Review: Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie
3 Stars
Read February 7-11, 2013; 367 pages
I liked Crossed but I enjoyed Matched more. I think this might have been because I listened to the audiobook version of Matched and read Crossed. Normally, I don’t prefer audiobooks to their hardcover predecessors, but in this case the audio rendition was so well read that I kind of want to go an get the audio for this one to compare my experiences. The audio just held my attention better in this case.
But let’s move to talking about the book itself. A change that I enjoyed from Matched to Crossed was that in book 2 I got to read the perspectives of both Cassia and Ky. It was great to get into Ky’s head and see his take on the Society and really get a good sense of his past and how it has made him who he is and how it continues to influence his decisions and reactions. However, the volley between perspectives sometimes got confusing. There were times where I was confused about what was going on and this was because the chapters were only about 5-7 pages each. The constant shifts were sometimes difficult transitions to make and relational plot timing got muddled as a result.
The content in Crossed moved away from the books I associated with Matched, like The Giver, and moved instead towards a similarity to the Hunger Games trilogy, though not to such survivalist extremes. There were similar circumstances, a similar love triangle, a choosing of sides, etc. I was pleased that I found quite a few moments of good poetic language in here, especially as Condie was dealing with large philosophical issues. It played into the importance of poetry to Cassia and Ky’s story.
Character-wise, Cassia bothered me a bit because she was still so attached to the Society and their propaganda. It bugged me and contributed to her naïveté and some petty actions and thoughts after working so hard to find Ky. Ky, on the other hand, was engaging. I loved having inside access to his struggle and admired his pure belief and love of Cassia. Admirable. Cassia, freaking CHOOSE. You’re buggin’ me. At least it will all get resolved in the final book of the trilogy, Reached.
Favorite Quotes:
“I thought it was having the picture that made it special, but it’s not even that. It’s looking at something without being watched, without being told how to see. That’s what the picture has given us” (12).
“Love has different shades. Like the way I loved Cassia when I though shed never love me. The way I loved her on the Hill. The way I love her now that she came into the canyon for me. Its different. Deeper. I thought I loved her and wanted her before, but as we walk through the canyon together I realize this could be a new shade. A whole new color” (234).
the cato chronicles 