The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.
My Thoughts:
I'll be honest, I only picked up this series because I loved the cover art. It's beautiful. And then I thought the idea for this series was fantastic. What once used to be the USA is now ruled by a society where everyone is told exactly what they're supposed to do. All marriages are arranged. All jobs are decided by aptitude tests. Everything is done for you. Except what happens when one decides to choose for herself?
So, premise: Super exciting! Execution: Meh.
I wasn't particularly taken with Condie's writing style. I understood and felt empathy for all the characters and what they were going through but I didn't necessarily connect with any of them. And, to be honest, I felt really bad for Ky since the only reason Cassia noticed him at all was because his face flashed on her matching screen. Poor guy. Xander, too. Cassia never saw Xander as a romantic possibility until they were matched. Sad. Then, for some reason, Cassia feels like she's in love with both of these guys and throws the word around all over the place.
Anyway, here are my original thoughts about each book in this series:
Matched (3/5 acorns)
Another dystopian love triangle. Entertaining but I feel like the genre is getting played out a bit. That being said, I liked the characters. I liked the subtlety with which this author unfolded the story. I think I would like to read something else by this author that isn't dystopian-love-triangle-ish. I was also kind of irritated that it ended without a real ending. I realize it is a series but I prefer each book in a series to feel like it has a definite beginning and end. Cliffhangers tend to annoy me more than entice me.
Crossed (2/5 acorns)
I don't know what to say about this book. It's about on par, in terms of quality of writing, with the first book. Which, to be honest, isn't the highest quality of writing. But it's fun. An easy, entertaining read. Although this book wasn't really fun. It was mostly slow. Kind of depressing. The story waffled about. And it was a bit too emotional. People in this book throw around the "L" word a little too freely. I've gotta know someone really well and for a really long time before I'll admit to anyone, especially myself, that I love them. So, in short, it annoys me immeasurably when teenagers find themselves madly in love after being together for an incredibly short amount of time. That might be my biggest issue with this book. That, and Cassia says she's in love with two guys and explores her feelings a lot. I'm not really into that. Oh, and maybe there's the beginning of another love triangle? Annoying.
Reached (1/5 acorns)
I couldn't finish it. There were too many words. This book needed another few edits before being released. I skipped to the end and read the last two chapters after reading the first half of the book. I don't feel that I missed much. I was mostly just bored while reading this. And I got really annoyed by the love pentangle-thing going on. And just the use of the word "love" that people in this book throw around so lightly was infuriating.
So as awesome as this series could have been, the way it played out earned a solid "meh" from me. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it but if you're looking for a clean, dystopian read you might like it. Others have. Not me, but others.
Language: None
Sexual Content: Mild
Violence: Moderate
Drugs/Alcohol: Mild (other than the society-mandated pills they have to take there's not much of anything)
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