Crossed - Ally Condie

Before we begin I will state for those who do not know, ‘Crossed’ is the second book in a trilogy, the first being ‘Matched’ (which was amazing!).  I always write my reviews as spoiler free as possible but in this case that is just not possible.  So below when I state that it’s spoiler free, it only is if you’ve already read ‘Matched’.  You have been warned.

A Spoiler Free Bit About the Book

Having been separated, both Cassia and Ky are desperate to find each other again without knowledge of where the other is.  Cassia is further away from Oria than ever before and learns how different life is without the Society.  For Ky however, it’s more like returning home.

My Review

I didn’t like ‘Crossed’ as much as ‘Matched’ but I believe that was always going to happen considering how much I loved ‘Matched’.  So it doesn’t mean that the book isn’t written as well or anything.  I just knew nothing could top ‘Matched’.

Part of the issue I think is that the book starts with Ky’s perspective in chapter one.  There’s nothing wrong with Ky’s narration, it’s just that I wasn’t used to it, the whole first novel being narrated by Cassia.  I would’ve liked to start off with her to ease me back into it, especially as I read ‘Matched’ at least a year ago.  I couldn’t remember where Ky was or what he was doing.  And to top it all off, as the pages turned I found out I didn’t care.  To be blunt, chapter one was boring.  This is awful for Ally Condie!  Because it was so boring I put the book down at the end of the chapter, back on my ‘not read’ section of my bookshelf and I feared it’d never get picked up again.  To be fair, when I did pick it up it was dusty.

Don’t worry, this isn’t a review of chapter one only.  I finished the book.  But I picked it up for the first time straight after finishing ‘Matched’ and was expecting so much more.   Over a year later, remembering this, I gritted my teeth and skim read chapter one and the rest I had no problem with.  It’s just such a shame that for an otherwise great book it has this hanging over its head.  To be honest, I have no idea what drove me to pick up ‘Crossed’ again, maybe I couldn’t stand ‘Matched’ sitting there on a different shelf alone.  I knew this was its final chance.  I also almost did the exact same thing after enduring chapter one again.  I don’t know where the book would be now if that’d happened.

I’ll continue with my issues while we’re on it.  There was nothing wrong with the plot.  It was interesting and intense and I really didn’t know how it was going to turn out in the end.  But it was no ‘Matched’.  That (apart from chapter one) was probably the biggest issue – it was constantly being compared, of course it was.  One of the things I loved about ‘Matched’ was the Society and we see less of it in ‘Crossed’ which I thought was a down side.

Also, I could not for the life of me picture what Condie was describing most of the time.  I just could not understand the geography of it all.  They were climbing and then they were in the same spot as earlier without having dropped and then I thought they were in a cave but they were in fact out of the open.  Maybe it’s because I live in Essex, England.  It’s green and grey here, grass and roads.  ‘Crossed’ is set in red and orange, rocks and caverns.

The characters restored my faith in the trilogy.  I was excited by the return of Cassia, Ky and Xander and after chapter one I fell back into it with ease.  We learn so much more about Ky in ‘Crossed’ thanks to his perspective half the time and this makes it so much easier to understand him, what he’s like and what he’s done.  It’s so much better when you can see both sides of the story.

To add to this though, I loved the introduction of new characters.  The complexity of their back stories was genius.  I understood and empathised with everybody and understood their motives throughout the whole novel.  I also enjoyed the new characters because they were unlike Cassia and Ky but also because they were.  It was so believable that everyone was different but brought up in the same way have their similarities.

The best thing about ‘Crossed’ was that I felt as though it nurtured my soul.  I felt I learnt a lot from it about what really matters when you think about it.  It did something magical that I can’t explain.  I didn’t feel like I was that involved with the story and yet I was turning the pages with a hunger and letting a couple of tears roll down my cheeks.

I only feel sorry and guilty because I don’t know how much I enjoyed ‘Crossed’.  Although I devoured it in three days, on the last day reading from about mid-way to the end.  I must’ve liked it but I’m unsure by how much.

Evaluation

Plot Idea – 6/10 – although in places I didn’t know where it was going, it was a somewhat predictable sequel.

Way Plot Was Pursued – 7/10 – I liked having both sides of the story.

Characters – 8/10 – the introduction of the new characters made this book.

Style – 6/10 – there’s just something I can’t put my finger on that makes me question why I didn’t love it and I think this was it.

Pace – 9/10 – perfect, although missing out on full marks because of chapter one.

Would I recommend it? – this is a tough one because it’s a sequel.  If you loved ‘Matched’ and want to know what happens next then of course yes.  But if you were content to leave ‘Matched’ as it was, I would say no.  Because of my uncertainty about my liking this book, I’m going to say no.

Would I look up the author? – I hate myself for saying it, but I wouldn’t.  I will read ‘Reached’, the third instalment but only because I want to know how it all ends.  I will not be looking for Ally Condie’s other novels.  No.

Although I felt my soul cleansed from reading ‘Crossed’ I had my problems with it.  I don’t think I’ll ever truly know why.

I would love to hear about your opinion on the trilogy and on the Society.  As always, I’m always available to talk books.

Molly Looby

Author / Editor / Ghost Writer / Writing Coach

Got something to say, want me to do some freelance work or perhaps to tell me something I might not know about writing (go on, test me!)?  Emil me on: molly.looby@hotmail.com