Novel Review: Crossed (Matched, #2) by Ally Condie

Genre: YA Dystopian Romance

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Penguin (Dutton)

Spoilers?: Some.

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

Available on Amazon.

Review:

This book was quite a bit different than the first, and I did enjoy it quite a bit more. Most of it was much more exciting. The ending, however…

So, in this book, Cassia has been working in some camp thing outside her Province, and Ky has been ‘fighting’ the war in the Outer Provinces. This is told in alternating points of view, which I really liked and worked really well for this story. It made me like Ky a lot more, and I even enjoyed some of his chapters more than Cassia’s.

The first two hundred pages consist of Cassia and Ky separated, whereas Ky has snuck away from his area and is trying to find a way back to Cassia, and Cassia has been put in the Outer Provinces and also snuck away and is trying to find Ky. That was probably my favorite part of the book, as it was very exciting and different and I learned a lot about both of them and the government. Then they met up and the next maybe hundred pages are also really good, where they’re getting to an empty area and deciding to either go to the resistance or the mountains where they’ll be with the lone farmers. Cassia wants the resistance, and Ky wants the mountains, which Ky’s decision at first surprised me but later made sense.

The last bit of the book I did not really like. First of all, I agree with Cassia going to the resistance; I would want to bring down the government as well. But Ky’s agreeing to go with her didn’t make sense to me. Throughout the entire book, he made it clear that he did not want to join the resistance, and even said that that was something he could not do even for Cassia. And then, without showing the reader any thought on him changing his mind, he goes with Cassia to the resistance. That just didn’t make sense to me.

Also, I don’t like the resistance, and I already guessed this would happen. I just didn’t think it would be so obvious. The resistance is pretty much exactly like the Society. They take data on their people, test them and then decide where they get to help out, and the people still have to hide things and aren’t allowed small items because they like them, and the people aren’t given information that does not pertain exactly to their job. It sounds pretty much exactly like the Society, if you ask me. I don’t trust them, I don’t like that Cassia was sent back into the Society, and I just don’t like it.

Now, the romance. I like Cassia and Ky together more than I did in the first place, although I think there’s still a bit too much angst over Xander. I love Xander, and what we found out about him in this book only makes me like him more, and I hope we get to see more of him in the next book and find out more about him, but Cassia just needs to accept what she did to him and move on already. I mean, I get that he’s hurt by what happened, and she’s upset that he’s hurt, and I understand Ky’s worry over her feelings for him, but just move on already. I don’t care for more angst.

We also met a couple new characters in this book. I like Eli, who reminded Ky and Cassia of Cassia’s brother Bram. I liked Vick and feel bad about him. Indie is alright, and rather interesting. We also found quite a bit about the Society out, and what they haven’t told their people about, like the blue pills’ actual meaning and what they’re doing in the war. That was really interesting, and I look forward to finding out more about that.

Oh, also, there's a map at the beginning of the book, which I found really helpful, although it gave away where the resistance was. And I wanted a bigger map, one that included the parts of the Society.

I do plan on reading the last book in the series, since there’s only one left, and I want to find out what happens. I just hope that it’s exciting, and that more happens page by page than in the first two books. And I’m thinking that a lot is going to have to happen, since not too much toward a revolution has yet.