Review: Crossed

Crossed
By: Ally Condie
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Series: Matched

Description:
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.

Review:
We are back thrust into the dystopian society where Ky and Cassia are trying to be together against all odds.  Last time we left off in the first book of this trilogy - Matched - Ky was taken away into the outer provinces, Cassia tried to get reclassified so that she could find Ky and they could finally be together.  But she also wants to join the Rising, which she realizes is grows much stronger the closer she gets. 

There are new characters introduced in this book.  There's Eli who reminds Ky of Bram (Cassia's younger brother), Vick who is a survivor and a good person to have on your side.  Indie who is also a survivor I think that if Vick and Indie ever met they would have gotten along quite well.  Another character that was introduced into this book was Hunter, a young man who just lost his daughter and is part of the Farmers inside the Carving.  The Carving is a group of Canyons where the farmers live and everyone is searching for the Rising in there. 

Cassia and Indie manage to escape their camp and Ky and the other two escape theirs as well.  Through a number of hardships both very differently that they both must face (all characters really) both groups, the boys and the girls, do meet up with one another.  But this is not without any loss or trouble.  Xander does make a quick appearance in Cassia's life but he is thought about through the whole book, I believe the truth will be revealed to her about his secret in the beginning of the next book.

Overall this was a good book - a bridge between the path that is taken from the beginning to the end.  I just hope that the ending is what everyone hopes for, success in many areas.  Because to me so far the Rising just seems like another form of the Society that never looks to be on the winning side.  We shall see - until next time.

Review - Matched

Matched
By Ally Condie
Release Date: November 30, 2010
Series: Matched

Product description:
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.

Review:
So imagine yourself in a society where everything is chosen for you, what you eat, where you work, what you wear, everything even who you are to spend your life with. Everyone in the society seems to be perfectly fine with the way the system is working. That is until Cassia is matched with her best friend Xander when she looks at his information on her data screen another persons face appears - and it's someone she also knows. Not too long after her grandfather passes away (or is put to rest as people in this dystopian society only live until the age 80) and last thing he tells her that her grandmother would say about this whole match incident - don't you ever wonder. This of course gets her thinking more and more about Ky the other person she saw on the screen. This story shows the connection between Cassia and Ky and how it grows even though they are not supposed to be together. This society is not one I want to belong to that's for sure. I don't want to give any spoilers but all I can say is that I cannot wait for the next book thank goodness it comes out soon. This little courtship between the two of them really has me intrigued, their stolen moments in privacy so sweet and innocent. The ending leads to so many possibilities. We shall wait and see what Ally Condie has in store for us.

Look out for the second book comes out 11/1/11 - Crossed by Ally Condie.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: •Grab your current read •Open to a random page •Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page •BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) •Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's teaser:
“Will you teach me?” I ask.

“I’m not supposed to do that.”

“We’re not supposed to be doing any of this,” I remind him. Sounds drift up from the tangled trees and undergrowth below us. Someone is coming. I feel desperate to make him promise to teach me before anyone gets here and this moment vanishes. “We’re not supposed to know poems or writing or ...” I stop myself. I ask again. “Will you teach me?”
.....
I’ve given up on talking to him again today when I feel someone brush past me. At the same time I hear a word so soft and quiet I wonder if he said it up on the hill and the wind has just now carried it down to me.
The word is yes.
 
Matched by Ally Condie
 
I couldn't resist giving the answer to her question.  I'm loving this book, review to come soon!