Book Review: Crossed by Ally Condie

ISBN: 0142421715
Published: November 1st, 2011
Publisher: Dutton Children's
Read from February 22nd to March 24th, 2015
Synopsis from Goodreads:

The long-awaited second book in the dystopian Matched trilogy.
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. 

Review:

This is a review for the second book in the Matched trilogy. I reviewed the first book Matched last year.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Crossed going into it because I had such mixed feelings towards Matched. I had been extremely excited about the concept of that book, but while certain parts of it were fun for me, there were a lot of aspects of the book I didn't like as well. And I was worried this one would get worse instead of better.

Turns out that it kind of got worse. Not significantly worse, but still worse. I didn't like it as much, and since I was pretty much in the exact middle with Matched (three of five stars) that's not that good.

In my review for Matched, I mentioned that Cassia and Ky's relationship was one of the worst part for me because I didn't find it believable. Those exact issues became even bigger to me in this book. I think the author was trying to kind of address some of the things I was thinking back then, but I'm not sure I found it all that convincing. So I still don't believe their relationship all that much, and even if I did, it seems even more bland after this book and isn't that interesting.

Speaking of blandness, the first half of this book was so slow. Part of that could possibly be contributed to how slow I read it (because of school, not the book), but I definitely think the book was a large part of it. Not much is happening. I don't typically feel that whole middle book of a trilogy thing that people talk about, but I felt it with this one.

I don't think I have much else to say, and that's at least partially because I don't feel all that much even happened in this book. I do plan to finish the trilogy at some point, but it probably won't be soon. I'm not as excited to finish it up as a usually would be after a second book. I don't really care enough about the characters or the story to rush for it. Which is really a shame because I really was excited about the idea of this series before I read the first one.