The highly anticipated second book in the Matched trilogy!
Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky--taken by Society to his certain death--only to find that he has escaped into the majestic, but treacherous, canyons. On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life . . . and the enthralling promise of rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices everything to reunite with Ky, ingenious surproses from Xander may change the game. On the edge of Society, nothing is as expected, and crosses and double crosses make Cassia's path more twisted than ever.
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based on 643 reviews
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Average Customer Review:
( 643 customer reviews )
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163 of 176 found the following review helpful:
A stronger novel than MatchedNov 01, 2011
By Susan Tunis At the risk of unpopularity, I will admit that I was not a huge fan of Matched. It was okay, but my expectations were Hunger Games high, and the book didn't meet them. There was very little tension about the eventual choice that Cassia would make, and yet I really didn't understand her decision.
That said, I thought Crossed was a far stronger novel. In it, Cassia has determined to risk everything in order to find Ky. The story is told in chapters alternating between their two viewpoints, and Crossed is far more action-packed and fast-paced than Matched was. Cassia and Ky are both challenged in ways they have not been previously, and we learn more of who they are as they rise (or fail to rise) to these challenges. Several of the characters from the first novel are off-stage in this one, but new characters are introduced. Unlikely alliances are made. Stakes are raised. Cassia and Ky are growing up fast, and their relationship is both maturing and tested in this book. And while this volume focuses primarily on Cassia and Ky, don't write off Xander. He is still very much a part of the story. I expect we'll see a lot more of him soon.
I was somewhat ambivalent about continuing on to this second book, but I am now looking forward to the conclusion of this trilogy. Condie has done a good job setting up the endgame. With luck, the third will be the best yet.
20 of 23 found the following review helpful:
Phoning It InApr 05, 2012
By Blair I've never been so disappointed in a sequel. I thought the first one was nice and fluffy YA entertainment. I'd enjoyed the concept and the world Condy was building. Then we get to Crossed: Cassia and Ky wander around SO IN LOVE and reciting poetry. Nothing happens. You find out more about a few characters' pasts without seeing any development. It's like Condy had enough material for 2 books but the publishers wanted to squeeze out three, and Crossed resulted. It's too bad, bc Im no longer interested in the third. I'm truly shocked there are any positive reviews on here at all. Some books are so bad that they're good, or at least entertaining. This is just bad.
14 of 16 found the following review helpful:
Two deadly sins: Confusing AND boringJan 28, 2012
By J. Tsao Where do I start?
This book's most egregious sin is that it is absolutely BORING. Nothing happens in the entire book. Nothing of consequence is revealed. The entire book could have been summarized into one chapter or less.
The other huge problem I had with this book is the switching between two narrators. Normally, this technique does not bother me, but Ms. Condie writes both Ky and Cassia in exactly the same voice. I mean - EXACTLY. Because of this, I constantly lost track of who the narrator was and had to flip back and forth.
The story left me both bored and confused. One is bad - both together are horrible.
Also, if you plan to read this book (and you probably shouldn't), you should go back and reread Matched immediately before. I read Matched when it was first released and Crossed is not written in a way that it reminds the reader what happened in Matched. In fact, there were some things that were mentioned 3/4 of the way in (e.g. Cassia being an excellent sorter) that I had forgotten about and would have been useful to have been reminded of earlier in the book.
20 of 25 found the following review helpful:
Had high expectations, but a real let downMar 30, 2012
By Gretchen @ My Life is a Notebook WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!
In my review of Matched, I made a mention of the fact that I was "eager" to read Crossed "despite" the reviews I had read. And I was, I really was. The problem? I should have listened when every single one of them said-in one way or another-that nothing happened.
Alright, I'm getting quite snappy and far ahead of myself. I was excited to pick up Crossed, because I thought Matched carried so much promise. Before 100 pages had gone by, however, I was quite disappointed. My first shocker was that the book kept switching back and forth between Ky and Cassia as narrators. Yes, yes, I see that the blurb mentions that, but I didn't read it before I dove right in. I probably should have, but what can I say? The back and forth got quite choppy in places, and as Ky and Cassia met up again it got fairly bulky. Some of those chapters seemed like they were just thrown in so that a chapter break could be had in between (mostly) Cassia's viewpoint.
My second problem was the apparent ADD the book had developed. Now, I don't mind flashbacks when they're done properly but this...wasn't it. Both Cassia and Ky were jumping in and out of the past and present with almost no warning, leaving my jolted out of the writing and thoroughly confused. This was heavily prevalent in the front of the book, disappeared in the middle and showed up once or twice again in the end. It was a very, very messy use of flashbacks that left me rather annoyed.
The thing about Crossed is that it really wasn't a book. Sure, there was a vague plotline taking place, but if I was being kind I'd call it filler in between Matched and the final and yet untitled third book. It was barely even that. Reading Crossed felt like reading Condie's character sketches and paragraphs of her own personal delve into her world's background. There was more discussing of Ky's past, Cassia's inner feelings and a whole lot of dark poeticism on love, life and philosophy.
*SPOILERS BELOW*
By the time any real plot developments occurring, I was already quite done with the book. I skipped through most of the middle and missed nothing. The only reason I started reading again was because Cassia and Ky found each other and I'm a sucker for romance. When it did occur, however, it felt...trite and forced. For instance, Ky's whole issue with going with Cassia to the Rising. He goes on and on for chapters about how he can't go with her, but then when they finally decide to go there is no question that he's going with her. As if there ever was. Xander's "big secret" as being a member of the Rising felt contrived so that the love triangle would remain viable. And of course, that end. THAT END. No, no, no, no. At least make it somehow believable. All this fighting and nearly dying and death and self discovery to get back together and Cassia ends up being sent back into Society by the Rising where she SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED because she ought to have been RECLASSIFIED as was mentioned several times throughout the story. None of it made sense and none of it felt right.
*END SPOILERS*
Overall, Crossed was a huge disappointment. I really, really wanted to like this book, but it just defeated my attempts at every turn. If you really do want to hold on to this series, I don't recommend reading this one unless you are deeply in love with Cassia and Ky's romance and think learning all about Society's history, Cassia's inner thoughts and Ky's past is awesome and can overlook that it isn't presented well. Personally, I wish I'd just read a summary and kept waiting for the finale. Though I am still vaguely curious about how the last book will go, I now feel that Condie's storyline is far too predictable to keep me on my toes, so whether or not I actually read the final book will depend on my whim and the money in my bookstore stash. It certainly won't be a must-get for me.
17 of 22 found the following review helpful:
Well, that was a whole lot of nothin'Nov 17, 2011
By Mary E. Tilley
"Legs for days"
I think the title of my review says it all. I was eagerly anticipating this book and started reading it as soon as it appeared on my Kindle. What a disappointment. When I say nothing happens, I LITERALLY mean nothing happens. There is no plot advancement and the ending does not leave me wanting more. In any way! They just walked around in the outer provinces for a few weeks talking about "the rising."
I was totally bored. But of course I will probably read the next installment just because I've come this far and might as well finish the darn thing...
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