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Reached by Ally Condie (audio)

December 7, 2016 by

Source: Public Library
Audio, 11 CDs
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**If you missed my first review, this one could contain spoilers for Matched or the second review for Crossed.**

Reached by Ally Condie, narrated by Kate Simses, Jack Riccobono, and Matt Burns, reveals so many things that were forgotten by the characters or that other characters they meet along the way reveal to them. The backstory is here in the third book about the Society and the Rising, and all of the factions that are outside the two main struggling societies. Cassia continues to find her way through the darkness with Ky (who may not always be at her side), and Xander faces his own struggles as the plague ravages the population, even those inoculated with the vaccine provided by the Rising.

As a medic, he sees the stillness take hold of his friends and colleagues and the fear in their eyes. He is dutiful and eager to follow those he believes in. Cassia wants to find an end to the suffering; she’s looking for a way to inoculate the Society and the Rising with beauty. She finds it in the Gallery where people come to share their art and poems and songs. Like many things in these controlled societies, the beauty and originality is snuffed out. Ky, on the other hand, still tries to stay below the radar. The only one he believes in is Cassia.

This triangle of characters and their love for one another — though different for all of them — is heartening as they tackle the nearly impossible with only their faith in each other to guide them. Although there are moments of repetition when Cassia begins to regain some of her memories long after she was forced to take a red pill to forget, it is in line with the world Condie has created. The narrators are well matched with their characters, though Xander’s point of view is less robotic in this book compared to the last. The dialogue for him as improved.

Reached by Ally Condie, narrated by Kate Simses, Jack Riccobono, and Matt Burns, is a series of books that requires patience with the world and tension building. Readers will be satisfied with its conclusion as these societies tackle a mutated plague together and come out the other side eager to rebuild and collaborate with one another (even if only tentatively).

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

Ally Condie is a former high school English teacher who lives with her husband, three sons and one daughter outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, running, eating, and listening to her husband play guitar.

Filed Under: audiobooks, borrowed copy, fiction, Penguin, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2016, reviews, young adult fiction Tagged With: , ,

Crossed by Ally Condie (audio)

December 1, 2016 by

Source: Public Library
Audio; 8 CDs
I am an Amazon Affiliate

**If you missed my first review, this one could contain spoilers for Matched.**

Crossed by Ally Condie, narrated by Kate Simses and Jack Riccobono, is the second book in the series and is told from alternating points of view. Cassia is on a mission to find Ky after he was taken from her home province. Their story has been star-crossed since the beginning, and she is confident that her choice to find him in the outer provinces is the best one for her. While she still loves her best friend and match, Xander, she does not believe she can live without Ky. Although this is a story of young love, Condie has created an intricate society in which everything is controlled from the 100 poems the society has kept to the loss of writing letters. In this controlled experiment, these children are told the rules and how to be from the moment they enter school.

Because people are given options that make it appear as though they have choices, many do not question the rules of the society, but a rebellion has been brewing in the background since the 100 poems to be kept were chosen. As readers are shown more and more of the society and layers are pulled back, they will have more questions. Cassia is just beginning to see the world through new eyes whereas Ky has seen a little too much of its dark side. She pushes to know more, and he wants to hold back and just be.

The different points of view helped flesh this out more for me, as Ky has knowledge that the cloistered Cassia does not. The use of poetry by Condie is intricate and adds to the mystery, but when will we meet the pilot or know what is really going on? Crossed by Ally Condie, narrated by Kate Simses and Jack Riccobono, is a satisfying second book, but it seems like both the first and second book are building and building the societal tension for book three, Reached. The advantages in this book are a little more knowledge and a little more freedom for the characters and the introduction of new characters.

RATING: Tercet

About the Author:

Ally Condie is a former high school English teacher who lives with her husband, three sons and one daughter outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, running, eating, and listening to her husband play guitar.

Filed Under: audiobooks, borrowed copy, fiction, Penguin, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2016, reviews, young adult fiction Tagged With: , ,

Matched by Ally Condie (audio)

November 15, 2016 by

Source: Public Library
Audiobook, 8 CDs
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Matched by Ally Condie, narrated by Kate Simses, is set into a future where many of the choices of the society are manipulated or made for its residents. On the date of her matching — a process through which her mate is chosen — Cassia gets a glimpse of another future, another choice. Xander, her childhood friend who lives in her neighborhood, is her match, something that doesn’t happen that often. But her interactions with another boy, Ky, in the neighborhood, lead her to question more than just the matching system.

Although aberrations in the perfect system have created a sense of unease for Cassia, part of her still wants to believe that they system does things for good, at least the good of society. Her hikes with Ky, however, reveal that not all of the society’s decisions are for the best and not even done with the best intentions. Her inner struggle is exacerbated by the words her grandfather said to her before his passing and the advice he had given her in the past. Condie has created a world that is believable, but it seems like there is too much that is not reveals about this society and its past. Everything is kept very close to the officials’ vests, and readers are likely to see that it is for very good reason in subsequent books (or so I suspect).

Simses is an excellent narrator for a young girl who is torn between the way she knew things to be and the way she sees they could be. Her narration of the male characters are well done, too. Matched by Ally Condie, is a quick listen on audio and even though readers know Cassia is about to commit an infraction she cannot come back from, not too much happens in the book.

RATING: Tercet

About the Author:

Ally Condie is a former high school English teacher who lives with her husband, three sons and one daughter outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, running, eating, and listening to her husband play guitar.

Filed Under: audiobooks, borrowed copy, challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, Penguin, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2016, reviews, young adult fiction Tagged With: , , ,