Crossed

by Ally Condie

I am a little late in reading CROSSED by Ally Condie. This was planned. I knew I didn’t want to wait for the third book which comes out in a few months. Now I am torn. I wish I hadn’t waited, because it left me with questions but still feeling satisfied. I am looking forward to the conclusion, but unlike a lot of other trilogies, this series doesn’t dropt you off a giant cliff at the end of the second book. It is a modest cliff which left me wanting more but not overly frustrated.

CROSSED is a little different from MATCHED. Not only do you have Cassia’s perspective but you also get Ky’s. I liked getting to know the internal workings of Ky better. My biggest concern was the love triangle situation. I am glad that though Xander plays an important role, it doesn’t make Cassia wishy-washy. Cassia leaves society looking for Ky. While traveling through the wilderness they both meet new companions. They learn more about the Rising which is the group of people trying to overthrow the society. This is an internal struggle with Ky.

While Ky and Cassia travel through the Outer Provinces I could picture everything. Ally Condie grew up in southern Utah, redrock country. I have spent a lot of time there. I know that there have been some people who feel like the book progresses too slowly, but I liked getting to know more about the back story and meeting new people. I don’t think that the books have to be full of running for your life to be interesting. I do have a hypothesis for the third book. I think that Xander will also be a narrator. (Who knows, this may already be public knowledge that I haven’t heard about. But I would certainly like that.) I also think that the society isn’t as foolish as they seem at the end of the book. I will just have to wait and find out.