"Crossed", "Matched", & "Reached"

"Crossed", "Matched", & "Reached"

Ally Condie

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dystopian ・ rebellion ・love-triangle

Ally Condie's trilogy was recommended to me by a close friend... a friend who has a very different taste in books, which made me skeptical of the quality of the story and writing. But Ally Condie didn't let me down. The novels are Hunger Games-esque, giving readers the appeal of a young love-triangle fighting against the grip of an oppressive government, trying to balance romance and rebellion. However, Condie brings a few new aspects to the table to spice up her trilogy, including a switch of first-person perspectives. Condie's constant change of perspective, her use of imaging wrapped with poetry, tied up in a neat ribbon with a few key plot twists and character developments... it's brilliant writing. One aspect of the books that could've been more potent was Ky and Cassia's romance. The first book is rich with their forbidden flirting and unexpected love, but the little details of their relationship get partially left out, especially in the last book. Yet Condie still found ways to highlight their understanding and deep passion for one another.

Throughout the trilogy, readers get to know Cassia Reyes; a by-the-book, Society made, perfectly molded girl living in a seemingly perfect Society. Cassia had never doubted her place in the Society or her future until a series of events involving illegal poems from her grandfather and a glitch in the matching system that was supposed to give her the perfect spouse lead Cassia to question her life. Those questions lead Cassia to a Hill where an under-the-radar, misunderstood, kind boy named Ky teaches her to write... and kiss. After being sent to a new location to work, and sensing unease in the Society, Cassia makes a run for the mountains with new friends in an effort to find Ky, who has been shipped away to a doomed war, and whatever else waits for her outside the Society. Along the way, she discovers unbelievable things about herself, her grandfather's poems, the Society, and the unknown.

I definitely recommend this trilogy! Please check it out and let us know what you think.

Recommended for: Hunger Games fans, YA Readers