Title: Crossed
Author: Ally Condie
Series: Matched Trilogy #2
Pages: 367
Publisher: Penguin
Date of Publication: 24th November 2011
Source: Publisher*
Synopsis from Goodreads: Rules are different outside the Society.
Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky-taken by the Society to his certain death-only to find that he has escaped into the majestic, but treacherous, canyons. On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life and the enthralling promise of rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices everything to reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game once again.
Narrated from both Cassia's and Ky's points of view, this hotly anticipated sequel to Matched will take them both to the edge of Society, where nothing is as expected and crosses and double crosses make their path more twisted than ever...
Series: Matched Trilogy #2
Pages: 367
Publisher: Penguin
Date of Publication: 24th November 2011
Source: Publisher*
Synopsis from Goodreads: Rules are different outside the Society.
Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky-taken by the Society to his certain death-only to find that he has escaped into the majestic, but treacherous, canyons. On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life and the enthralling promise of rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices everything to reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game once again.
Narrated from both Cassia's and Ky's points of view, this hotly anticipated sequel to Matched will take them both to the edge of Society, where nothing is as expected and crosses and double crosses make their path more twisted than ever...
My Thoughts:
I really really enjoyed Crossed. I loved it, actually. It was a lot better than Matched, which I liked but not loved, and I read it even got me out of a reading funk, which I was stuck in again. I was so excited to receive it as I'd heard that it was a lot better than Matched, and as that was coming from bloggers who'd adored Matched too, I knew it had to be awesome, so when I got it I dropped the book I was reading as I wasn't very far (and of course I will go back to it) and got started reading straight away.
The ending of Matched set up really nicely (or nastily - depending on whether you like cliffhangers!) for the sequel, and because of this, I felt like I could jump in and read as if I hadn't been waiting for months to read it. As soon as I started reading everything from Matched came flooding to me, which rarely happens as I am SO bad at remembering what happens at the end of books... Anyway, the beginning was exciting and it really dragged me in and I knew that there'd be no way I could not finish it soon.
I really liked Cassia in this book. I felt that she was a lot stronger in herself, and a lot more confident. I liked how she'd finally chosen between Ky and Xander, and because of this in her chapters (as Crossed is told in a dual narrative) she was a lot more sure of herself and there wasn't any waffling about which boy she should choose. I loved how determined she was to find Ky, and how she never stopped even when she was ill, and should have died. Instead, she kept going because her love for him was so strong.
I also really liked Ky, a lot more than I thought I would. In Matched, I was always Team Xander - I don't believe in knowing someone your how life and being secretly in love with him, and then some new guy comes along and the girl forgets about the WHOLE OF HER LIFE... Anyway, Crossed really helped me to understand Ky, and now I get why Cassia chose him over Xander. Because Xander is safe and she'll have a fine life with him, but Ky brings adventure, and is just that little bit more mysterious and interesting...
The plot of this book was fantastic. I loved the whole thing, and I wouldn't really have guessed any of it at all. I liked how at the beginning there were Cassia and Ky's alternating narratives so we could find out about each of them and what they were doing, and I loved how each narrative was so different, and then about half way through they met up and they were together and we got two different perspectives on the same thing. Ky was so cute, in the way that he talked about not wanting to do something the whole way through the book and then at the end he does it for Cassia *sigh* It was adorable!
Overall, I really enjoyed Crossed. It's definitely the better of the two books so far, and this series is turning out to be one of my favourites, I think. If you haven't read Matched yet, and you are a YA dystopian fan, then what are you waiting for? Go and read them, because this series is definitely one that I think will be huge in the very near future.
*Huge thanks to Penguin for sending me this in exchange for an honest review! In no way has this affected my opinion of the book.
My Rating:
I give it 5 Feet!
Challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge #95
Great review! I recently read MATCHED and CROSSED for the first time. I am one of those people who thought MATCHED was just alright. But CROSSED was SO much better than the first one. I know some people actually liked the first book better than the second, but not me. CROSSED definitely grabbed me enough that I will read the third book. I loved the alternating POVs as well. It did do a lot of goood in explaining both Cassia's and Ky's thoughts and feelings.
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The Musings of ALMYBNENR
So glad you enjoyed this! I've read mixed reviews about Matched, and I guess that's why I haven't started it yet. Good to hear that this one is good though. :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't started this series yet but I am expecting Crossed to arrive in my mailbox next week :) Glad you enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to reading it.
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