Crossed by Ally Condie

Series: Matched, Book Two

Publisher: Puffin

Format: ARC

Published: 24^th November 2011
Number of Pages: 384

Book: For Review*

Genre: Dystopian, Romance, Science-Fiction, Action-Adventure, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Death

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Site: Ally Condie

The Society chooses everything.

The books you read.

The music you listen to.

The person you love.

Yet for Cassia the rules have changed.  Ky has been taken and she will sacrifice everything to find him.

And when Cassia discovers Ky has escaped to the wild frontiers beyond the Society there is hope.

But on the edge of society nothing is as it seems…

A REBELLION IS RISING.

And a tangled web of lies and double-crosses could destroy everything.

Review:

Ky was taken from Cassia, sent to fight in a war with an unknown Enemy.  Cassia will do anything to get him back, including sacrificing everything.  So she follows him to the Outer Provinces to the place of the war, risking death.  Only to find that he has gone already, left with two others to save their lives.  Cassia follows again, this time joined by fellow work-camp girl Indie.  Bit something bigger is going on: a rebellion is rising, and it is larger than Cassia every thought it could be.  Could this rising have something to do with the mysterious Enemy Ky was sent to fight?  On the very brink of Society, nothing is what it first seems to be.

When I read Matched, I was stunned by the writing and the world.  I really couldn’t wait to get back there and find out what the hey was goin’ on in the Society!  And I found Crossed even better than Matched.  Beaufiul writing, forbidden love, death and a mysterious Enemy made Crossed faster-paced and way more interesting to me.  The new cast of characters only added to the new feel in a really, really good way.

Meet the new, improved Cassia Maria Reyes!  She’s actually fighting back, resisting, on the run.  And I am just loving the stronger version of her!  And, she’s still so clueless, so naive, so innocent: I loved seeing everything through her eyes – the most mundane things was wondrous and magical to her.  At the very end we see yet another whole new side of Cassia.  I can’t wait for Book Three, just to see where she goes next!

And Ky: I finally, completely understand what Cassia saw in him!  He’s been through so, so much, and knowing more about his background and everything he’s been through just made me fall totally in love with him.  He’s still fighting back, and I love the rebelliousness!  That boy totally has that hot-mysterious-tortured thing goin’ on! 

I was so pleased we got a brief glimpse of Xander – I love him!  He’s just so amazing, and wonderful, and I just love him.  But what I want to know is how he feels: does her looking for Ky feel like a betrayal?  Is he disappointed with Cassia?  Angry?  I want Xander’s words; I want to know how Xander feels.  Plus: he had a secret…  A big secret…

This time I could really feel both Cassia’s love for Xander: he feels like home for her, makes her feel better, and her love for Ky: he is like her in so many ways – strong, passionate, brave, and he’s a mystery, he intrigues her…  I could really feel it this time, Cassia and Ky’s love.  Their love just is so real to me now.  Therefore, I need the next book.  Because I finally get why Cassia couldn’t choose.  I couldn’t choose… ok.  I’m kinda leaning towards Xander… Still.

All the other characters were brilliant, and brought a whole new feel to the book.  I really liked Vick, who was slightly cynical and a natural leader.  Blunt and to-the-point, he too had fallen in love with someone he shouldn’t, which made me like him all the more.  Young Eli, also sent to fight the enemy, was cunning, brave and very clever, he was like a young Ky: I loved the young boy, and felt so sorry for him as well.  And Indie, Cassia’s only friend in the work camp, who was brave, quick-fingered and did whatever she wanted to.  I loved the mystery surrounding her, her inner fire and that she had a real vulnerable side: I loved the complicated Indie.

One thing I missed was the family feel.  I loved Cassia’s parents and brother and Grandfather, and of course Xander.  I wanted more Xander.  There were families in the Outer Provinces, but it wasn’t the same, and I hope we see more family bonds in the next book.

I was enchanted by the beautiful writing of Matched, and Crossed did not let me down!  The writing was lyrical, poetic, haunting.  And to be able to see both Ky’s and Cassia’s POV was genius on Allie’s part.  Their voices were similar enough to make me realise just how perfect they were for one another and different enough for me to be able to tell them apart.  And being able to see both POVs meant I could get to know Ky and his story: Ky wasn’t that jump-off-the-page for me in Matched, but in Crossed… I soon fell in love. Again.  But we want Xander to have chapters in the next book please Ally!  The plot in Crossed was faster and more exciting than Matched.  It was a real quest-like book and therefore more intense than just forbidden love (though there’s still plenty of that).  And again I found myself completely under Condie’s spell.  I have no idea how she does it.  I am pretty sure it’s the writing, but I needed to know what would happen.  I had to find out how it worked out. 

Again, I have to mention the amazing world Condie has created.  It’s so real, so scary, so… powerful.  I was obsessed with finding out everything.  And I loved that we finally got to find out why the Society was created!  And, worryingly, the reason makes sense…  It’s quite disturbing, actually.  And we get to know more about the Rising, the rebellion, Anomalies…

Love, trust, betrayal, searching, lost, found…  Crossed was a book that held me under its spell from start to finish.  I am now desperate for book three.  I NEED it!!

Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Matched by Ally Condie
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
The Chemical Gardens by Lauren DeStefano

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Puffin in exchange for an honest review