Crossed: La fuga

Matched #2

by Ally Condie

La Società sceglie tutto per te. I libri che leggi. La musica che ascolti. La persona che ami. Ma per Cassia Reyes le regole del gioco sono cambiate. Solo poco tempo prima la Società aveva scelto come suo promesso sposo Xander, il suo migliore amico: doveva essere il suo compagno perfetto, ma una macchina non può comandare il cuore. Il ragazzo che ama non è lui ma è Ky, una Aberrazione, un individuo che la Società considera pericoloso e indegno di essere promesso a qualcuno. Un errore che proietta Cassia in una nuova dimensione di verità e conoscenza dove può vedere con chiarezza le mancanze e i difetti del Sistema.
Scoprendo dentro di sé una forza che non sapeva di possedere, Cassia si allontana alla ricerca di Ky, che è stato rapito e portato al confino. In quelle terre estreme Cassia potrà capire che non tutto è perduto e che dentro questo mondo apparentemente immobile e perfetto c'è un seme di cambiamento e di libertà. Una ribellione sta montando, e Cassia è finalmente libera, libera di scegliere.

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Romance, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Teen

352 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

Ally Condie is a former high school English teacher who lives with her husband, three sons and one daughter outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, running, eating, and listening to her husband play guitar.

Reviews

[Steph Sinclair · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 residing in a girl's work camp. In this installment she travels to the Outer Provinces to find Ky, while he somehow escapes the Outer Provinces to be reunited with Cassia back in the Society. A few new discoveries are made regarding the Society and an apparent rebellion called the Rising. Along the way, enough poetry to give Maya Angelou a headache is recited and flashbacks to Ky's past are also included.

I had high hopes for this book mostly because I did enjoy Matched. I enjoyed the "Do not go gently" theme and Condie's poetic writing style. But for some reason it just didn't work out too well for me in Crossed. I liked how the PoVs switched back and forth between Ky and Cassia. In fact, I am a fan of that particular style, when done correctly. However, in this case I found it difficult to tell who was who. Cassia and Ky's voice sounded exactly alike to me. I found myself flipping back to the beginning of the chapters to confirm who was narrating. Because of this I slowly felt myself becoming disconnected from the characters even with learning further details about Ky's past.

The Characters:
One thing I did enjoy about the book were the introduction of the minor characters. While traveling to the Outer Provinces to find Ky, Cassia teams up with a girl named Indie. At first I really liked Indie because she was brave, sharp, and determined. But around 77% of the book she seemed too sneaky to me and I didn't appreciate her lying to Cassia about the Rising. At one point she even asks Ky to travel with her to the Rising and leave Cassia! She also steals from Cassia and Cassia has the nerve to ask, "What else has she been hiding? Does she even think we are friends?" Umm...Cassia? Someone who steals and lies is not a friend. I do think she created an interesting dynamic to the story, but I'm not entirely sure I liked her as a character.

Ky also travels with two other companions: a boy named Eli who reminds him of Bram (Cassia's younger brother) and Vick. I actually liked both of those new characters very much. In fact, they were my saving grace for this book. To me they seemed to be the only two characters that actually expressed realistic reactions to things. Eli asks questions that should be asked and Vick gets angry when everyone else is maintaining unrealistic calmed facade. I didn't like how Condie killed off Vick. His death was the reason why Ky and Eli decided to stay put long enough for Cassia to catch up to Ky. I felt she did that to attempt a realistic reunion for Cassia and Ky. I didn't buy that for one minute because it seemed very deliberate on Condie's part and forced.

Cassia and Ky irritated me to no end, especially Ky. He knew about the Rising since Matched and never told Cassia. I was willing to accept that until he continued to try and hide his knowledge after their reunion. He was extremely selfish in this book. Not only that, but his explanation as to why he didn't want to join the Rising didn't make much sense to me and it ultimately almost breaks them up. After they have traveled all that time endangering their lives, they almost throw it completely away. Unbelievable. Cassia is no better because she waits until the last possible moment to confront Indie and Ky. Great. Just great. Another complacent heroine.

Condie does manage to keep Xander in the picture despite his small page time. Both Cassia and Ky think of him often and have flashbacks involving him. And it also appears that a love-square may be forming. Yes, feel free to >insert eye rolling here<.

The Prose:
There are a few quotes that I really loved in Crossed. Like this one:

Everyone has something of beauty about them. In the beginning for me, it was Ky’s eyes I noticed, and I love them still. But loving lets you look, and look, and look again. You notice the back of a hand, the turn of a head, the way of a walk. When you first love, you look blind and you see it all as the glorious, beloved whole, or a beautiful sum of beautiful parts. But when you see the one you love as pieces, as whys—why he walks like this, why he closes his eyes like that—you can love those parts, too, and it’s a love at once more complicated and more complete.

I think Condie is gifted with writing some truly beautiful passages. However, when the entire book is filled with your characters sitting on rocks reciting poetry every few pages, my patience tends to fly out the window. One minute I'm reading Crossed and the next minute I'm:

A) Falling asleep


Or

B) Getting distracted by squirrels


I'm not even sure where the climax was because I was just that bored with the plot, characters, everything. It was like watching the Peanut gang's parents go, "Blah, blah, blah, blah." LOL. Maybe I fell asleep at that part. It really wouldn't surprise me if that were the case.

The World Building:
I was hoping to see more world building in this installment, but I was once again left with many unanswered questions. Who runs the Society? How are these rebels slipping in and out of the Society if the Society has such a strict eye on things? Who put Ky's name into the Matching pool? Where are all the Provinces located? Several are mentioned in the book, but I have no idea where they are located. I feel this series could really use a world map. Speaking of the world, is the Society located over the entire world? The way it is described seems like it's only in one part of the world. What in the world is the Warming? It's mentioned in Crossed, but it's not really explained well. Are there no gay society members? So many questions, so little time, and so little fucks of mine to give. I hope these questions will be answered in final book, but at this point I won't hold my breath.

I'd recommend this book to strong supporters and fans of Matched. If you felt Matched was just an "ok" read for you, chances are you will be disappointed with its sequel Crossed.

Poetry inspired by Crossed!

Roses are red
Violets are blue
This book may bore you
And put your ass to sleep too!

More reviews and more at Cuddlebuggery Book Blog.

[Ferdy · Rating 1 out of 5]

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 noes!! Wuv. Cassia seaches for her wuv Ky. Ky searches for his wuv Cassia. Cassia's new friend Indie, wuvs Xander. Indie fell in wuv with Xander after watching short video of him. Wuv. Indie never even met Xander but she still wuvs him - oh the power of wuv! The Resistance would wuv to destroy the Society. Society does not wuv the Resistance. Wuv. Cassia would wuv to join Resistance. Ky does not wuv the Resistance...Resistance did not help save Ky's parents, whom he wuved. The Enemy wuvs no-one, so they fight the Society. Society mad, it would wuv to kill the Enemy. Wuv. Cassia wuvs Ky but also wuvs idea of joining the Resistance. Ky torn..he wuvs Cassia but does not wuv Resistance...wuv in YA means you give up your all beliefs and principles so Ky join Resistance even though he does not wuv them just because of his wuv for Cassia. Wuv, wuv, wuv, wuv, wuv, wuv. The end..wuv, wuv.

[karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 and care into maneuvering the art direction than the book's contents.

i am reading only YA fiction now, because it is fast and i don't have to focus too much on it because i have all sort of school that is more important than leisure reading. but this. who told YA fiction it could be boring? and ponderous? and be basically a set piece to store your leftover overblown teen-angst poetry? it is still brisk-paced, but you never get the sense that anything is actually happening, it is just a collection of words broken up by flashes of descriptive writing in italics that is meant to sound poetry but instead just gives unpleasant flashbacks to me at 16, weeping into my journal.

everyone seems heavily drugged in this. there is a lot of ruminating on the nature of beauty and color and art and loooove and poetry (god such bad poetry) and it just seems lazy. okay, so you are going to use two narrators in this one - good move, ambitious, but this is a split-narrative between two people who have the exact same voice! no wonder they are in love, it is as though they are the same. exact. character. with the same. exact. way of expressing themselves. what are the odds of these crazy kids finding each other?

and it's not just them - none of the characters come into relief, for me. they are all hollow-seeming, mouthing their lines and emotions, working towards this idea of rebellion without seeming to understand what that means. i just don't get a sense of urgency. should we leave the canyons?? yeah, after the rain. let's read some more poems. are people after us?? shrug, prolly.

ramp this up!

this is what happens to people taken out of the rigid confines of the society? they lounge around looking through old maps and remember their mommies and manage to have a love triangle even when only two of its members are even in the book? the rising is going to eat you alive, unless everyone in that group shares the same voice, too, which would not surprise me, actually.

matched was ersatz dystopia, this book is ersatz survival, as the characters evade what has to be the slowest threat ever, and huddle together in caves and go rafting and climbing like some outward bound program for extremely sheltered teens. but leaving them plenty of time to become dewy-eyed with love and scribble away.

i marked a map for every death
for every ache and blow
my world was all a page of black
with nothing left of snow

i bet xander's "big secret" is that he is glad cassia is gone because she is so flimsily constructed, and he is going to go into another book and try his luck there. love triangle - collapsed!
'
i do feel bad, but i am not saying anything i don't feel to be true, and this woman is going to make a ton of money with this series and the inevitable movie rights, so i don't need to be overly charitable here. this book just isn't very good. but it won't matter.


and because of my nature, i will indeed be reading the third book. but it had better SHINE. and not just the cover art this time.

come to my blog!

[Lea · Rating 2 out of 5]

.

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 whiney-piney, it's sweet and simple. I also liked the conflict that was created between all the relationships going on, even though we all know just how beaten to death love triangles are. Cassia still doesn't know whether she should chose Xander, the guy she was originally matched with, or go with Ky who has shown her a whole new way of life. Oh yeah, and what was going on between Ky and Indie?! Was anybody else wondering that? Were they attracted to each other? I couldn't tell, but this definitely peaked my curiosity and I wonder what will be going on between them in the future...

The new characters that were introduced in Crossed-- namely Indie, Eli, Vick and Hunter-- were all likable, if somewhat lackluster and underdeveloped. I thought that Indie was strong and brave, which Cassia really needed while she was trying to survive in the wilderness, and I'm glad that Ky decided to take Eli and Vick with him, so there was some interaction going on during his parts of the story. Hunter was sort of a mystery, although we know that he has a sad background.

I also liked the descriptive language used to paint a picture of what The Carving-- AKA the giant canyon that Ky and Cassia escape to-- was like. For the most part, I was able to see the rugged landscape and the different settings that both Cassia and Ky traveled through, which created a stark contrast to the perfect, pristine setting of The Society from the first book.

*****

Alright, so that's what I liked, now moving on to the stuff I wasn't a fan of.

First of all-- let's not beat around the bush here-- the plot was one gigantic snooze-fest. And I'm not just talking molasses in January slow-- I'm talking lucky if you aren't comatose by the time you finish it slow.

I find this to be an unfortunate yet typical issue with second books in trilogies-- it's why many avid readers call it "Second Book Syndrome," because you are seriously lucky if you haven't died of boredom by the time you reach the end. But Crossed really takes the prize for S.B.S in my opinion-- mainly because the narrative is reflective to the point of being totally ridiculous. I mean, you're in the moment, and then all of a sudden, one of the characters starts reminiscing about some memory, or starts considering a leaf or a piece of grass and thinking, "Wow, how beautiful. This green leaf reminds me of the color of my Match banquet dress, and my mom and dad, and my childhood, and it's so pretty, what a beautiful blade of grass... I think I will write a poem about it."

No, I am not making this up-- literally, the entire book is like this. And what's more, I don't understand the point of it. None of the memories are ones we haven't already heard about from the first book, and they don't bring us to any mind-blowing revelations about what's going on in the present. They're just pretty and empty and-- I'm sorry-- don't add much to the plot, except that I had to work that much harder to not fall asleep.

My second issue with this series-- and this book in particular-- is that there is pretty much zero context or motivation for anything that is going on. This is a problem not just with the main characters, but with the entire world that they live in. I have so many questions that haven't been answered yet, starting with:

1.) WHO or WHAT is the Society and what is their purpose behind getting rid of all but 100 of everything (example: The Hundred Songs, The Hundred Paintings, The Hundred Poems...), and then controlling everyone in the way that they do? We're told that they want to "increase efficiency" and stop death, but how the heck does getting rid of music and paintings do this??

2.) WHO is "The Enemy" that is mentioned at least a hundred times throughout the story and what is their motivation for rising up against The Society and killing people in the Outer Provinces? NOTHING is said about The Enemy, if you aren't counting the fact that "they" are called "The Enemy." This gives me the reader absolutely nada to go on-- do the main characters even know who on earth "The Enemy" is? Wouldn't this be an important little tidbit of info to let us in on?? JUST SAYING.

3.) WHO are these people in "The Rising" and what the heck is their motivation? To get rid of The Society? The Enemy? I am SO CONFUSED. And also, why does Cassia want to join The Rising's rebellion so badly when she has no idea who they even are or what they actually stand for?

4.) What exactly was everyone's ultimate goal in this book? Why were they wandering around a canyon for almost 400 pages? I'm sorry, but if I get to the end of a book and have little understanding of why anything just happened and I close the thing with a ginormous blank stare on my face-- you missed something. Like, badly.

So basically what I'm trying to say is that, the writing wasn't bad and the characters weren't bad (even though they are pretty boring too), but pretty much everything about Crossed was incredibly vague and confusing. And forget about action because there wasn't any. There was a lot of description, but unfortunately not in the places where I actually needed it.

This is similar to how Matched was written, but I can forgive Matched because it was the first book in the series and there was at least some action going on. I expected that in this second book, there would be more explanation about the Society and the Enemy, but unfortunately I was left even more confused than I was at the end of the first book! Crossed just seemed like a lot of aimless wandering around, without actually getting anywhere. And it is very frustrating when you read something like this for the entire length of a book, but nothing is ever really explained about what everyone is trying to accomplish and why.

So I don't know. For me, this is just one those series that meets my most basic standards of being "good," but never leads up to anything that really makes it stand out as being incredible or even really memorable. I thought that the writing was "good" if somewhat bland in places, the narrative flowed well between Cassia and Ky's points of view, and there was nothing outwardly annoying in this book, besides the fact that I can't find a motivation for anything in this plot for the life of me.

My final comment would be "meh." And I hate having that reaction to a book.

Lea @ LC's Adventures in Libraryland

[EmBibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars.

This was bad. And boring.
I mean, the whole book wouldn’t have been written if the two main characters had a DAMN CELL PHONE!!

[Ahmad Sharabiani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crossed (Matched #2), Ally Condie

Crossed is a young adult novel written by Allyson Braithwaite Condie. It is the sequel to Matched and the second book in the Matched trilogy.

The chapters alternate between the perspectives of Ky and Cassia. The outer provinces are filled with male "aberrations," including Ky and his new friend Vick who are moved around from village to village to make them appear inhabited to an unnamed enemy.

Cassia, now at a work camp in Tana province, plans to find Ky. She is surprised by a visit from Xander who, as her match, was able to arrange a meeting with Cassia.

At Cassia's request, they go to a small museum where Cassia trades Ky's compass with an archivist in order to obtain information that could help her find Ky. Meanwhile, Ky and the other decoys are moved to Ky's home village where a new shipment of decoys arrives filled with young teenage boys. ...

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز چهاردهم ماه ژوئن سال 2018 میلادی

عنوان: عصیانگر کتاب دوم از سری همسان؛ نویسنده: آلیسون (آلی) کاندی؛ مترجم: محمد قاسمی؛ تهران، آذرباد، 1396؛ در 408 ص؛ شابک: 9786008537144؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان امریکایی - سده 21 م

نقل از متن: همین‌که در محوطه‌ ی خنک می‌نشینیم و رعشه‌ ی سرما بر تن‌مان می‌افتد، اولین کار جامعه این است که به ما قول پالتوهایی را بدهد؛ مأمور می‌گوید: «در دوران قبل از جامعه، وقتی گرمایش رخ داد، اوضاع در ایالات بیرونی تغییر کرد.؛ هوای اون‌جا سرد می‌شه؛ اما نه مثل گذشته.؛ امکانش هست در سرمای شب یخ بزنید؛ اما اگه پالتوها رو بپوشید، چیزی‌تون نمی‌شه.»؛ وقتی به ایالات بیرون می‌رویم، این موضوع مسجل شد.؛ بقیه‌ ی دخترها، حتی «ایندی» مستقیماً جلو را نگاه می‌کنند؛ پلک هم نمی‌زنند.؛ بعضی‌هایشان بیشتر از بقیه می‌لرزند.؛ مأمور در حین سکوت‌مان می‌گوید: «این هم هیچ‌ فرقی با کمپ‌های کار نداره.؛ ما ازتون می‌خوایم یه محصول بکارید، در واقع، پنبه هستش.؛ ما می‌خوایم دشمن فکر کنه این بخش از جامعه هنوز مسکونیه؛ این یه استراتژیه که جامعه ترتیب داده.»؛

یکی از دخترها می‌پرسد «پس اینکه می‌گن یه جنگ با دشمن در حال اتفاق افتادنه حقیقت داره؟» مأمور می‌خندد: «اگه بشه اسمش رو جنگ گذاشت؛ جامعه قدرتمنده؛ اما حرکات دشمن‌ رو نمی‌شه پیش‌بینی کرد؛ ما می‌خوایم اونا فکر کنن ایالات بیرونی همچنان پر از سکنی و رونقه؛ اما جامعه نمی‌خواد هر گروه بار سنگین اون بیرون زندگی کردن رو خیلی به دوش بکشه.؛ پس برای همین یه برنامه‌ ی گردشی شش‌ ماهه تنظیم کرده.؛ به‌ محض اینکه زمان‌تون تموم بشه، به‌ عنوان شهروند به خونه‌ هاتون برمی‌گردید.»؛ با خود فکر می‌کنم؛ با اینکه ظاهراً باورتون شده؛ اما هیچ‌ کدوم از این‌ حرف‌ها حقیقت نداره؛ می‌گوید: «حالا...» به دو افسری که هواناو را هدایت نمی‌کنند، اشاره می‌کند: «اونا شما رو به پشت پرده می‌برن، می‌گردن‌تون و بهتون لباس‌های استاندارد می‌دن از جمله پالتو.»؛ اونا می‌خوان ما رو بگردن.؛ اون هم الان.؛ من اولین نفری نیستم که فراخوانده می‌شوم.؛ با حالتی برآشفته، سعی می‌کنم جایی برای مخفی کردن قرص‌ها پیدا کنم؛ اما جای مناسبی به نظرم نمی‌رسد.؛ فضای هواناو که ساخت جامعه‌ ست فقط به شکل صاف تهیه‌ شده، نه گوشه‌ ای دارد نه شکافی.؛ حتی صندلی‌هایمان هم سخت و صاف هستند، کمربندها ما را محکم سرجایمان نشانده‌ اند.؛ جایی برای گذاشتن قرص‌ها ندارم.؛ «ایندی» یواشکی می‌گوید: «چیزی داری که می‌خوای قایم کنی؟»؛ می‌گویم: «آره.» چرا دروغ بگویم؟ یواشکی می‌گوید: «من هم همین‌طور؛ من مال تو رو می‌گیرم و وقتی نوبت من شد، تو مال منو بگیر.» پایان نقل

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 09/06/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

[Isaiah Talens · Rating 4 out of 5]

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! :)

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 this book could have been condensed into less than 100 pages, but instead Condie drags them out with sappy scenes of her two lovebirds. I like a little love story with my dystopian fiction, but this was overboard. She also seems to be under the impression that readers think there might be a chance Cassia will end up with Xander. We all know she's going to end up with Ky. So why drag out the supposed love triangle? It just made me feel that Condie doesn't respect the intelligence of her readers.

I enjoyed Condie's beautiful writing in the first book, but I think she might have let the positive reviews of Matched go to her head. Her use of forbidden poetry was not as interesting in Crossed, and the poetry she tries to use in her own prose was too much. It got to the point where I was skimming because I just didn't care anymore, and I could tell Condie wasn't going anywhere special. I was profoundly disappointed.

I gave this two stars instead of one because I think teens might get through this book without complaint, and because it was an easy read. I'm always more angry if I've put a lot of time into reading a book, only to be disappointed. Crossed only required a few hours.

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 extremely talented author, I won’t deny that she has a way with words. I love her writing, but this story just doesn’t work for me.

Crossed was slow paced, but again I was expecting that because of Matched. I never felt like anything was happening. Sure there are obstacles that the characters must overcome, but I never felt that gripping moment of heightened anxiety. That hook that draws you into the story and doesn’t let go.

As Crossed came to a close I felt rather disappointed. It was as though we were, exactly where we left off in Matched, we know that the Society is keeping things from us, but we are no closer to solving it. If anything, I’m only filled with more questions.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

actual rating: 1.5

I didn't like Matched that much. I hoped Crossed would be better. After all, it's a very popular trilogy. I can't see why. I guess it’s one of those that didn’t age well.

The book was simply boring, dull, tiring, and annoying... It took a long while for the action to get started, by then, I was done trying. So I skipped paragraphs, sometimes pages and nothing changed. I still fully understood the story. This is never a goof sign. I frankly hated this book if it’s not obvious yet.

You see the plot is quite ironic in a frustrating way. For example, when the heroine came to a specific location, a person she was looking for was gone by then. But it’s fine except that he left the day before she arrived! After many months, the difference was only one day. Seriously?! seeing the story from Ky's POV wasn't fun. At all. I don't like the guy, but I don't hate him either. I don't like any character yet I don't hate them, they're just so mundane so uninteresting, predictable, and nothing memorable.

Can't say I'm disappointed of this book because I saw it coming. I’ve had my share of boring plots bland characters, and forgettable stories, hence, I decided to drop this trilogy. Sure I *want* to read Reached one day. But who am I kidding? I’m not going to, many more promising books out there.

[Dannii Elle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like I knew the formula for this series before I had even read it: book one set up the story and introduced the futuristic community that strove to make a better human race, book two plots the escape of the few who dare to question the societal hierarchy, and I am anticipating book three will concern them overcoming their plight and freeing their entire society. Blah. I am a little bored of the dystopian genre at the moment, only because of the repetitiveness of the story line. This was cookie-cutter YA dystopian and therefore lacking any originality and held little interest for me.

This book is the second installment in the Matched trilogy and, in all honesty, felt a little pointless. Since Cassia and Ky’s matching, in the first book, Ky has been sent to fight in the outer provinces to help battle the mysterious enemy troops. Weeks later Cassia also finds herself sent to the same camp only to find that Ky has made his escape only days before. Cassia follows suit and after pages and pages of literally nothing happening, they finally meet in the canyons bordering these outer provinces. This was pretty emotional and dramatic but way too angsty and with far too much focus on the romantic relationship for my liking. I wanted fear of the enemy and society to be dominating their thought-process and fueling their reactions.

Literally nothing happened here! This whole book was a back-and-forth plot of both Cassia and Ky making their individual escapes from society and being oh-so-close-but-oh-so-far from each other. Once they had convened the plot still felt stalled and there was no discernible tension or confrontation. I enjoyed this initially but then it began to feel very repetitive and it wasn’t until the last few chapters that I felt much plot progression was made.

The side characters that emerged in this book were interesting and I initially wanted to learn more about their past and individual stories. Their existence proved to be surplus, however, and they added nothing to the plot and had zero impact in the outcome of the story.

There were so many implausible scenarios that occurred in this that are too numerous to recount here. The rebellious teenagers somehow, inexplicably escaped their myriad of plights with no side effects or consequences for their actions and this just felt so unrealistic. Without the tension, there was no climax to this story, and without a climax this felt entirely pointless! There were far too many coincidences and far too little happening to make this hold my interest for any length of time and this was pretty much a test of my endurance for me to even get through it!

The writing is beautifully poetic and deserves more than the two stars I have awarded it, but the plot barely scrapes a half-star rating, in my opinion.

[shady boots · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Amelia, free market Puritan]

Hey, one of those shards from the broken bubble is really close to the model's fist, so it looks like she's giving readers the finger.
Lol!

[angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

No, just no, fucking no.

I hate this book.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH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That is all.

Goodbye.

[I Eat Words · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I attended BEA, I read Matched. With the story fresh on my mind, I decided the first BEA ARC I would read would be Crossed. I was super excited about it mainly because I love the cover. It's so pretty! And it MATCHES (see what I did there?) it's first book. And how cool is she matching the colors after the tablets? I bet the third book will follow the red color scheme. Anyway, after meeting Ally Condie, who is super sweet and told me I look like Cassia, I was all sorts of thrilled to read this book.

My first thoughts were, oh my gosh this is going to be so action packed after the way Matched ended! In truth, that was not necessarily the case. I've discovered that Condie's writing style is different from other dystopian books I've read. A lot leave you breathless and anticipating the next thrilling scene, but Crossed can be defined as artistic. The writing is poetic, as are the poems referenced inside. The style is beautiful. Condie may not be throwing cliff hangers after every chapter, but she knows how to craft a beautifully written novel.

Crossed is told from both Ky's and Cassia's point of view. This is not spoilery because Condie even said in her YouTube promo video "Crossed is told from both Ky's and Cassia's point of view." So there. Anyway, she exposes both character's viewpoints gracefully, letting the reader enter their worries, fears, and thoughts laced with love. It was interesting to see how Ky feels about Cassia from his point of view. In turn, I felt like Cassia had grown as a character from the last novel. She's strong, motivated, and although she still is emotional, she still cares with her whole heart.

The only thing I wanted more in this novel was Xander! To be honest, I think I love him more than Ky. Although he was mentioned quite a bit throughout this novel, I wanted to feel his presence more. However, Condie seemed to create opportunities for him to appear in the final novel.

At first, I was a little disappointed with the pacing. I wanted ACTION. I wanted TENSION. However, I soon realized I was reading the book wrong. It doesn't seem like you're supposed to dive through this book. It's like drinking fine wine--you should enjoy it slowly and relish in the wonderfully written dialogue, language, and paragraphs. You should revel in the magnificence of the words and think about how they could impact you. Once I started enjoying it that way, the book began to pick up for me.

As with any sequel, there are new characters. I enjoyed Eli and Indie. Throughout most of the book, though, I wasn't sure if I fully trusted her. Even after reading it, I'm still suspicious! Eli is a trooper, though, and I love the meaning behind his character and why he was with Ky.

A lot of this book gives you insight to background information and history, but I'm hoping that will all part a huge part in the final novel.

If you enjoyed Matched, you can pick up Crossed when it comes out in November 2011.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I literally only continued with this book because Cassandra Clare reviewed it and made it sound good.

[Aj the Ravenous Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crossed is I think a little better than the first book-Matched but it's still not enough to achieve greatness. The addition of new characters contributed in making the story a bit more interesting but the "dragging" factor is still there. What I liked though about this story is Cassia's determination to find Ky (whom she chooses ever Xander (who still hopes to win Cassia)) In a way, the love triangle built in this sequel earned the reader's attention especially when Indie (who falls for Xander's picture but later wants Ky) enters the scenario. But still, there seems to be something missing.

[Zoe Stewart (Zoe's All Booked) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just as bad as the first one yet still entertaining in all of its awfulness. I truly don't give a shit about any of these characters.

[Reynje · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Ally Condie’s much hyped 2010 release Matched was something of a flash in the pan for me. Although it hit shelves with a great deal of fanfare and marketing to-do, beyond the strikingly pretty cover, I found little to get excited over. My feelings were lukewarm, at best.

Crossed proved to be a similarly anti-climatic book for me, although this time I could moderate my pre-reading expectations with my Matched experience. Being in a glass-half-full mood (and not much of a series abandoner, despite my best efforts), I decided to read Crossed to see if it could provoke a stronger response.

The answer to that is: marginally. I think that I do prefer the second instalment in this trilogy, but my reservations and opinions formed by the first remain firmly intact.

Frankly, Crossed reads like the extended remix version of a written response by Condie to ‘Crossing the Bar’ by Tennyson. As with Matched, poetry features heavily in Crossed and is liberally referenced. To the point where a scene of much urgency and panic is followed up by chapters where the characters sit around and read poetry. ”There’s no time for this now,’ Cassia finally reminds herself, which prompted an incredulous: Do you think?? from me.

While Condie writes well, with some genuinely lovely passages, I found that yet again, the writing is weighed down by the pages of introspection and poetic ponderings on love. This literary-equivalent-to-shoegaze approach is not helped by the decidedly vanilla story, the glossing over of some of the “teen” aspects, and the at times somnolent pacing.

Crossed is the story of Cassia and Ky’s journey to find each other, after their separation at the end of Matched. Cassia’s determination to be reunited with Ky leads her into the Outer Provinces and beyond, at considerable risk to herself. Given that the plot basically hinges on their “love”, I found myself scratching my head at the ending. It just didn’t seem to make much sense based on their mutual goal of finding each other.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

What works better in Crossed, in my opinion, is the setting. While there are still vast blanks left to be puzzled over and filled in where possible by the reader, the natural environment that Crossed takes place in feels more fully fleshed out. The Society itself is not so much at the fore of this story, which makes for less confusion and questions about the worldbuilding.

Ky is also a narrator this time around, which provides additional detail and texture to Condie’s world. The problem with this is that at times, I found the voices of Cassia and Ky to be almost indistinguishable. The issues that Ky carries from his past and must confront fail to lend his voice much distinction.

While Xander makes a brief personal appearance, his presence is still very much felt throughout Crossed, keeping the love triangle element alive and well. Some new information is revealed, ensuring that the “option” of Xander remains hovering in the background. And to address the “Team” issue – well, at this point: either. As with Matched I have no real investment in either of these characters. Were they real people, I’d happily introduce both of them to my mum. As compelling choices to generate conflict in the story – they still leave me rather cold. Based on my feelings at the end of Crossed, Cassia could choose either one and I would feel the same way. Which is.. not much.

Having said this – I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I have an idea of where the romantic plot is heading. If I’m not reading into it too much, there is some foreshadowing that leads me to believe there is a neat and tidy ending on the horizon.

I can’t say that Crossed is a bad book. It’s just not a great book. There are good elements here: the tension is increased, the secondary characters more interesting, there is a promise of more action to come. But overall, I still found myself bored and rather unmoved by these characters. There is a certain blandness to this story that prevents me from feeling an emotional connection to it.

However, for those who enjoyed Matched more than me – I think it’s likely that Crossed will be a pleasing follow up.

[sophie.connects.the.dots · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a jewel in the series!

I was hanging on the edge of this story, yet it was a gentle read--not greedy hunger, but soft hunger to reach the end. Quietly, easily, page by page, calmly seeking the final chapter. The love story is sweet and I'm a huge fan of the appreciation of art and poetry in this story.

Myself, I've never much loved art and poetry as much as I have, say, writing and reading. But like I mentioned for Matched, this book has deepened my curiosity for the two. It has reimagined what art and poetry mean in my opinion. That's a great feat that Ally Condie accomplishes! I would count this book as part of my favorites. Even Matched didn't quite do that for me like this book did.

"It's not knowing how to write that makes you interesting," he said. "It's what you write."

What I love about Ky and Cassia:

> Literally everything. They understand each other completely, they sacrifice for each other, theirs is a loving relationship, they are willing to wait for the other to come to them and share their secrets. They're honest with themselves and each other and try hard to reach for the one they love, even if they're not perfect. Perhaps they are my favorite book relationship ever.

This is a book to relax and yet still feel that tension of "what'll happen next?" as you go along. Art, poetry, writing, and creativity are prominent and cherished like gold, and I like that very much, to appreciate in commonality the soft raging words that echo on paper. It's starry, it's colorful, it's a wonderful sequel to the adventure. :)

[Brooke · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Jessica (Books: A true story) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 title had to do with the story. The word "Crossed" weaved itself beautifully in and out of every aspect of the book and I found myself analyzing it and thinking many deep thoughts. It was so much more deep and thought provoking than I thought it would be. The story leaves you hanging and eager to read the next one, but not in a huge cliff-hanger way. I'm going to go think about this story some more....Oh, and the love triangle was one of the best and truly honest ones that I've read.

This book is also reviewed on my blog Books: A true story

[Lily - Books by Starlight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Augh, the first part of this story was horrible! Dead bodies everywhere, Ky being really depressed, Cassia risking her life and running off to look for Ky when she had absolutely no plan and no clue what she was doing. It was bad. The writing itself was okay, but I had the audiobook at x2 speed and was still bored half the time. Admittedly, a few of the scenes were interesting, but I liked the first book better. I'll still be moving on to the third book, but this one was a disappointment.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

With Crossed, Ally Condie committed the crime of writing a slow-paced, conflict-lacking middle book in a series. I recall enjoying Matched to an extent, but reading Crossed caused me to question my prior positive feelings for Matched.

Condie can write. There were some beautiful phrases and sentences in Crossed. However, for the most part Condie's prose lacked any power or punch - her writing was void of emotion. I noticed it in the first book, but attributed it to Cassia's sheltered lifestyle within the Society. Now, I realize that Condie could not include a strong voice for either of her characters - in fact, I had a difficult time differentiating between Ky and Cassia.

I found the characters themselves flat too. I could not connect to Cassia or Ky or Eli or Indie, and even the romance between Cassia and Ky seemed shallow, most likely as a result of Condie doing too much telling and not enough showing. Strangely out of all the characters I like Xander the best, even though he was cut out of almost the entire book and is only brought up when Cassia or Ky take the time to reflect on him.

And the characters reflected a lot in Crossed. Don't get me wrong, rumination is not a bad thing - but when you dedicate page after page and chapter after chapter only to a character's internal thought process, you run the risk of losing the reader's interest. Which is exactly what happened with Crossed, because despite the decent character development, the lack of immediacy or actual actions of the Society and the Enemy allowed my boredom to burgeon.

After reading this one, I'm not sure if I'll read the third book in the series. I recommend Crossed to fans of Matched who want to see how the plot progresses - but if you didn't like Matched, don't bother picking up Crossed. It'll be a waste of your time.

*review cross-posted on my blog, the quiet voice.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sequel to MATCHED, if any of you were concerned, is just as good as the original. Condie's writing is so crisp and clear that the book just flows along, and her characters continue to be vivid, real people who you root for and (even more importantly) believe in. There are no sitcom-esque misunderstandings, but people having normal, natural conversations, keeping secrets that need to be kept, revealing secrets when they think the time is right. That, I think, is the true appeal of these books. The characters are so real, their dialogue is so real, and that you can fully believe that this is our own future we are seeing, frightening and strange as it is.

I loved the stark cleanliness of the Society in MATCHED, and now in CROSSED we see the flipside: the wilds where the castoffs are struggling to survive. This change of scene keeps the storyline fresh, and introduces a whole new set of challenges: Cassia has learned that she cannot trust the Society, but can she trust the rebels, either? Now that I've seen both options, I'm very excited to find out where book three will land Cassia, Ky, and Xander. (And does Cassia really need to choose between them? C'mon, Ally, it's the future!)

[Jessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

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. In fact, I think this entire book could be summed up in a sentence. Girl looks for boy for 50% of book, then finds boy and spends 40% of the book looking for The Rising, so that in the last 10% of the book, they can be separated again, willingly) 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. To be honest, I felt by the end the Cassia actually cared more about The Rising than about Ky and that really irked me. 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. I did feel at the very end, when Ky sees the burned airship that Indie got on, that it does suggest that the Rising may also be the Enemy, but this was only one of the last pages of the book! 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 I felt on the verge of tears when Vick died - particularly after he shared about his love for Laney - it was devastating!, 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 Indie and I am not sure how I feel about that; I am hoping I will find her character more likable in book 3..

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.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

“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 out to be more complicated than they expect...


I loved Cassia and her development in the first book. I still like her in this book, but her personality is sometimes...a bit annoying. She is searching for Ky. She chose him.
Still she hangs on Xander and thinks about him way too often. Really, if she chose one guy, why can't she let the other one go?!
This is my only problem with her in this book.
It is remarkable how she adapts herself to the new life-style. Although she is not used to the hunger, the heat and the pain she goes through everything just to find Ky.

“Two little dark figures, looking up. Are they looking at me? Is is him? This far away there's only one way to know. I point to the sky.”

Their reunion is breathtaking. It is just absolutely breathtaking!
In this book we have both Cassia's and Ky's POV so it is finally possible to understand him, what is much harder than expected.
Ky has a deep personality. He is a genius, but he is broken and he has a serious problem with trusting people. I love Ky in this book.
Besides, he finally freaks out! In the first book he is calm and thoughtful but in Crossed he shows that this is not his whole personality and he can be upset and jealous and terribly angry as well.
Indie is just like a snake for me. She is secretive and conniving and I really don't like such characters. Eli on the other side is like Bram. He is young and he is super-sweet!
Hunter and Vick are also awesome! Both are strong and both are important in this book.



Cassia nearly takes the red tablet after what she finds out and I can totally understand that. She has reasons to take it, but Cassia is strong therefore she doesn't take it in the end.
Ky is not always honest with her and neither is she with him. He is jealous and she is very fixed on herself so in this book the couple is confronted with the bad character traits of each other.
In such a dangerous situation it is hard for everyone, but Cassia and Ky went through hell to find each other and be together so they understand and forgive each other. Neither one of them takes a step back. Both look forward ready to fight everything just to be together.

“I have a sense that we have not yet arrived, that we are still reaching. For each other. For who we are meant to be.”

This book is a journey. A dangerous and exhausting one, but it is perfect.
(While writing the review I realize that I like this book more than expected and decide to give not 3 but 4 stars)
The canyons are the exact opposite of Oria, where the first book takes place. The first and the second book are generally exact opposites and this is what makes these books so amazing!
Both books are authentic and thrilling and at the same time both are filled with an surprising depth through poetry. I love it!

Crossed is unpredictable, it is dangerous and it is heart-wrenching!

“We have all been carved out by our sorrow. Cut deep like canyon walls.”

[Gerasimos Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read Matched last year I unexpectedly fell in love with it. Dystopian books are becoming more and more popular and it is therefore rare to find a unique one. However I didn't enjoy this as much as the first one.

One of the best aspects of this trilogy is Ally Condie's writing style. Her writing is gorgeous. She really has a way with words. Her book feels like a poem; the words flow and intertwine together. This gives a classic, old feeling that contrasts with the futuristic setting of the story. Sometimes I actually felt like I was reading a classic.

The biggest problem that readers have with this trilogy is how slow the plot is. For me it's not slow, it is character-driven. Dystopian books are usually based on action, twists, war, brutality. But Condie's dystopian fairytale is based on emotions.

Despite the fact that the plot is slow you are not able to stop reading. However, although that worked great in Matched in this book I felt like something was missing. I loved the first half of the book since it builds up to something big but then there is no climax.

Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it. The story is pure and beautiful.

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well after reading the first book in the series and not liking that, I should have given up on the series but I didn't and ended up reading it.

I was surprised by this book in the beginning I must say. But soon after all the emotions that I felt while reading the first book which were mostly anger, disappointment and confusion came rushing back to me. I wished that there was something that I liked save for the first few chapters.

As for the characters, I still didn't like Cassia and Ky was okay again. Indie was an interesting character, she made me curious as to what she would do next but I don't yet know if I like her though.

After about half way through, I just wanted to put this book down and never pick it up again. But I somehow persevered and managed to finish this book.

2 stars

[Margaret Stohl · Rating 5 out of 5]

More emotional than MATCHED, if less first-kiss romantic. Ally's voice grows more certain with every book. Like the Pilot in CROSSED, she drags a boulder through the land to make a river and the water just keeps running. I'm looking forward to the last book of the trilogy. Ally's really working on something here, and I can't wait to see where she goes with it.