Crossed

TITLE: Crossed

AUTHOR: Ally Condie

SERIES: Matched #2

PUBLISHER: Dutton Juvenile

PAGES: 367 (Hardcover)

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Alright guys, I'm back! Despite my preconceptions we actually had an AMAZING time sailing and kayaking down the Coorong (Flerieu Peninsula SA), but don't tell my friends that ;) Unfortunately, i did come down with a bit of gastro the day after i got back (story of my life) so i haven't been able to get on for a couple of days. However, all is right with my stomach once again and so we shall continue...

The middle instalment is Ally Condie’s Matched trilogy, Crossed fell comfortably into the category of ‘okay’. Not exactly the most heart breaking and captivating piece of fiction I’ve ever read, it still carried a good plot with enough to interest you between the pages.

In this book you can see how Cassia has, if not maybe not matured (which she probably has), grown. Her chapters have a more sombre feel, compared to the slightly more relaxed and inquisitive tones that came from the first book. If this is from her missing her old life or her separation from Ky I don’t know, but you can certainly see how she’s changed. As a first we also get some chapters from Ky’s view, alternating between him and Cassia. In these he often wistfully experiences flashbacks, letting the reader learn more about his past whilst seeing how it still pertains to his future.

There was very little on the romance side – I mean, there was very little development when they were together. They often thought of their love for each other, true, and it was very cute and sweet, but if you’re looking for lots of kissing and charged tension this isn’t the book for you. There was also some weirdness going in with Indie that had me confused for a while, at first I thought she and Cassia were becoming friends, then maybe that she was going for Ky. It turned out this isn’t the case, although it turns out there may be a love square forming, yes, that’s right, a triangle just didn’t cut it.

As I found with Matched, Condie’s writing is very artistic; with a lyrical beauty that is both elegant and yet sometimes frustrating. In her thought processes Cassia is often very poetic, but sometimes it was slightly irritating when she went on and on about something when a simple sentence’s description would have been fine. She tries to see the beauty and meaning in everything, yet I just wanted to tell her that it isn’t possible: sometimes a rock is just a rock, move on.

Definitely not the best thing I read in 2011 but still perfectly acceptable, this sequel to the highly popular Matched has delivered in some ways and yet lacked in others. If you loved the first book, I would recommend you read Crossed, but if you err on the side of ‘meh’ maybe find something else more suited to your tastes.