Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Book Review and Giveaway: Crossed by Ally Condie

Assigned to a work camp, Cassia has only one thing on her mind: getting to the outer provinces to look for Ky. Meanwhile, Ky is trying his best to survive as a decoy villager at the edge of the Society’s reach, knowing he’ll probably never see Cassia again.

Much more so than in MATCHED, the first book in Ally Condie’s trilogy (read my review), CROSSED hinges on your belief in Cassia and Ky’s deep bond and love for each other. Without that belief, you may be in for a long slog here.

Not that the novel doesn’t offer up something other than Cassia longing for Ky and Ky longing for Cassia – there’s more information on how the society operates, some cool reveals concerning the aberrations, and of course Xander’s big secret – but there is an abundance of it.

Vick and Indie, as new sidekicks for Ky and Cassia respectively, were fascinating in their own rights but also served to nudge the two leads out of their introspective shells - something the book could've used more of.

CROSSED will most appeal to Team Ky fans (he even gets chapters from his point of view). Probably my favorite part was the setting. Deep canyons and landscape that reminded me of the James Franco movie 127 Hours (without the arm amputation).

Series order:



MATCHED – out now
CROSSED – coming November 1, 2011
BOOK 3 – set for Fall 2012

Find out more about the series at the author’s website.

Zombie chickens say: Can't live up to the mega hype, but worth reading for fans of the series.

Song for the Ultimate Dystopian Playlist: Funeral by Band of Horses. Sample lyric: “To the outside, the dead leaves they all blow. Before they died, they had trees to hang to their hope.”

GIVEAWAY: I have 5 CROSSED prize packs up for grabs. Each set includes an ARC of CROSSED and well as a brander poster and buttons. Since the publisher is sponsoring, entries are limited to US and Canadian residents. Enter by Sept 3, 2011 at 11:59 pm CST via this form.

See index of dystopian reviews on Presenting Lenore

23 comments:

Smash Attack Ash said...

Well, that stinks it doesn't live up to Matched, but glad it's still a goodie. Thanks for hosting!

Maidenveil said...

Team Ky!!! Can't wait for this book. Fell in-love with Matched. :)

Trisha Wolfe said...

Thanks for hosting this awesome giveaway! MATCHED is one of my favorite Dystopians. Can't wait!

Amanda said...

Interesting thoughts. Yeah, it can be tough to live up to the hype, or follow on the heels of a good book. Thanks for hosting.

Leanna Elle said...

Hmmm...I think I may be in for a long slog here. Matched was just an OK read for me, and this one doesn't really sound like anything special. Maybe I'm just being too picky as usual!

Amanda @Stuck In YA Books said...

Great Review ,I can't wait to read this book!!

Alyce said...

I really liked Matched and have been itching to get my hands on Crossed. :)

Zibilee said...

I have Matched and haven't gotten the chance to read it yet, but it sounds like I would probably like the first book a little better than the second. I am not a huge fan of the long and drawn out teen love affair, but if there is more in there to whet my appetite this one may be a good read for me.

Litza said...

I'd love to give Crossed a shot. Thanks for the giveaway! :)

Emy Shin said...

I really liked MATCHED, so I'm looking forward to CROSSED -- although I'll temper my expectations a bit. :)

Melissas Eclectic Bookshelf said...

Shame it desn't live up to the 1st in the series....still sounds pretty good though!

♥ Melissa @ Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf

Unknown said...

I haven't read Matched yet (it's been sitting on my shelf for a while), so I hope your review didn't spoil too much of the first book. :) Thanks for the giveaway - once I eventually get to Matched, I'll want to read the sequel, too.

Jules said...

I have still to read Matched but it is slowly working it's way up my TBR pile!

bermudaonion said...

It sounds like it's setting things up for another book.

Jessy said...

I am a Ky fan, so I can't wait to read from his perspective. Thanks for the giveaway!

Mary @ BookSwarm said...

I have such a hard time when a book is mega-hyped (just plain old hyped is cool but mega just OD's me!) and I felt that way about Matched. Still, I liked it and want to know what happens! Sounds good -- looking forward to reading it.
Mary @ BookSwarm

Lauren said...

I loved the first one. Can't wait for Crossed!

candice (thecrjreviews) said...

I absolutely loved Matched, despite some of the bad reviews I had seen. The one thing that was missing in Matched was a more detailed world, but it sounds like Crossed delivers. Yeah! Can't wait to read the two new sidekicks, too!

kristina shields said...

so cool! awesome giveaway!

spicedice45@gmail.com

Sara @ Forever 17 Books said...

Thank you for the review and what an amazing giveaway!! :)

danya said...

I'm looking forward to continuing Cassia's story in Crossed - thanks for the giveaway! :)

Michelle said...

Yikes....that's all I can say on this one. So not for me.

Anonymous said...

Well I'm a Ky fan, but still I think this book was awesome. It was more of a set up for the last book but I couldn't put it down. Every minute I kept thinking they were going to get caught. I loved both books. But I agree it wasn't as awesome as the first but I think that is mainly because of the fact that Crossed is more of a set up for the third book.