Showing posts with label Ally Condie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ally Condie. Show all posts

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Review: Crossed, Ally Condie

Publisher: Dutton Books
Pages: 384 (Hardcover)
Genre: YA, dystopian, sci-fi
Release: November 1th 2011
Source: BEA
Good to know: The sequel to Matched. This series is going to be a 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.

Poetical dystopian

I had high expectations for Crossed since I loved Matched so much. I liked this book too, but it did not live up to my expectations.

Cassia finds herself in a whole new place, and she begins to search for Ky. Ky, on the other hand, is doing his best to survive and he manage to find new allies and friends.

Condie has a beautiful writing style and she is one of the best writers in the Ya - universe. Her writing is poetical, with a few words and sentences she is able to say so much. Sometimes I just stop my reading and reflect over something she has written. There are so many great quotes, so many good observations. It is simply a joy to read.

Because in the end you can't always choose what to keep. You can only choose how you let it go.

If you love someone, if someone loved you, if they taught you to write and made it so you could speak, how can you do nothing at all? You might as well tahe their words out of the dirt and try to snatch them from the wind. Because once you love, it is gone. You love and you cannot call it back

Love changes what is probable and makes unlikely things possible.

My biggest problem with this book, is that the story is too slowpaced. It takes too long before there is any real action, and once the book was finished I still had a lot of questions that were not answered. I longed for more. More information about the Society for one.

Loving him gave me wings and all my work has given me the strength to move them.

The narrative in the story shifts between Ky and Cassia. I liked that, since I felt we got to know each of them better. But what surprised me was that I felt a lot more sympathy towards Ky, he is a much more complex and interesting character than Cassia - at least in this book he is.

Even though I felt the story lacked something, I will still recommend the book. The writing style is, in itself, something that should make you read the book. I hope I will get more answers in the third book, because I will read it. I cannot get enough of Condie's prose.




Other reviews:
The Story Siren
Amy Reads
Sash & Em


Visit the Matched trilogy here.


Monday, May 16, 2011

Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Publisher: Mangschou (Norwegian publisher)
Pages: 395
Format: Hardback
Released: April (Norwegian translation)
Source: Review copy












For Cassia, nothing is left to chance--not what she will eat, the job she will have, or the man she will marry. In Matched, the Society Officials have determined optimal outcomes for all aspects of daily life, thereby removing the "burden" of choice. When Cassia's best friend is identified as her ideal marriage Match it confirms her belief that Society knows best, until she plugs in her Match microchip and a different boy’s face flashes on the screen. This improbable mistake sets Cassia on a dangerous path to the unthinkable--rebelling against the predetermined life Society has in store for her. As author Ally Condie’s unique dystopian Society takes chilling measures to maintain the status quo, Matched reminds readers that freedom of choice is precious, and not without sacrifice

Life in a protected bubble

Matched is a great dystopian novel. I could not put this book away.

Imagine a society where all the big choices in life are decided for you by others. A society where officials decide who you are to marry, fall in love with and when you can have a baby. A society that decides what food you are allowed to eat, and also when you die. A place where no one must differ from the right norm, and where every wrong step may lead to terrible concequences. A place where something as private as your dreams is being monitored too. Welcome to Cassia's world.

There have been sometime since George Orwell wrote his famous novel 1984, but the heritage from that novel still lives on today. That is apparent in Condie's bestselling novel. Big Brother is watcing you and officials controls what you get to read and listen to. People are not able to write by hand anymore, everything is conducted on computers.

Cassia have never questioned this way of living, it is the only way of living she knows. She likes living in a world free of dangerous diseases, and is looking forward to the day when she will be matched with the boy she later will marry. Little does Cassia know that the day of the matching will change her life in ways that she never could have imagined. She gets to know Ky Markham more, and soon she starts asking questions about her life and the choices made for her by the officials.

Matched
is a great novel, and I could not put it down. I became fascinated and was horrified by the world the author has created. I felt strongly for all the characters, especially Cassia and Ky.

The writing was good, and Condie is really great at conjuring metaphors and beautiful pictures. I also think she is talented when it comes to character-development. She describes Cassia's relationship to Ky and Xander in a very believeable way.

There is a lot of questions in this book that do not get answered. That didn't bother me, but actually served as an incentive to keep on reading. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series, and can't wait to see what Condie are up to next. A great debut.

Other reviews:
Wondrous Reads
The Infinite Shelf
The website for the series
Matched on Goodreads

Book-trailer :


 
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