Review: Crossed by Ally Condie

Happy Monday, everyone! Today I’ve posted a review of Ally Condie’s young adult dystopian novel, Crossed, the second novel in the Matched Trilogy. Enjoy!

 

Synopsis: "Rules are different outside the society.

 

Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the outer provinces in search 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 and Ky's points of view, this hotly anticipated sequel to Matched will take them both to the edge of the Society, where nothing is as expected and crosses and double crosses make their path more twisted than ever.”

Genre: Young Adult--dystopian

First Sentences: "I'm standing in a river. It's blue. Dark blue. Reflecting the color of the evening sky. I don't move. The river does. It pushes against me and hisses through the grass at the water's edge. 'Get out of there,' the officer says. He shines a flashlight on us from his position on the bank." Crossed begins in Ky's point-of-view. Since the first novel was from Cassia's point-of-view entirely, this was an intriguing opening. Nevertheless, I wasn't hooked as well as I was in the first novel.

Brownie Points: I don't have much to say for brownie points on this novel. I found myself rather disappointed in it. I didn't find any parts particularly compelling. I did think the new information revealed about Xander was interesting and I felt like Cassia's relationship with him took a turn for the better. That aside, I don't have many praises.

Beefs: My main problem with this novel is that it felt like a lot of filler, like I was getting the set up for what is going to be an interesting third novel rather than getting both that AND an enjoyable sequel. Nothing was compelling me to continue reading forward, other than my hope that the story was going to improve. I was particularly disappointed in the romantic aspects of the story. Having Ky's point-of-view was interesting at first, but ultimately it made me dislike his character and revealed a lot of flaws that I simply couldn't look past. Also, Cassia seemed like less of a complex character in this novel. Her obsession with Ky goes to new heights and reminded me too much of Bella's mindless obsession with Edward in the Twilight series. At least for Cassia, unlike Bella, she still has a bit of back bone to her. But personally, I believe the ignorant 'society-girl' angle was played up too much.

Ending: I don't have too much to say about it. I was hoping the novel would improve at the end, but found it to be mediocre.

Recommendation and General Comments: Though I thoroughly enjoyed Matched, I was not a fan of Crossed. While I still remain interested enough to want to read the third novel, ultimately, I'm not as enthusiastic about moving forward in the series as I was before.

For this reason, I give Crossed by Ally Condie a rating of first-quarter moon.

 

 

This book was okay and I neither recommend it nor do I not recommend it. I will read the final novel in the trilogy when it is released with the hopes that Reached will be better than Crossed.

Don't forget to check in on Wednesday! I have another giveaway to announce! See you then ;-)