Crossed by Ally Condie

Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie ☆☆☆☆

When I started the book it immediately took me off guard. It was an alternating narrative between Cassia and Ky, and I had to go back to the first book to see if I potentially forgot that the first book was that way. It was not. It was a little weird to suddenly jump into an alternating narrative without any forewarning. That being said, it was also definitely interesting. Seeing inside Ky's mind was a nice twist. The only downside was that often the narratives were very close to being the same and it dragged the story line a little.

Overall, I liked the book. The first book I had problems with the first half of the book, but quickly fell in love with the characters and the half way point and couldn't put it down. With this one, I had the desire to read it and finish reading it, but I didn't feel excited enough through the process. That's where it lost a star for me. I liked it, I'm still going to finish the series as the next book comes out, but I didn't love it.

In my review of the first book, Matched, I shared my favorite quote from the book, so it's only fitting that I do the same for this book. And so, my favorite quote from the book, the only one I highlighted: "I don't fool myself that I hold her together--she does that on her own--but holding her keeps me from flying apart."

Matched by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie ☆☆☆☆

This is going to be a complicated review. Mainly because I have to admit that I expected to give this book only two stars. It sat on my "currently reading" forever. Part of it was because of assignments at school. But I told myself that during spring break I would finish it. I did of course and that's why I'm writing this now. But it was more than school that kept me from reading it. Through spring break I was dragging through it too. And I realized in ranting to my mom just how much I was hating this book.

Why? Because nothing was explained. Sure I knew it was a dystopian society, but I wanted to know how it got that way. She says that a committee made a lot of the changes like narrowing it down to 100 poems and 100 songs and destroying the rest, etc. But what was the trigger? How did things get the names they now have? And especially what happened to the space bar? That doesn't make sense until you read it. There are plainclothes, greenspace, newroses, etc. You eventually learn that plainclothes are kinda like scrubs, but everyone wears them as the rule of conformity, greenspace is grass, newroses are a new hybrid rose, and so on. And yet I don't understand.

So this confusion and questioning goes on for over the first half of the book. So towards the end of spring break I finally hit just past the halfway point, in which I planned to only read two chapters and suddenly I couldn't stop. I got caught in the drama, couldn't catch my breath, and I wanted to be in their lives and not leave their story. I fell in love and instead of dreading the sequel I am now anticipating it. And thus, the story went from two stars to four.

In conclusion I want to share my favorite quote from the book:
"Every moment you spend with someone gives them a part of your life and takes part of theirs."