Crossed by Ally Condie

Crossed (Matched, #2)

By Ally Condie

Publisher: Dutton Books, 2011

367 pages, hardcover

Date Finished: 8/11/2011

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Futuristic, Romance, Adventure, Coming of Age

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "I'm standing in a river."
~Last Line: "It looks, I imagine, as if someone painted stars or flowers at exactly the right time; a momentary capture of beauty that will too soon vanish."

Review: The sequel to Matched was better than I thought it was going to be. I was glued to the pages and didn't want to have to put the book down for anything.

Cassia has been relocated a lot in the beginning of Crossed (remember how her family left the city at the end of Matched?). But anyway, she's out trying to find Ky. She goes through a lot I must say.

You read this book, alternately, in both Cassia's and Ky's perspectives. I think that was my favorite part. In Matched, I was always hoping to hear his thoughts if only for one sentence.

The plot of Crossed was super awesome! Ky and Cassia want to get to each other so bad that they do everything they can, no matter what the cost is. Kyle makes a couple of friends, Eli and another boy whose name starts with a V. Cassia makes a friend in a girl named Indie. Indie is trustworthy, and, like Cassia, she has secrets. Only thing is, the secret Indie has causes more turmoil when it comes to the light.

The characters in general were really great. Everything you learn about them in this book, and what you get to reflect on, had its own peace in the puzzle. The perfect character setup. Feel what the charries feel, etc. :P

Altogether, this novel was ahmazing! The third and final book in the Matched trilogy, which is untitled as the moment, will be out sometime in 2012. Keep your eyes open for it!

Plot Rating: 5
Character Rating: 5
Cover Rating: 5
GoodReads Rating: 5

Overall rating:

Matched by Ally Condie

Matched (Matched, #1)

By Ally Condie

Publisher: Dutton Books, 2010

366 pages, hardcover

Date Finished: 7/9/2011

Genres: Young Adult, Futuristic, Coming of Age, Romance

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "Now that I've found the way to fly, which direction should I go into the night?"
~Last Line: "And they will change from ash and nothing into flesh and blood."

Review: I've wanted to read this book since I first heard about it on GoodReads. It looked great, and it unquestionably was! Dystopian novels are quickly rising in popularity for me :).

The main character, Cassia, turns 16 and gets Matched to her best friend Xander. It perfect. Xander and Cassia know almost everything about each other and know that they'll live happily ever after together. The problem comes, however, when Cassia is shown another boy's face as well.

Ky is an Aberration, an outcast in their futuristic society, but he and Cassia get along wonderfully. I'm not sure who I liked more between him and Xander. They both have their pros & cons.

The plot of Matched was awesome. I loved how everything was going so smoothly and seeing Ky's face was scary, but not terrible. Then, BAM. Cassia wasnts to get to know the boy whose face was accidentally on that microchip. She and Ky became such good friends, and you were just automatically pulled in to everything that was happening.

The characters were ahmazing as well. They all had something different and unique about them. Cassia wanted to learn. Plain and simple. She wanted to know everything that they weren't allowed to know. Ky was one of my favorites for sure. Even though he was an Aberration, he was smarter, in some ways, than most of the people in their society.

Overall, I just loved this vook. I'm so anxious to get my hands on Crossed! The covers for this series are beautiful as well! :D

Plot Rating: 5
Character Rating: 4.5
Cover Rating: 4.75
GoodReads Rating: 5

Overall rating:
and four-fifths :)