Crossed (Matched, #2)

by Ally Condie

The highly anticipated second book in the New York Times bestselling Matched trilogy!
 
Perfect for fans of 1984, Brave New World, Black Mirror, and The Handmaid’s Tale.

Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky--taken by 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.  On the edge of Society, nothing is as expected, and crosses and double crosses make Cassia's path more twisted than ever.

Look for the epic series finale, REACHED!

• ISBN10: 0142421715
• ISBN13: 9780142421710
• Publish Date: 12 March 2013 (first published 1 November 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 416
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780142421710

Reviews

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Cassia is going to find Ky.  Nothing will stop her from finding Ky.  She's been touring the outer provinces, trying to make up for her mistake, but so far, no sign of him.  In a last ditch effort, she seeks help from an archivist.  One thing leads to another and suddenly she finds herself out in the wilderness of the carving, and Ky is here in the canyons somewhere, so if she just keeps walking long enough, she'll find him.  And, maybe she'll find the Rising, too.

For myself, I was so relieved when Cassia found something because while I have no problem with quests (I LOVE LOVE LOVE epic fantasy) I do have a problem with mindless walking.  There are typically pitfalls and adventures!  Ky's storyline is a little easier, although the scenes are kind of clunky and each one feels like a setup for one character or another to share a little backstory.

Mostly, the characters here are dramatic.  Three out of five of them keep going no matter what, because of LOVE.  It's all very cheesy and romantic and totally not my thing.  One of the characters served no actual purposes and contributed nothing to the story other than being small.  Then, there was Indie.

Indie is the closest thing we get in this series to a complex character.  She loves, but it doesn't consume her.  She's practical.  She's passionate.  She isn't fawning over a pretty face constantly - such a big factor to me liking a character.  She lies and steals and is imperfect.  Not a leader-type, not the smartest girl in the room and a bit bitter about it if we're being honest.  As I'm listening to this, I kept thinking about how much more INTERESTING the story probably would have been if it was from Indie's POV instead of Cassia's.

Small audiobook nitpick: the narrator pronounces "Cassia" like "Kesha" which isn't strictly wrong, but definitely confused me at first.

Crossed definitely comes across as a filler book.  I didn't like Matched all that much (I liked the cliffhanger ending) and I definitely don't feel any need at all to continue on to Reached.  If you read Matched and loved it, I'm going to warn you now: Crossed is 40% walking, 55% pining after boys, and 5% plot... don't expect too much from this one.

[wyvernfriend]

Cassia shares the narrative with Ky. Cassia searches for Ky, finds him and makes decisions about her future.

It's not bad but not standout.

[phyllish]

This was a good second book to the series, though I liked the first and third books a little better.

I'm not able to explain how I feel about Crossed. It doesn't knock my socks off nor do I feel like throwing it against the wall. It's a book that I feel neutral towards.

Crossed continues with the passive action that occurred in Matched. I seems like Matched sets up the story and Crossed is the "bland" book that prepares us for the action and rebellion that will hopefully appear in the last book, Reached. Crossed isn't slow or boring, but the sense of danger and surprise is lacking.

The story is told from Cassia and Ky's point of view. Unfortunately, their POV's sound exactly the same. Cassia, as a main character, has not only strength, smarts and great instinct, but she is easy to relate to and connect with. Ky is also strong and smart. He is able to stay one step ahead of the authorities and knows how to handle almost any situation that comes his way. I enjoyed meeting old and new characters along the way who gain depth in such a short amount of time.

Like Matched, romance plays a huge role in Crossed. I have to admit that I did warm up to Ky and Cassia's relationship. Unfortunately, the love triangle that existed in Matched is unnecessary in Crossed. Judging from Crossed, it's so obvious who Cassia is going to pick.

The rebellion aspect and the mystery that surrounds it is totally up my ally. I enjoyed the cool concepts that are created in this society; a corrupt society, paternalistic government, a world built on a social hierarchy and an interesting way of story telling filled with beautiful metaphors and poetry.

Even although I have issues with the POV's and the romance present in Crossed, I do enjoy a book with a corrupt government and society and strong characters. I'm definitely going to read Reached to find out how a possible rebellion is going to play out.

[Kim Deister]

Crossed is the 2nd book in the Matched series and although I still loved it, I didn't find it quite as engrossing as the first book. For the majority of the book, the three main characters were apart and so much of the appeal lies in the dynamic between them.

That being said, Ky has much more of a voice in this book than in the last. Of course, Xander has less, which is sad because I love Xander. But we learn so much more about Ky, his past, how he has come to be who and where he is. There was a message of self-discovery in the first book through Cassia and that same theme is carried through this book, both in Cassia's story and in Ky's.

What I love about this series, and this book in particular, is that the YA romance is really almost secondary to the story line. It is important and present, yes, but it is not the sole focus of the story. In fact, this book was more emotionally charged than the first, but those emotions were a lot less romantically-motivated. There is a whole wide range of emotions to give characters besides love and all of the typical romantic ones and I am glad to see those explored in these characters.

Much of the book was about just that, real life. Ky's fight for survival, facing tough choices in impossible situations. Cassia's journey, too, was about survival, learning to trust, learning to trust herself. There was more at stake here than romance. There was the world as they knew it. The Carving, The Rising, saving their society from itself.

Things to love...

--The recognition that there is more to life than romance. There is real life.
--The tough choices and lessons that the characters had to go through.

Things I wanted more/less of...

--More Xander. I missed his voice in this book.

My Recommendation: No, this book didn't grab me quite as much as the first, but it is a story that still has me hooked. It certainly didn't put me off wanting to read the final book in the series, Reached.

[Kelsenator]

For the full review, go to my blog Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf

I never did a review of the first book on here of this series, but I may to at some point. The first book I gave 3/5 on Goodreads. It was a pretty good book and I enjoyed reading it.

This second of the series is the same, I enjoyed reading it, but I just felt like I wanted a little bit more from this whole thing, and it felt like it went by really fast. I would have liked their journey to have a bit more action or something to get me hooked, and there were moments of the book that just seemed to be tossed in there at random, like them figuring out things so quickly.

The story involves Ky and Cassia escaping and trying to find each other in the Outer Provinces so they can be together. Using clues left from objects and others, they travel and eventually meet up, with new additions to their team that they met along the way. I was very happy when they finally met up, I can tell that they care very much for each other, but even so they do have some things that they have to confront and face with each other if they want to stay together.

What happens after that has to do with a rebellion and what they plan to do, join or just survive away from the Society. There is a lot of mention of poems throughout this, and a lot of deep thought. The ending was okay.

The chapters are divided between both of them and their perspectives. I did like reading it like that, even though some of the chapters were insanely short, it gave me great places to pause when I had to put the book down.

I probably won’t read the third book, this one kind of ruined Matched and the series for me.

So it was an ok read, but like I said I wanted more from this second book and just kinda breezed through it not really getting attached to anything, I was kind of dissapointed. I know others might have loved this book, and that’s good! This is just the way I felt while reading it. I recommend this for Dystopian fans.

[violetpeanut]

Meh. Not so good. Whiny characters. Plot was a little slow and repetitive. Nothing much really happens in this except that they all wander around the cavern for a while. I'll probably read the third one when it comes out later this year just to find out the end but I'm not going to go rushing out to buy it.

[sstaley]

I actually liked this 2nd book in the series better than the first. For some reason I could connect better to the characters and what they were feeling. Good ending and set up heading to the third book.

[mbtc]

Was a great book to listen to in the car. A good continuation of the Matched story. I enjoyed hearing Ky's side of the story as well and enjoyed the new characters introduced. Still not a big fan of all the teenage love triangle (square?) stuff but it is better than some books I've read (Twilight anyone?).

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

Crossed is a fantastically well written and fast-paced adventure that will keep reader's on the edge of their seats all the way through. There is so much that this novel has to offer and it gives the reader a whole new outlook on the Soceity itself. There are highly intense emotional moments throughout Crossed that will have reader's feeling with the character's. The qualities and depth this story and the character's possess is absolutely phenomenal and they are both written with such style and finesse that you're almost left with your jaw agape.

So much more was tackled in Crossed than there was in Matched and it's done in such a magnifient way. It's not just a story about love and friendship, it's so much more than that. It's a story about hope, about fighting that great epic battle and believing in something so much that you would risk everything for it - including your life - however small or hard it may be. Both Ky and Xander will break your heart and make you love them so many times over and Cassia shows so much strength and heart and courage as she fights for everything she believes in throwing everything she has and is into it.

Condie's use of classic poetry and her beautiful colorful imagery painted with words and flourishing descriptions are what make the story even more powerful and inspirational. There is struggle, triumph, fear, challenge, heartbreak, betrayals, and redemption all embrodiered into the story that follow along the many twists and turns making reader's want to see Ky and Cassia find one another and come out better for it having survived on the other side. As I've said, Crossed is a novel that packs a powerful emotional punch to the gut, that will leave reader's gasping for more.

One of my favorite things about Crossed, is that it is incredibly character driven and Condie has a way of writing in depth and layers to her character's, that make them more than just a name you're reading on a page. They seem to come alive and leap off of the page at you and it feels as if you've known them your whole entire life or you're just getting to know them and deciding whether or not you like them. They are written in such a relatable and wonderful way, that it's hard not to develop a strong sense of fondness for them and to want to root for them to survive and succeed.

The love triangle between Ky, Cassia, and Xander is handled in such a way that it was hard not to root for both couples at certain points of the story along the way. Their paths cross, yet also divides them at the same time, keeping them apart and forcing distance between them. As secrets are revealed, the past is discovered, and the future is contemplated things are changing all around them not just from the outside, but also from the inside as well. As they struggle to reconcide these feelings, they're faced with so many insecurities, hurts, and heartache that is so real, vivid, and palpable that you could almost feel it wafting off the pages. That's poweful, when an author is able to move you to tears and then make you smile through those same tears as well.

Make no mistake, that Crossed is not just a story about love, but it's also a story about war as well. War that is actually being fought in a very real and literal sense and war within the character's themselves as they face incredible (sometimes almost unbareable) odds and struggle to overcome them. Reader's will root for them to overcome their fears and rise up with the strength to fight for their own future, whatever it may be with whomever they choose.

Crossed is the ultimate symbol of courage, strength, and inspiration and Condie doesn't hesistate to deliver a stunning sequel in this wonderful series. I would most defintiely recommend this novel to anyone who is a fan of dystopian fiction.