a little unpredictable but never really reckless or stupid. She knows things need to change, and she's willing to do whatever it takes to make those changes happen. I was so impressed by her evolution in Matched and I continue to be impressed by her in Crossed. Ally Condie has developed Cassia and the rest of the characters in this world very consistently; in a believable and real way. It's so easy to relate to them and to feel for them. It's definitely one of the strong points of this series.

As with Matched, Crossed is about words, and their power to evoke, to move, to change and to create. Creation did not exist within The Society, but somehow it has survived all this time and it gives people hope; it helps the hang on and moves them forward. Ally Condie has a simple style that is still poetic and evocative just as it was in Matched. I can't wait to see how everything is going to play out with 'Reached' and I can't believe we have to wait till NOVEMBER to know how it all ends!(less)

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Feb 17, 2012 fяσzєη rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: covergasm, owned-ebooks, dystopian, i-am-disappoint, meh-it-was-okay, boooooring, series-going-downhill

Hmm. 3 stars. Maybe even 2.5. Not what I was expecting.

I wanted to like this book more. I really did, since the first book was amazing, but I just couldn't. There's so many questions that are still unanswered, and not much really happened in this book. It was really slow and I often got distracted during reading it. Unlike when I was reading the first book, which I automatically got sucked into.

I just expected so much more for this book. Oh well...

Hopefully book three will be much better.

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Jul 02, 2011 JJ rated it 2 of 5 stars

I can honestly say I've never been more disappointed by a sequel in my life. I rather enjoyed MATCHED, and while I can't say I was foaming at the mouth to read the next, I was curious to see where Condie would take Cassia's story.

The answer to that is: nowhere.

Absolutely nothing happens. Oh sure, plot events unfold, one after the other, but they are without significance. Instead of advancing the story, we are instead treated to endless ruminations about the nature of love, wrapped up in some (a...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Wendy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: alternative-history-future, ya-liked, ya-loved, dystopia

Reread 12/12

Amazingly, my thoughts are exactly the same for this book since the first time I read it. I think I get the story more, but this book seriously lacks any excitement.

** some spoilers **

Initial thoughts: This is a book you'll either really like, or feel disappointed. If you have expectations before you read the book, I tell you the best thing to do is empty your mind...don't expect anything, and you won't be disappointed.

This is more of a deep character sketch of Cassia, Ky and a fe...more

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Nov 05, 2011 Lindsay rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: sciencefiction, youngadultfiction

I really wanted to like this book. But I found the task impossible. While I loved Matched, I think Condie did not keep up the original ideas, tight plot, and romantic suspense that worked in the first book. She tries using two narrators, but does not distinguish their voices. Other than the heading on the top of each chapter to delineate who was talking, it was almost impossible to figure out who was the narrator. The plot was completely lackluster. Nothing really happens. Most of the events in...more

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Feb 12, 2012 Imo :D (Omnom Books) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: apocalyptic, ya, ya-romance

The middle instalment is Ally Condie’s Matched trilogy, Crossed fell comfortably into the category of ‘okay’. Not exactly the most heart breaking and captivating piece of fiction I’ve ever read, it still carried a good plot with enough to interest you between the pages.

In this book you can see how Cassia has, if not maybe not matured (which she probably has), grown. Her chapters have a more sombre feel, compared to the slightly more relaxed and inquisitive tones that came from the first book. If...more The middle instalment is Ally Condie’s Matched trilogy, Crossed fell comfortably into the category of ‘okay’. Not exactly the most heart breaking and captivating piece of fiction I’ve ever read, it still carried a good plot with enough to interest you between the pages.

In this book you can see how Cassia has, if not maybe not matured (which she probably has), grown. Her chapters have a more sombre feel, compared to the slightly more relaxed and inquisitive tones that came from the first book. If this is from her missing her old life or her separation from Ky I don’t know, but you can certainly see how she’s changed. As a first we also get some chapters from Ky’s view, alternating between him and Cassia. In these he often wistfully experiences flashbacks, letting the reader learn more about his past whilst seeing how it still pertains to his future.

There was very little on the romance side – I mean, there was very little development when they were together. They often thought of their love for each other, true, and it was very cute and sweet, but if you’re looking for lots of kissing and charged tension this isn’t the book for you. There was also some weirdness going in with Indie that had me confused for a while, at first I thought she and Cassia were becoming friends, then maybe that she was going for Ky. It turned out this isn’t the case, although it turns out there may be a love square forming, yes, that’s right, a triangle just didn’t cut it.

As I found with Matched, Condie’s writing is very artistic; with a lyrical beauty that is both elegant and yet sometimes frustrating. In her thought processes Cassia is often very poetic, but sometimes it was slightly irritating when she went on and on about something when a simple sentence’s description would have been fine. She tries to see the beauty and meaning in everything, yet I just wanted to tell her that it isn’t possible: sometimes a rock is just a rock, move on.

Definitely not the best thing I read in 2011 but still perfectly acceptable, this sequel to the highly popular Matched has delivered in some ways and yet lacked in others. If you loved the first book, I would recommend you read Crossed, but if you err on the side of ‘meh’ maybe find something else more suited to your tastes.
(less)

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Oct 31, 2011 Lea rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: boring-as-hell, confusing-as-hell, dystopia, meh, not-what-i-thought-it-would-be, romance, made-me-fall-asleep, second-book-syndrome, little-to-nothing-happens

.

This is actually getting 2.5 stars. I'm being nice.

Sigh... where to begin with this one? You know that I **try** to be nice with my reviews and at least say something that I liked about a book before I go all crazy-rant-girl on it, so I guess we'll do a run-down of what I liked about this second book in Ally Condie's Matched trilogy first...

Crossed did a good job of continuing the romance between Cassia and Ky, and honestly, I do like the romance between them. Not too hot-n-heavy, not to whiny-...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Patricia marked it as mine-to-read

Shelves: source-won

The cover looks good. Except.. well, it doesn't. Kind of awesome, but then her leg and arm make it look unreal. :/ I get the whole escape-thing, but mhe. :/

The Matched-end broke my heart. Hope Crossed'll fix it. :)

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Dec 19, 2011 Brooke rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: could-not-soldier-through

If the point of this sequel was to provide "food for thought", someone should tell the author over-eating is bad, very very bad, as was this sequel.

About half way through this novel, I wasn't sure if I would be able to finish. This promising series took a turn for the worse. What started out as an intriguing adventure became a forced introspective on the "oh so sad" human condition by way of paragraph after paragraph of what almost read like sermon. I felt a certain obligation to myself to see i...more If the point of this sequel was to provide "food for thought", someone should tell the author over-eating is bad, very very bad, as was this sequel.

About half way through this novel, I wasn't sure if I would be able to finish. This promising series took a turn for the worse. What started out as an intriguing adventure became a forced introspective on the "oh so sad" human condition by way of paragraph after paragraph of what almost read like sermon. I felt a certain obligation to myself to see it through, however the thought of then having to read another book after this one, just to know how it all ends, exhausted me. Maybe I should have quit while I was ahead. I have never stopped mid-series ever though, and even contemplating it was a telling first.

So many things made this book an almost embarassing yawnfest, but to go over every reason why would be like reliving the boredom so I'll pick just a few. Ah, the poetry. The poetry crammed in (yes, poetry) was mostly irrelevant to the story. It seemed as though, in some places, the story had actually been written around the author's desire to shove her own poetry in. It came across as a desperate attempt to gain praise for her brilliant poetry writing ability and her amazingly in-depth analyzation of existent poetry (heavy sarcasm). Lastly, the message...ah, the message. I understand this genre often carries an underlying (if not outright) commentary on society, but there was just too much of this here, especially when the Society they are trying to escape in the story is less than uncomfortable compared to other dystopian novels. I was never overwhelmingly appalled at the conditions they were living in, so reading page after page of the author making her feelings about our current society known by way of a character's inner dialogue, ad nauseum, was almost more than I could bear. It is one thing to drive the point home, it is another to nail it through the reader's forehead with a dull nail and soft slow blows.

So, when is the third and final book in the trilogy set to debut? I couldn't care less. How it all ends will never be a mystery to me because I don't even care enough to wonder.

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Sep 17, 2011 Jessica (Books: A true story) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Jessica by: Steph poetrytoprose.com

Shelves: own, blog, amazon, wow-pick, won, gave-away, 4-stars, paperback, author-ive-met, signed, utah-author, arc-paperback, content-mild

It's like 1984 meets My Side of the Mountain. I took my time reading this book and when I sat back and thought about it, I realized that it was because the writing was just so beautiful. It felt like I was reading poetry. Ally was so good at unfolding the story. Every time I learned something new about the characters or the world, I just ended up with more questions. The biggest question was: "Is everything really what it seems? What's REALLY going on?" One of my favorite things was how much the...more

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Dec 28, 2011 Johanna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: source-publisher, format-print-arc

Crossed, the much anticipated sequel to Matched, picks up shortly after Matched leaves off with Cassia working in the fields to try to get to Ky. She spends quite a bit of time there looking for the best opportunity to get to the outer provinces, where she believes Ky is, but is slowly losing hope of finding one. Cassia is about to be moved to another assignment when she receives a visit from Xander, her lifelong friend and actual match assigned to her by The Society. Xander is also who helped s...more Crossed, the much anticipated sequel to Matched, picks up shortly after Matched leaves off with Cassia working in the fields to try to get to Ky. She spends quite a bit of time there looking for the best opportunity to get to the outer provinces, where she believes Ky is, but is slowly losing hope of finding one. Cassia is about to be moved to another assignment when she receives a visit from Xander, her lifelong friend and actual match assigned to her by The Society. Xander is also who helped set her on her way on this journey to find Ky armed with a large stash of blue pills.

Cassia is allowed to have a supervised outing with Xander, since he's really her match, and during this outing she finds an archivist who trades with her some information about "The Pilot". This Pilot will be key throughout the whole book as it represents the leader of The Rising, the rebellion that is taking place against The Society. She finds a way to make it to the outer Provinces and goes on a personal mission to find Ky whatever it takes while taking with her a girl she met at her previous assignment, Indie.

In the meantime, Ky is dealing with the fact that he is being sent by the Society from Village to Village as a decoy in order to fool the enemy (the Rising) into thinking that there are actually villagers living there. He knows they aren't fooling anyone though because they are getting fired upon and tons of them are dying, from being fired upon and also from not having any way of defending themselves. They are sitting ducks in hostile territory. Ky had been lucky so far by staying alive and devised a plan to escape into The Carving, a mountainous territory with canyons where he believes lives a community of farmers independent from The Society.

The book focuses on Cassia and Ky's journey, to find each other first, through basically the same territory. They both find themselves in The Carving finding clues about where the other might be. When they finally do find each other, the book's focus changes on how the plan to get out of there and what their plans are for the future. Secrets are revealed, unlikely relationships are formed, and shocking revelations are found hiding in The Carving. The story is told from alternating viewpoints, from Cassia to Ky, which I really enjoyed. It was nice seeing things from Ky's perspective after reading Matched which was all from Cassia's point of view.

I cannot say, however, that I was happy with the way the book ended. I know that there is another book in the series which I am looking forward to reading, especially after the way things were left off in Crossed. It's not much of a cliffhanger but rather a disappointing decision that is made that really angered me. I felt like the characters had gone through way too much for this lapse in judgement to take place. I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say that you won't look at Cassia the same way after that.

All in all, fans of Matched should definitely read this sequel. I view it as a stepping stone to Matched before the third book comes out. Not much resolution in the end there but probably what had to happen before the real action. Ally Condie's writing is very pleasant and easy to follow and she has once again given us complex characters faced with complex situations in a not so perfect Society.(less)

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Nov 27, 2011 Maia❤Blinn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, my-loves, enjoyable, series

I'm not really sure what to rate this book. I'm kind of divided on it, honestly. It wasn't quite as good as the first book in the trilogy, Matched, but it wasn't bad either.

I had high expectations for this book. I LOVED Matched, and I was sure Crossed would be liked as well. Crossed was a good read, but much more fast paced than Matched. It was told in Cassia and Ky's point of views, alternating. Some of the chapters were extremely short.

Every part seemed to be very short and to the point; there...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-release, 2011-100-book-challenge, arcs-i-own, mundie-moms-reviews, signed-books-arcs

Talk about a fabulous sequel, this is one exciting read that lived up to it's hype for me! CROSSED delivers more suspense, romance, action, and a lot of unexpected wonderful surprises. Wow, I didn't see some of those twists coming. I loved what Ally did in CROSSED. She not only amps up the relationship between Ky and Cassia, but half the story is told from Ky's point of view. I loved the alternating points of views.

CROSSED introduces fans of the series to a whole new world, new characters and ne...more Talk about a fabulous sequel, this is one exciting read that lived up to it's hype for me! CROSSED delivers more suspense, romance, action, and a lot of unexpected wonderful surprises. Wow, I didn't see some of those twists coming. I loved what Ally did in CROSSED. She not only amps up the relationship between Ky and Cassia, but half the story is told from Ky's point of view. I loved the alternating points of views.

CROSSED introduces fans of the series to a whole new world, new characters and new dangers. There's nice little twists on some characters I loved and some shocking secrets are revealed. The world is just as dangerous and still just as fascinating at it was in MATCHED and I liked getting to see a different part of this series' setting. It made the journey that Cassie and Ky attempt that much more exciting. Everything was new, even though there was some of the same threats still existed within the Society. I liked learning more about the places each of the characters was sent to work in. The characters were just as intriguing as they were in MATCHED. I liked that the newer characters and even the older ones un-nerved me a bit with the secrets some of them have. It kept me on my toes and it made me look at Cassie, Ky and Xander differently.

CROSSED has left me feeling just as torn on who I want Cassia to choose as MATCHED did. Don't get me wrong, this story had me rooting for Ky more than ever, but then there's a part of me that's still cheering Xander on too. I loved how drawn Ky and Cassia are to each other. I completely sympathize with what Cassia is feeling and how torn she is with Ky and Xander. Her feelings for both guys are very believable. I liked that she wrestled around which what she would get if she settled with either one of them. I enjoyed seeing both guys from a different perspective. They're not as perfect as I thought they were (really no one), and I liked being able to see the characters from a different point of view.

CROSSED definitely delivers a whole new set of feelings, twists and turns and plenty of excitement to this series. I highly recommend picking up this thrilling, must have sequel. I'm really looking forward to reading the final installment in this trilogy. I can only imagine what shocking twists Ally has in store for us. Go pick up CROSSED today and make sure to join us next week when we host a CROSSED tour stop.(less)

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Nov 06, 2011 Kirsty (overflowing library) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: review-books

I was a huge fan of Matched. I loved the characters and the world built up around them. By the end of the book I was desperate to know what happened next and see where the story went next.

Crossed takes up the story directly where the Matched left off. The story itself is really a development of the Ky and his view on the world in which he and Cassia live in. You start to see the world from his point of view and after not being a fan of his in book one I really started to warm to him especially w...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, 3-stars, yes, series, series-book-2, dystopia, slow, wasted-opportunity, read-in-2011, borrrringgg, meh

It's hard to even know exactly where to begin. I wanted so badly to love this book, because I have been dying to read it from the moment I finished Matched last year, which I had given 5-stars to. While Matched is perhaps closer to 4-stars at times, ultimately I found myself very interested in the World that Condie built and in the relationships developed throughout the book. Unfortunately loving Crossed is out of the question and I realized this very early on.

The book begins right where Matched...more It's hard to even know exactly where to begin. I wanted so badly to love this book, because I have been dying to read it from the moment I finished Matched last year, which I had given 5-stars to. While Matched is perhaps closer to 4-stars at times, ultimately I found myself very interested in the World that Condie built and in the relationships developed throughout the book. Unfortunately loving Crossed is out of the question and I realized this very early on.

The book begins right where Matched left off. I won't go into what happens in the book, since so many people have already covered that, but I will say that little happens that falls outside of the description of the book. (view spoiler) This book is SO slow. There were many times where I would close my Kindle App and start playing Words with Friends, because the book would get to such a boring state that I wanted to wake myself up a bit before trying to continue on. I feel like a very large portion of the book could have been cut out and I would have enjoyed it just the same. Better yet, had they cut a huge portion of the book out and replaced it with things that ACTUALLY mattered, I would have loved it, just as I had hoped to.

Boredom aside, the other large complaint I have about Crossed is the alternating narratives. Now, don't get me wrong, I actually quite enjoy alternating narratives and I enjoy seeing things from a different perspective, but not if you cannot determine whose POV you are reading from. There were MANY times where the only way I could differentiate between who was speaking was to turn back to the chapter page to see if it was titled Cassia or Ky. Neither of the two main characters had a distinct voice for a good chunk of the chapters. I think toward the end I did find it easier to differentiate between the two, as I much preferred reading from Ky's POV. Cassia for the later part of the book got on my nerves, a lot.

Another aspect that kind of bothered me after the fact was that I did not really feel that Cassia and Ky had a huge connection. I realize they are doing these crazy things to get to each other, but I just didn't feel it. From Ky's POV, I did feel he loved her and I found his love so endearing, but from Cassia's POV, I felt the truest emotions felt were for Xander, which wasn't what I expected and I don't think it was what the author intended. To go through what they have, I expect there to be an intense love between the two, as you would have no motivation otherwise to go through these things and I just did not feel it. (view spoiler) Now, this may just be me, as I have seen plenty of reviews where people swooned over their love, but I just did not feel that connection when I read from Cassia's POV. It all felt very superficial. This was one of the factors that toward the end helped me better differentiate between the two POVs - if the love seemed sincere, I knew it was Ky, otherwise I knew it had to be Cassia.

The last thing that really bothered me was the vagueness of it all. Who is The Enemy? How can an entire book go on about The Enemy attacking without once implying who they may be? Are they Farmers, people from the Rising, people from Society? I don't know and neither will you, not even after reading the entire book. (view spoiler) We also learn very little about the Rising and even less about the Society. I would have enjoyed this so much more if the author had replaced some of the many pages about how some random item like a leaf reminds the character of some random day like in the Spring of 2003 (ok - that is seriously what a large part of the book was like) with a better explanation about who these different groups are and/or what their motivations are.

These four major things aside, there were aspects I liked about the book. I really enjoyed the new characters that were introduced, particularly Eli and Vick (view spoiler), however it seems Indie is the character who will probably be one of the most important supporting characters. I haven't entirely decided on if I like Indie or not, but I think that was perhaps the intent of the author, so she did her job well in that aspect! While I liked Xander in the first book, I loved him in the second. Even though Xander makes only one physical appearance in the book, he is spoken about a lot and you learn so much more about who he is; I developed quite a fondness for him. I think ultimately in book 3, he will end up with (view spoiler).

I also felt as they traveled throughout the canyons that I had a very clear picture of what everything looked like, how everyone felt...I could easily picture these poisoned rivers and painted caves and found the descriptions were great. In fact, I found some pieces of the writing beautiful. Unfortunately these things that I liked did not really makeup for the parts that drove me crazy, so I still finished the book a bit disappointed...okay, VERY disappointed. Had this not been a sequel to a book I so enjoyed, I would not have finished it or I would have taken months to finish it. While this book did have it's flaws, I still plan to read the 3rd one to see how this journey will end. (less)

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Apr 14, 2013 Liz rated it 5 of 5 stars

“Love changes what is probable and makes unlikely things possible.”

Cassia is in the Outer Provinces, searching for Ky no matter what. Ky is in the Outer Procinves too, he was sent there to die, like many other innocent young man too. The only difference is that Ky is determined not to die.
He flees with Eli and Vick in the canyons and soon Cassia and her new companion Indie follow them.
Cassia is searching for Ky and he is searching for her, but as soon as they find each other everything turns...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Mrs N rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, dystopia, ya-fiction

I understand why the author used both Cassia's & Ky's point of view in this book, but it was a serious drawback because they sounded exactly the same. I did not believe for one second in Ky's narration because he didn't sound male in the slightest.

Also at times the book tried so hard to be lyrical that I laughed out loud. "The salt of his tears tastes like the sea and I don't see the shore." Come on.

BUT the book was interesting, entertaining, and a relatively solid follow-up to Matched.

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Mar 23, 2013 Kerstin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books

Kurzbeschreibung:
Wie durch ein Wunder gelingt Cassia die Flucht in die Äußeren Provinzen. Sie will nach Ky suchen, ihrer großen Liebe. Dort kämpft Ky als Soldat für die Gesellschaft und ist ununterbrochen brutalen Angriffen ausgesetzt. Als Cassia endlich auf eine Spur von Ky stößt, ist er bereits entkommen und auf dem Weg in die wilden Canyons in den Grenzgebieten. Verzweifelt macht sich Cassia auf den lebensgefährlichen Weg. Was wird sie am Ende der ihr bekannten Welt finden? Zwischen steinigen...more

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Nov 04, 2011 Megan Hicks rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia, read-in-2011

After Matched, which I had quibbles with but enjoyed, Crossed came as something of a disappointment. Oh, sure, I tore through it in about 4 hours -- and with a bad head cold at that. However, if I hadn't already been invested in Cassia's story from reading Matched, I'm not sure that Crossed would have kept my interest up.

The problem with Crossed? It suffers from a problem common enough in the second book of a trilogy, but more so than any other #2 in a series I've ever read. Crossed is very tra...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Erika Etherviere rated it 2 of 5 stars

Because in the end you can't always choose what to keep. You can only choose how you let it go.

I was really disappointed by this book. It felt like a stretched out transitional novel from the first book to the last. And that's not good. The middle book of a trilogy should always be the best and the easiest to read because the main setting and characters have already been established in the first, and there's no pressure for the conclusion, meaning there's more freedom to just focus on the plot....more

Because in the end you can't always choose what to keep. You can only choose how you let it go.

I was really disappointed by this book. It felt like a stretched out transitional novel from the first book to the last. And that's not good. The middle book of a trilogy should always be the best and the easiest to read because the main setting and characters have already been established in the first, and there's no pressure for the conclusion, meaning there's more freedom to just focus on the plot... this one failed at that. There were so many unnecessary arcs. I couldn't understand the need to elaborate and delve deep into the daily routines of Ky's and Cassia's camps respectively when those bits really didn't add much to the story. They felt like filler chapters. Some characters came across as useless embellishments. So much time was spent on the insignificant. I also felt like it tried so hard to be deep that it seemed pretentious. Matched was good because it didn't try so hard. This one did and it didn't work for me at all.

And it is strange that absence can feel like presence. A missing so complete that if it were to go away, I would turn around, stunned, to see that the room is empty after all, when before it at least had something, if not him.

What I couldn't understand about the story was Cassia. Almost the entire book was about her search for Ky, and Ky's search for her. She endured so much hardship and pain to find him, and when she did, she was willing to part with him just like that to serve the rebellion? Where's the logic in that? They were only together for what, a few days? Cassia started the book with "Ky, Ky, I love Ky, I need to find Ky..." and by the end of it she was all about Resistance this, Resistance that. I just find it so hard to believe that a girl who has spent months and endured days of affliction to find this guy she claimed to be totally in love with would easily part with him days after (finally) finding him for the Resistance. I mean, I get that The Resistance is bigger than them and their romance but still... it's so out of character!

If there's anything I'd want to commend, it'll probably be the evident improvement on the writing and world-building. It was easier to paint a picture of Cassia's world, thanks to the back stories. It was also nice to read from Ky's point of view. It was refreshing to know his side of the story while the entire Matched was happening from Cassia's POV. Reading Ky's chapters made me think this 17-year old boy was either really deep for his age or really naive.

My favorite moment from the book was probably one from Ky's memories. It was when he was watching his mother paint on the rocks using water... how he tried to capture the painting with his eyes before it dried up, and how he thought it was beautiful. I don't know why but I felt like that said so much about his character without meaning to.

Despite the forced poetry, the forced metaphors, and being let down by the story, there were still some good bits. For reasons I cannot explain, this book left me with feelings of intimacy and loneliness. Maybe that's a good thing. Well, I'm just glad I've finally crossed away from this book. I hope the last book is better.(less)

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Nov 09, 2011 Heidi rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Two and a half stars: A disappointing follow up!

Cassia finds herself in the farmlands near the Outer Provinces. Day in day out she scratches in the soil planting seeds, tiny specks of hope thrown into the cold ground. Far from all traces of her former life in the center of The Society, including her family, Xander and Ky. She survives on the meager messages that sporadically come from the Port, scraps of love from her parents, who loved and trusted her enough to set her free down her path of dis...more Two and a half stars: A disappointing follow up!

Cassia finds herself in the farmlands near the Outer Provinces. Day in day out she scratches in the soil planting seeds, tiny specks of hope thrown into the cold ground. Far from all traces of her former life in the center of The Society, including her family, Xander and Ky. She survives on the meager messages that sporadically come from the Port, scraps of love from her parents, who loved and trusted her enough to set her free down her path of discovery. A trip that will hopefully lead to a reunion with Ky and her destiny outside of the omniscient clamp of The Society. She clings to the memories of the stolen minutes she shared with Ky. Her determination to find him sustains her through the toil in the dirt. Will Cassia escape and strike out to find Ky in the wilderness?

What I Liked:
*The beginning of the book continues where Matched left us dangling. Cassia is scraping by on the Farmlands trying desperately to reach Ky. Again I felt the overhanging dread and anxiety of the suppressing, demands of Societal Life. In the Outer Provinces Ky is in a fight for his life. Society is dumping the castoffs, Anomalies and Aberrations, into the deserted villages and using them as decoys, knowing that this is a sufficient way to have them conveniently eradicated without having to dirty their own hands. I appreciated the chilling, terrifying parallels once again presented. In Matched, I witnessed the sickening, dread of life in a strictly controlled environment, reminding me of events that transpired during World War II. The massacring of the unwanted populace in Crossed is reminiscent of the genocidal slaughter that history witnessed in our world. A stark, frightening reminder of the darkness that mankind can possess.
*I liked unearthing the past of Ky. Crossed offers Ky's view point and through his voice I gained an understanding of his history, feelings toward Cassia and all the events in his life that carved and chiseled him into the man he is today.

And The Not So Much:
*Normally my reviews contain an abundance of positive points. I struggled with this book because unlike its predecessor, there is not much for me to rave about. Crossed starts out thrilling but about half way through it flounders, languishes and drags to a stagnant finish. The latter portion of the book involves the characters dallying in the deserted farmer's confines. Almost nothing happens and the gripping sense of anxiety fades and you are left with a dull, lethargic story. A devastating let down in comparison to Matched.
*This book felt like a filler book. There are no big developments, shocks or major events. Nor, is there significant movement in the plot regarding the characters' struggles to break free from The Society. Instead, Ms. Condie spends the majority of the pages trying to impress with fragments of poetry and metaphorical descriptions, that fail to elicit much of a response. While I appreciate that she is a talented author, this time I think she overreached and tried too hard to produce a work with stunning detail hoping for a prolific impact. It ends up fizzling and falling flat.
*Again as in Matched I hungered to snatch up details regarding The Society's rise to power and eventual corruption and twisting of ideals. There is nothing in this book to satisfy my palate. All I found was a tiny taste, that stated Society was initially a choice and it formed to stave off another "Warming Event" and to eliminate illness. That is it! If she truly aspired to write a sandwich book she could have at least thrown me, the starving reader, a few satiating scraps of information to feed my craving for knowledge on The Society. My stomach is still growling and churning, longing for nourishment.
*This book has two points of view, Cassia and Ky, while I liked seeing through Ky's eyes, the concept just does not work for me. I do not mind the flickering of view points in books, I know many readers disdain them but for me if they are well executed it usually is not an issue. In Crossed the voices flit back and forth so many times it gave my brain whiplash. I would be reading along engrossed in a view point and then wham two pages later it switched. Sometimes (even despite each chapter being labeled with either Ky or Cassia) I failed to perceive the shift. I think one of the main reasons for this, was no radical differentiation between the two voices.
*Cassia, what happened? I admired her tenacity and determination to follow her heart even at a high cost. She makes her decision to be with Ky and then after near death and personal sacrifice she is ruminating over her choice? Really? Big fail especially since Xander is for the most part absent in this book.
*The author introduces three new characters, Vic, Eli and India but she neglects to fully develop them. Vic was the character I had the best grasp on but he is not involved in the entire story. India particularly needed more augmentation. Again, due to the lack of action or story progression she should at least take the time to fill in the secondary characters that are spending time with Ky and Cassia especially since there are only four characters for most of the book.

At the end of Crossed I felt profound disappointment. This book fails miserably compared to the shining promise of Matched. I truly missed the prevailing, foreboding sense of apprehension that I grew accustomed to in the first book. Unfortunately, this book takes you to the deserted plains of the farm lands and leaves you there languishing over subpar poetry. If you are a die hard fan of this series then you may like Crossed but I am afraid the overall majority will leave this book in the dust. I would advise proceeding with caution and I can wholeheartedly recommend that you first borrow this book instead of buying. At this point I am conflicted as to whether I will continue with this trilogy. Ms. Condie has a steep mountain to overcome after this miss. She does provide a faint spark of redemption with the transpiring of the final events in this book. I hope she has a mass of tricks in her writer's bag to dazzle and woo readers back for the big finale.

Favorite Quotations:
"And it is strange that absence can feel like presence. A missing so complete that if it were to go away, I would turn around, stunned, to see that the room is empty after all, when before it at least had something, if not him."

"Because in the end you can’t always choose what to keep. You can only choose how you let it go."

"Watching Ky wake is better than a sunrise. One moment, he’s still and down deep, and the next moment I can see him returning out of the dark, coming to the surface. His face shifts, his lips move, his eyes open. And then his smile, the sun."(less)

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Oct 31, 2011 Jessica Harrison rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, young-adult

Review via Cracking the Cover

Submission. Rebellion. Truth. All three are elements in Ally Condie‘s Matched trilogy, and all three, when working in concert, make for a captivating read.

In “Crossed,” Cassia follows her heart and leaves the Society behind. It’s a hard decision and could mean never seeing her family or Xander again. But Cassia can’t imagine never seeing Ky, either, and she journeys to the Outer Provinces to find him.

It’s not just a matter of finding Ky, though. Cassia is in search o...more Review via Cracking the Cover

Submission. Rebellion. Truth. All three are elements in Ally Condie‘s Matched trilogy, and all three, when working in concert, make for a captivating read.

In “Crossed,” Cassia follows her heart and leaves the Society behind. It’s a hard decision and could mean never seeing her family or Xander again. But Cassia can’t imagine never seeing Ky, either, and she journeys to the Outer Provinces to find him.

It’s not just a matter of finding Ky, though. Cassia is in search of answers and they’re answers she may not like.

A new cast of characters join Cassia and Ky as they journey across a vast expanse much different from the backdrop introduced in “Matched.” But the change in landscape isn’t just a physical one; Ally has changed the landscape of the Matched world by introducing Ky’s voice into the equation.

It’s an important and defining change in the Matched trilogy, as readers get a glimpse into the life of the mysterious boy who captivated Cassia. This move by Ally adds dimension to her second act. Cassia could not have carried it on her own, and the story is no longer just her own.

Many times the middle book or movie in a trilogy gets lost. It becomes a way to get characters from one place to the next. That is not the case with “Crossed.” As Ally’s characters have evolved, so has her writing and plotting. There are stark differences here from its predecessor. “Crossed” has a grittier feel to it — not in content, but in ambiance. There are no fancy dresses or scenic jogs. Ally’s characters are facing trials and they’re coming into their own.

Ally is coming into her own as well. On the technical side, her prose is more refined and her transitions tighter. Both of Ally’s books are as cerebral as they are entertaining. And one can’t help put themselves in her characters’ places as they work to create a world of their own making.

Readers who are hoping for hoping for a carbon copy of “Matched” will be disappointed. In “Crossed,” decisions have been made, and Cassia — and readers — must learn to live with the ensuing consequences.(less)

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Jan 28, 2013 Anne Toronto1 rated it 2 of 5 stars

Confusingly, there are two indistinguishable narrators (read the introduction to 2011 Wrede's revised Lyra #1,2 to understand): Cassia, working in The Society outer provinces to reach her beloved Ky, Aberration from parent rebels, condemned to die as Enemy fodder on the fringes. Cassia's official 17-year birthday Match, Xander their mutual lifelong friend, runs through thoughts of both. Like the first book, the love triangle pounds monotonously. Condie lives in Utah; scenic ocher rocks are here...more Confusingly, there are two indistinguishable narrators (read the introduction to 2011 Wrede's revised Lyra #1,2 to understand): Cassia, working in The Society outer provinces to reach her beloved Ky, Aberration from parent rebels, condemned to die as Enemy fodder on the fringes. Cassia's official 17-year birthday Match, Xander their mutual lifelong friend, runs through thoughts of both. Like the first book, the love triangle pounds monotonously. Condie lives in Utah; scenic ocher rocks are here "the Carving" the lovers must "cross" to join. Similar narrator voices confuse, both obsessed with the other, distracted by lyrical phrases, memories, secrets. I want strong role models, any age or gender, but these two are just one-track starry-eyed dreamers.

Cassie runs with red-haired dynamo Indie (in the word's of Robin Hood's Little John "her I like"); Ky with outdoor-saavy Vic and chatty Eli 11. Vic mourns his unofficial love match Leyna (view spoiler), whose whole family vanished. (view spoiler) Just like real sudden death, we have no time for goodbye. Is unpredictability a good or bad factor?

They finally all reach the Rising, an organized resistance, where Cassia is sent undercover to Central, Ky and Indie to pilot airships. Eli leaves with farmer Hunter ~23, found burying his baby daughter in their abandoned settlement, to cross the plain and rejoin his people, and leave directions to the Rising. There is a secret. Blah blah, isolated poem lines. The secret is this. Blah blah, lines. (view spoiler)

Lots of pauses, yawns, over the big bad over-organized System. Threats are minimal and vague - mysterious nightly bombings, claustrophobic tunnel, fast river, blue tablet, possible pursuit. The pair kiss and cuddle with dreamy longing, Indie likes both of Cassia's suitors. Both boys (view spoiler) are immune to Society-issued red tablet that wipes the last 12 hours of memory. When would you decide to use yours? (view spoiler)(less)

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Read-along: Crossed	167	33	23 hours, 51 min ago
The Page Turners: * Crossed	2	19	May 17, 2013 04:29pm
Matched Series gr...: Crossed what did you think of Crossed?!?!	6	4	Apr 25, 2013 08:01pm
Xander or Ky?	120	424	Apr 24, 2013 10:58pm
What is Xander's Secret???	29	392	Apr 16, 2013 09:34am
Addicted to YA: Crossed	19	190	Apr 12, 2013 10:32pm
Summary	31	32	Apr 03, 2013 08:26pm

title link	preview: Crossed
avg rating	preview: Crossed Goodreads rating: 3.56 (68190 ratings)
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Crossed (Matched #2)

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