Review - Crossed by Ally Condie

Crossed (Matched, #2) by Ally Condie

Release Date - November 1st 2011

Published  by Dutton Children's

Hardcover, 367 pages

Add it to http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9794437-crossed

Description (from Goodreads)

The hotly awaited second book in the dystopian Matched trilogy 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.


My Review

 Crossed is told from both Ky and Cassia's points of view with alternating chapters and it begins shortly after the events that occurred in Matched.
 We start out with Cassia, she's been placed in a work labor group that takes her to the boarders of the outer provinces. She has agreed with the Society's form of rehabilitation so that she could find information and go searching for Ky.
 She finally gets the chance she been waiting for when officials come looking for the girls that are Aberration to take to the villages in the outer provinces. She faked her way on board with a little help from a girl named Indie.
 Upon her arrival Cassia discovers that  the society is sending aberrations out to the outer provinces as decoys, to basically be killed by the enemy that the society is fighting. With help, Cassia sets out on a journey to the carving in search of any sign that Ky has been there.

 Ky's story starts out in a horrifying place full of devastation and  great loss of life. He was told that if he could survive for six months then he would be reinstated as a citizen and be permitted to return home. But this is a lie. They sent him there to die.
 Bravely, Ky and two other boys risk certain death and they escape. They then make their way to the Carving, a place that Ky's father told him he should go if he was in trouble and in need of help. The entire time Ky thinks of Cassia. He wonders how he will find her again, not knowing that she has been looking for him this whole time.
 Fighting against the officials Cassie, Ky and their group encountered death, destruction and poisoned waters. Something else that they found on their journey was hope of a promise of the day when the Society will fall.

 I liked Cassia's character. She is that person that does things that were never expected she would be able to. She was loyal to the Society her whole life, it wasn't until her grandfather told her to wonder that she began thinking of what could be. So when she began thinking this way she wasn't going to let anyone stop her. Which took a lot of courage in this highly oppressed society. Along with her determination, I liked her unselfishness. When she is planning her escape from the labor camp she terribly misses her family. The only way she would take such a big risk and leave them is because she knows that they will not get reclassified due to her actions. If a parent causes an infraction the whole family gets reclassified but if a child does, the child alone is punished. Even though she desperately wants to find Ky she will not let anything awful happen to her family just so she can find happiness with him.

 Something that I liked about Ky was that he wants no part of the rising that didn't come to the aid of his village when he was a child and left them to die. He also doesn't want to return to the society. Ky would be perfectly happy running away with Cassia to live with the anomalies, I respected his decision to want to forge his own path. But will he go to the rising? These people that he doesn't trust, so that he doesn't loose Cassia and perhaps push her into the arms of another.

 I missed Xander in this story, he did make a short appearance but wasn't in it for very long. He was mentioned a few times throughout the story though. This story did drag on at a slow place for me. There was a lot of running around and exploring but no real excitement. I did still like the book and enjoyed meeting some new characters that were brought into the story. Although I am hoping that the pace picks up for the last novel in the series.
 I give this a 3 out of 5 stars.

✯ ✯ ✯
 Would I read it again? No

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Places you can find Ally Condie
Links
Website - www.allycondie.com
Twitter - @allycondie
Facebook -www.facebook.com/allycondiebooks