Crossed by Ally Condie

Title: Crossed (Matched #2)

Author: Ally Condie

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Release Date: November 1, 2011

Source: Gift

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

When I read Matched in 2010, I found myself to have been surprised by the book. By the end, I was really looking forward to the sequel. Crossed turned out to be just as good as the first book, if not even better, and it was a book that I had trouble putting down.

Cassia is slowly breaking out of the bonds of society, when she is thrust in a world where the rules have completely changed. Now on her way to the Outer Provinces in the hoped of finding Ky, Cassia discovers that doing so may be more difficult than she originally thought it would be. But things for Ky are not so easy either. Forced to run for his life on an almost daily basis, Ky and two other boys manage to escape the authorities but survival when on the run isn't easy. And soon enough Cassia also finds herself on the run. But she can't seem to catch up with Ky. And every step of the way, there seems to be something or someone trying to get between Cassia and Ky.

While I had enjoyed it, one of my main issues with Matched was that it took a while for the action to get going. This definitely wasn't the case with Crossed. Right from the beginning there was some action going on and it didn't let up until the end. The whole way thought, there was something happening. One thing I really liked about Crossed were the alternating points of view between Cassia and Ky. It was refreshing to be able to see the story through a new set of eyes. While I had liked seeing things from Cassia's point of view in the first book, also having Ky's point of view this time around really added to the story. And once again, the ending that Ally Condie wrote for Crossed has me looking forward to more to come in the final book. 

I had said in my review of Matched that characters like Cassia are one of the reasons why I like dystopian novels so much. I can gladly say that this is still true after having read Crossed. Watching Cassia continue to grow and come into her own was something I really enjoyed throughout the book. Though sometimes I questioned some of the decisions she made, I liked seeing her learn from those decisions and grow some more. One character I really enjoyed was Ky. I really liked him in Matched, and I loved finding out more of his story in Crossed. Being able to find out more about his past definitely helped me understand him a lot better. The one character I wish I could have seen more of is Xander, but I am told that will happen in the final book.

Crossed by Ally Condie was a fantastic sequel to Matched. I was happy to be reunited with characters that I had grown to love and follow their stories some more. I can't wait to see how it will all come together in Reached, the final book in the trilogy.