Book | Reached by Ally Condie

Reached by Ally Condie
Series: Matched #3
Published By: Penguin
Published On: November 30, 2012
Genre: Dystopian, Romance
Pages: 532
Format: eBook
Rating: 4

After leaving Society to desperately seek The Rising, and each other, Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again. Cassia is assigned undercover in Central city, Ky outside the borders, an airship pilot with Indie. Xander is a medic, with a secret. All too soon, everything shifts again.

Ally Condie’s Matched trilogy comes to a conclusion in the third book of the series, Reached. In Matched we see Cassia matched with both Xander and Ky. In Crossed we follow Cassia’s adventures in her search for Ky and the Rising. Crossed follows the journey of the Rising as they attempt to destroy the Society. After a plague has been introduced into the Society, it is up to the Rising, the only people with a cure, to step in and take over. However, things don’t quite go according to plan.

In general, I really liked this book. I love the details about the Society and the way these people are living. I love the history of both the Rising and the Society itself. These details are what make you realise that a society like that could exist in the future.

I feel for all the characters. I feel the pain and emotion of every one of the characters in Reached. I love all three of the main characters – Cassia, Ky and Xander – and I really enjoyed the introduction of some new characters in Reached, such as Lei, Anna and Oker. Unlike in the second instalment, Crossed, these new additions were developed more, as were those who had been introduced in Crossed, and added to the book. I also have to add, I love Bram!

I loved having the story told from Xander’s point of view. This was always something that I felt had been missing from the first two books so I was so glad to see Xander finally had a voice. I felt that it really added to the story to see things from his point of view as well as Cassia’s and Ky’s.

While much of the medical talk both confused and bored me slightly, the development of the Plague and the problems that arose in regards to it were quite interesting to read. These problems also meant that the story was not at all slow. In fact, I began to wonder what was happening as what appeared to be the main event of the book began very early on.

I was glad to see a lot of the lose ends were tied up in this book. Things that had previously seemed irrelevant in the first two books were proven to be essential to the story. The one disappointment for me, however, was the ending. While most questions had been answered and it appeared as though the ending would round off the trilogy nicely, the ending was abrupt and a little unclear, as if leaving opportunity for another book.

I did thoroughly enjoy Reached, and the trilogy as a whole, but do feel as though the last chapter of the book was missing, as if it needed just that little bit more. However, the last instalment of the trilogy did do a generally good job of answering the questions and ending things relatively nicely.

Book | Crossed by Allie Condie

Crossed by Allie Condie
Series: Matched #2
Published by: Penguin
Published on: November 24, 2011
Genres: Dystopian, Romance
Pages: 367
Format: eBook
Rating: 3

The Society chooses everything. The books you read. The music you listen to. The person you love. Yet for Cassia the rules have changed. Ky has been taken and she will sacrifice everything to find him. And when Cassia discovers Ky has escaped to the wild frontiers beyond the Society there is hope. But on the edge of society nothing is as it seems... A rebellion is rising. And a tangled web of lies and double-crosses could destroy everything.



Ally Condie’s Crossed is the second book in the Matched Trilogy. The trilogy features the main character, Cassia, who lives in a society in which teenagers are provided with their perfect match based on data gathered by the society. After her Match Banquet, Cassia discovers she has been matched to two people, Xander and Ky.

In the second book in the trilogy, Cassia leaves the comfort of her normal life and family in search of Ky. It follows her journey through work camps, deserts and canyons on her search for Ky and for the Rising.

Although not as good as the first book, Crossed is still an enjoyable read. However, it is missing a lot of the things I enjoyed about Matched. I found the details about the society, and their control over everyday life, very interesting when reading the first book. These details are very few in the second book as Cassia is no longer in her hometown and controlled by the society to the same extent. Even with the lack of these details, the story itself was quite good and I did enjoy the book in general.

I found in the first book that the characters were developed well and it was not difficult, at least for me, to connect with the characters. I didn’t feel as though the characters were developed quite as well in this book and I did not find myself establishing any connection with the new characters introduced. 

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the ending of the book. I know the book is part of a trilogy but I really hate when a book ends very abruptly. I understand that the idea is to end the book on a cliff-hanger to make the reader want to read the next book in the series, but I feel that this was done badly, just as it was in the first book. On finishing a book, I expect to be left wanting more. Instead, it ended so abruptly that I felt as though the last part of the book was missing.

Overall, I did enjoy the book and will be reading the third book in the trilogy. It does not live up to the standard of Matched but I would recommend reading it if you have read the first book.

(PS Another old review, the better ones will come)

Book | Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Series: The Hunger Games #2
Published By: Scholastic
Published On: September 1, 2009
Genres: Adventure, Dystopian
Pages: 391
Format: eBook
Rating: 5

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.  Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.


My favourite book of the much loved Hunger Games series, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is the second instalment in the series. Catching Fire begins around six months after the end of the 74th Annual Hunger Games as Katniss prepares for the Victory Tour in which the victor of the previous Hunger Games visits each District as a reminder of the games. It follows the journey through the Victory Tour, the threat of rebellion in the Districts and the 75th Annual Hunger Games, which takes the form of a Quarter Quell.

With so much happening in this book, you would expect it to be very confusing and quite predictable. However, it is neither of these things. The way in which the book is written makes it easy to follow, even with so much going on, and all of the happenings are cleverly linked together so all seem relevant to the story. There are also several plot twists, which often left me shocked, leaving little predictability. The love triangle storyline is still featured in the second book, which is another enjoyable, well written addition.

The characters are, as in the first book, very well written. The various events within the book are written about in a way that makes you build a connection with each character and feel for them when in distress. The relationships between the characters are also well written and well developed.

As someone who is usually disappointed by the ending of books, I was glad not to be. The ending was unpredictable and so left me quite shocked. It also ended things on a bit of a cliff-hanger, to encourage the reader to read the final book in the series, but not in a confusing or abrupt way.

Overall, I really love this book. Like I mentioned, this is my favourite of the Hunger Games Trilogy and one of few books I have read more than once.

(PS This is an old review that I thought I would use anyway, they will get better!)