“The eye sees not itself”: Crossed by Ally Condie

***SPOILER ALERT***
***Do not read if you have not read Matched!
Turn around and walk away!***

Just the Facts:

Overall Rating: 3 stars

Addiction Level: I read it every waking moment.

Believe-ability: The setting was believable.

Dystopia Factor: The world has been turned upside down, and all hope is lost.

~~~

I have waited over a year to finally read Crossed, and I find myself somewhat disappointed with it. I am having a hard time pinpointing my disappointment.

Matched ends with Cassia choosing Ky over Xander, her Match, and she is sent to a work camp to correct her behavior. She is determined to escape from Society and find Ky. This means giving up her “perfect life” in favor of pursuing her true love.

Crossed opens with Cassia waiting for her new work camp assignment, while Ky is on the frontline of the war against the Enemy watching the young boys around him die. Both Cassia and Ky escape from their situations with companions in tow hoping to find freedom, life, and each other.

Crossed is told in alternating points of view between Cassia and Ky. I am not a huge fan of alternating points of view, because it can create either a greater understanding of the story or confuse the heck out of readers. Before Cassia and Ky find each other, the alternating perspectives mostly work giving the reader additional insight. Once they find it each other, it becomes a frantic juggle to keep track of who’s telling the story and what their M.O. is. Personally I do not think enough character or plot development is gained by the two perspectives in this story to warrant it. Condie had me reading greedily with just Cassia’s point of view in Matched and confused with both Cassia and Ky’s points of view in Crossed.

I enjoyed Cassia’s search for Ky, because it seemed so pure. Her mission was simple: Find Ky. Yet, she does not know who she was really searching for. She was searching for the idea of her true love and found answers to several nagging questions.

I do not like Ky; I do not think he is worthy of Cassia’s love. Perhaps it is because I feel like he is holding out. Cassia, nor Ky, can see Ky. Indie, a new character in Crossed, on the other hand can see through his façade. At the end I know who he is somewhat, but I do not like him.

As Matched ended with the hint of The Hunger Games, I was eager to see the direction the rebellion would take. After reading Crossed I am not sure the Rising is any better than the Society itself. Both are very structured and regulated. In The Hunger Games I had higher hopes for District 13 than they lived up to. I am not sure what to expect of the Rising or the Society in book three.

My hopes and predictions are:

· Cassia chooses Xander or to be single.

· The Rising successfully infiltrates the Society and abolishes the totalitarian government.

· Condie chooses to tell the story in one point of view.

· Redeemed should be considered as the title.