About the Book
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Author:
- Ally Condie
Cover Story: Smash the Society
BFF Charm: Destiny’s Child x2
Talky Talk: Consistently Condie
Bonus Factors: Faith, Art, Friendship
Anti-Bonus Factor: Genocide
Relationship Status: Traveling Companion
Cover Story: Smash the Society
If the first cover showed Cassia trapped in a bubble of privileged ignorance, the second cover shows her fighting her way out. The blue background recalls the blue pill, which is for survival (but is it really?). Condie put a lot of thought and care into her symbolism, and the covers reflect that.
The Deal:
Matched ended with protagonist Cassia Reyes resolving to find Ky Markham, her forbidden love, who had been forced to join the army. Crossed begins with Cassia in a labor camp and Ky training in the Outer Provinces, where the situation is even worse than they thought: people whom the Society labeled “Aberrations” are being used as unarmed decoys to draw enemy fire. If Cassia and Ky are ever to see each other again, they’ll have to survive the Carving (the Grand Canyon), a harsh and mysterious landscape where nothing is what it seems.
BFF Charm: Destiny’s Child x 2
Co-narrators Cassia and Ky are both survivors in different ways. While she is a sheltered young woman learning to cope with the realities of war, death and oppression, he is all too familiar with those and needs something beyond them to believe in. They both grow a lot during this book, and (as long as I don’t have to hike, run, climb, eat cacti, get shot at, go whitewater rafting or crawl through tunnels), I’d be proud to be their friend.
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
My younger self would have scored them much higher, but today I admit they make a better couple on opposite sides of the canyon. While Cassia is searching for Ky and vice versa, their love drives them on to (literally) greater heights, and they leave signs for each other so subtle that their friends don’t even notice. But when they’re together, it becomes obvious that they want different things out of life. Also, Ky’s jealousy leads him to take a very questionable action to limit Cassia’s choices. Turns out that chaperoned hiking lessons and smuggled poetry aren’t enough to get to know someone.
Talky Talk: Consistently Condie
Condie’s minimalist, poetic style is perfect for two people growing up in a world that limits creativity and empathy, and are slowly discovering it for themselves. Here is Cassia trying to interpret an Emily Dickinson quote carved into a child’s gravestone:
“SUDDENLY ACROSS THE JUNE A WIND WITH FINGERS GOES
I reach for Ky’s hand and hold on as tight as I can. So that the cold wind around us won’t try to steal him from me with its greedy fingers, its hands that take things from times that should be spring.”
Bonus Factor: Faith
Religion has been abolished in the Society, but these characters still long for something to believe in. What they find are legends of a rebel leader known as the Pilot, who takes on the sorrows of the world and carries them away. Cassia associates the Pilot with her deceased grandfather, whom she sees in dreams watching over her. Even Ky, who believes in nothing except Cassia (and even there, he has his doubts), recites Alfred Tennyson’s poem “Crossing the Bar” – “I hope to see my Pilot face to face” – as a prayer for the dead. Whether the legends are true is beside the point; their faith keeps them going even when it feels like there’s nothing else left.
Bonus Factor: Art
Creative expression takes many forms in this book. Cassia dreams of writing poetry, but struggles to get past the first line (I can relate). Ky mourns for his family by remembering the ephemeral beauty of their stories and drawings. Cassia and her friend Indie bond over the difference between viewing art on a screen and holding it in your hands. In the Carving, they see for the first time what a community looks like without censorship, and it’s awesome.
Bonus Factor: Friendship
I came for the love triangle, but stayed for the friendships. Cassia travels with Indie – expert travel guide, shameless thief and secret romantic – who is still one of my favorite characters. Ky travels with Eli, a curious little boy who reminds him of his own childhood, and Vick, a jaded fellow soldier who ironically sees more in Ky than Ky sees in himself.
Anti-Bonus Factor: Genocide
The Society’s systematic murder of “Aberrations” and “Anomalies” is terrifying to read about. What I love about this series is how the characters respond with compassion, even when it feels futile: saving a few when they can’t save everyone, and remembering when it would be easier to forget.
Relationship Status: Traveling Companion
This book and its siblings have literally traveled with me for more than a decade. They’re a little worn at the edges, but I wouldn’t give them up.
Literary Matchmaking
Go back to where the story began with Condie’s Matched.
Read Cecelia Ahern’s Flawed if you’d like to see another instance of perfectionism gone wrong.
Condie’s The Only Girl in Town: Same author, same style, brand-new genre.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received no compensation for this review. Crossed is available now.
I’m so curious why this review is coming out now, all these years later! It’s cool, and I’d be interested in seeing more reviews of throwbacks, but I wonder what inspired it.
I just felt like reading them again, and had time and energy to spare.
Any particular “throwbacks” you’d like to see reviewed?