Review: Reached

Reached (Matched #3)
Ally Condie
Dystopia

Cassia’s journey began with an error, a momentary glitch in the otherwise perfect façade of the Society. After crossing canyons to break free, she waits, silk and paper smuggled against her skin, ready for the final chapter.

The wait is over.

One young woman has raged against those who threaten to keep away what matters most—family, love, choice. Her quiet revolution is about to explode into full-scale rebellion. With exquisite prose, the emotionally gripping conclusion to the international–bestselling Matched trilogy returns Cassia, Ky, and Xander to the Society to save the one thing they have been denied for so long, the power to choose.

You can read my review of Crossed (Matched #2) here.

*Spoilers for Reached*

Let's be honest. The Matched trilogy was marketed as a hit, but pretty much flopped for everyone at some point. For most people it was Crossed. For me, the whole series had huge potential but all installments were overall letdowns. However, I do think that if I had studied this book/series in school, it could be a lot more intellectually interesting. There are a lot of big issues that could lead to good debates, lots of little details that didn't affect the overall plot arc but might have been fun to discuss.

My mine point of criticism is how PASSIVE our characters are, and you get that especially in Reached. Cassia, Ky and even Xander (though less than the other two) just go wherever they're taken and do what they're told. They all seem to be interested in saving their own skins and families and leaving all the drama behind. The problem with that is that it leaves the story with no big motive, no inspiration or hopes and emotional involvment from the reader. Honestly, how am I supposed to care about what's going on if none of them do? 

The saving grace when it comes to the characters is Xander. He toils day and night saving people no matter what the personal cost to him. He follows orders when he needs to but takes initiative many times, too. Naturally he is taken for granted by Cassia and ultimately does not get the girl.

Which brings me to my next problem. Lei was introduced basically just so Xander could have someone to be with in the end. Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE WHEN WRITERS DO THAT. Why couldn't Ally Condie have spared us Indie's (UTTERLY POINTLESS) death and have her be with one of the boys? She liked both and both liked her at points in the trilogy. And she had a role to play always- adding some much-needed spunk to the story. 

Ally Condie's lyrical prose was nice as usual, but this 550 page VERY quiet rebellion could have been condensed into many fewer pages and would save many people the struggle to finish. Overall, not original enough, not character-based enough, and too much build-up for little to no climax. Rating:


Happy reading! 
Love,
Esty

Review: Crossed

Crossed (Matched #2)
Ally Condie
Dystopia


The Society chooses everything. 
The books you read. 
The music you listen to. 
The person you love. 
Yet for Cassia the rules have changed. Ky has been taken and she will sacrifice everything to find him. 
And when Cassia discovers Ky has escaped to the wild frontiers beyond the Society there is hope.
But on the edge of society nothing is as it seems...
A rebellion is rising.
And a tangled web of lies and double-crosses could destroy everything.

I read Matched before I started blogging, so no review to link you to. Basically, the first time I read it like four years ago I was like nice, but.... blah. I recently reread Matched so I could read Crossed and I really liked it! I wasn't able to pinpoint why exactly, but I think it's because being older now I don't expect the booms and bangs as much and a quieter struggle seems more realistic to me. The first time I, like everyone else, thought not enough happened. 

Structurally speaking, the Matched trilogy is a bit like The Hunger Games to me- Book 1: Girl gets personal reason to despise government. Book 2: How Girl makes her way to the rebellion. Book 3: Rebellion. Of course, this is only structure-wise, and obviously I haven't read Reached (book #3) yet but that's what it looks like it's gonna be. 

So! A lot more happens in Crossed. More interesting characters are introduced (something I thought Matched was lacking in) and more ground is covered, literally and figuratively. Ky's POV is introduced which I thought would be more fun than it was. He sounded a lot like Cassia, but we learned more about him and his past, which is good. Pacing was not- because of both POVs, it was almost like we rehashed everything twice. 

There were no major surprises that are coming to mind now, but Indie made for quite an unpredictable character (even though I didn't like her much). 

About the love triangle: Alas, no modern YA series seems to be complete without it (*sarcasm*). First time I read Matched years ago I was Team Ky. My last reading of it made me firmly Team Xander, and I remained on that side all throughout Crossed no matter how much I love Ky. 

In my experience with love triangles, there's usually one who the book is kinda telling you will be The Chosen One, and the other who you really love but you know won't be it. (e.g Edward and Jacob, Jace and Simon) In Matched, it seemed to me like we were being pushed toward Ky, and in Crossed the author did a 180 and started dancing for Xander. This really didn't bother me because it made it an even fight. I have a feeling Xander will be The One, for reasons I will not disclose so as not to spoil you(;

Rating: 3.5 stars

Love,
Esty