Crossed by Ally Condie

Here is my review of Ally Condie's first book, Matched, from two Cannonball Reads ago.

Matched was a fantastic open to the series. I initially read it because it was compared to (Say it with me now!) The Hunger Games. It's a story about a dystopian society, a story about making your own choices instead of letting someone else decide for you. Two kids from different levels of society fall in love over poetry. It's about raging against the dying of the light. Minor spoilers on the ending of Matched ahead. Cassia had been a regular city dweller in Matched. She did all the things she was supposed to, then at her Matching ceremony she saw that second person, just for a second. Ky was her second match, and she chose him. He taught her how to write, and together they read non-sanctioned poetry. Cassia was sent to a work camp at the end of Matched. It was supposed to be as punishment for her rebellious actions, but really her parents want her to have a chance to find Ky.

This time we get chapters from Ky's point of view. We knew that he had been an aberration, one of the lower class, and that he became an aberration because of something his father did. When his cousin died, Ky's aunt and uncle adopted him and took him to the city. He tried as hard as he could to just fit in, to be unremarkable enough to stay off of the Society's radar. It didn't work, and they sent him away to fight the Enemy. They said that he would be gone for a couple of months, then he'd return with full Citizen status. They keep sending more boys, but the boys keep dying off from enemy fire, and from lack of food and water. Cassia's secondary goal is to join up with the Rising, a resistance movement. It becomes a conflict with Ky, whose father had been involved with the Rising. Ky wants nothing to do with them.

The poem in Crossed is Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Crossing the Bar."

For tho' from out out bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar.

Tennyson's poem, not one of the approved 100 poems, is a symbol of the resistance. There are people who are opposing the Society, and they will be gathering under the Pilot. Nobody knows who the Pilot is just yet, but it will probably be one of our kids. Crossed wasn't quite as outstanding as Matched, but I still found the sequel engrossing. It brought up a lot of interesting questions about the Society. I'm hoping that we get some answers in the next book.

Matched by Ally Condie

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Matched opens at Cassia's Matching Ceremony. The Matching Ceremonies take place on the girl's 17th birthday. They get to dress up in a fancy dress instead of regulation clothes and eat fancy food and cake instead of regulation food. Cassia's match ends up defying the odds. Most girls are matched with boys from other cities far away, complete strangers to imagine and dream about. Cassia is matched with Xander, her best friend. She already knows everything about him, but when she watches the data card with his information, she is surprised to see another face on the card. She knows the second face as well.

Ky moved to their city after his parents were killed. Officials tell Cassia that he obviously couldn't be her match. His inclusion must have been a sick joke, because Ky is an aberration. Aberrations are kept separate from regular citizens, not allowed as many job opportunities and definitely not allowed to match. Cassia was friendly with Ky before, but after seeing his face on her data card, she actually takes the time to see him.

They spend time together while hiking as a leisure activity. He teaches her how to write, she teaches him a poem that her grandfather left her before he died. It may not seem like much, but the Officials have long ago whittled all music, books, poems, pretty much everything, into a concentrated selection of everything worth knowing. There's the 100 Songs, 100 Paintings, 100 Poems. Everything else was destroyed. Before Cassia's grandfather died on his 80th birthday, which is the same age everyone dies, he showed her a hidden compartment in her grandmother's compact. The compartment held a paper with two poems, poems that are not included in the 100 poems. One poem was Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night." Cassia starts to relate to that poem. She begins to understand that it might be better for everyone to make their own choices. By the end of the book, there aren't any significant changes, but it's a decent setup for some action in the sequel.

I wanted to read this book because there were so many great comments on the cover, and they compared it to The Hunger Games. Cassia seemed a bit stupid at the beginning, but it was really just a result of following the rules and thinking everything was for the Greater Good. I'm still hoping she gets more of a Katniss Everdeen attitude by the next book. Overall, Matched was a strong book. There were times, especially near the end, when I was incredibly absorbed in the plot. It was a great start, and while I usually loathe when books are part of a series, I must say that I am looking forward to reading more of this book.

Matched comes out November 30. Thanks to Penguin for sending an Advanced Reader Copy to my B&N location.