Parents' Guide to

Crossed: Matched, Book 2

By Darienne Stewart, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Dark, unsettling second installment in dystopian saga.

Book Ally Condie Science Fiction 2011
Crossed: Matched, Book 2 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 13+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Elarinya L.
Elarinya L. Adult
August 28, 2016
age 13+
This second book has the action some of my students were asking about when they considered reading the first book. Now that the characters have ventured out of the society's picture perfect world they are facing violent attacks, starvation, thirst, the elements, and lots of fear. There is still not much sex going on - just kissing and Cassia and Ky disappear for a bit, but I did not feel it was implied very strongly that they slept together. It seemed more like they left to spend some time together and make out. Either way, everything happened off page. For mature students who handled the violence in the Hunger Games or Maze Runner, this is another book to encourage reading and discussion about totalitarian governments and the role of the individual in society.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
1 person found this helpful.
Icestar2008
Icestar2008 Adult
May 4, 2023
age 13+
The first book was good. Ok, so maybe it wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read, but honestly? I liked it. I didn’t love it, but I liked it enough to continue with the series. (Plus, I have a horrible habit of not being able to not finish a series even if I hate it, so yeah) But Crossed… oh. My. Gosh. In Matched, I liked Cassia because she was a sensitive heroine who was also strong. But in Crossed she turned from sensitive and smart to sappy and lovesick. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE romance when it’s done well. But… I just don’t feel any connection between Ky and Cassia. Okay, to demonstrate my point, picture this. Ky Ky Ky oh my gosh I love Ky I LOVE KY he’s so amazing he’s the heaven and earth and stars to me Ky Ky Ky Ky Ky…. Gets annoying, doesn’t it? Now picture that times ten. It’s awful. By the end of the book I hated Cassia. I’m not kidding, on some pages she mentions him four to five times. It’s honestly rarer to find a page where she doesn’t talk about him than to find one where she’s gushing about all of his attributes. And Ky is barely better. Whenever they were having their little kissy moments I wanted to throw the book across the room. I seriously considered doing so about twenty five times. And the ending might win the prize for Most Rushed/Anticlimactic Ending in History. The entire book is spent trying to get to the Rising and about five pages are spent describing how they actually got there. The pacing is off, the romance is cringe-worthy, and Cassia is one of my least favorite dystopian heroines in history. But. I LOVE Ally Condie’s writing style. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. And I loved Indie. I seriously could have a book just about Indie and be totally happy. And I really liked Eli and Xander too. And Ky wasn’t terrible. It’s definitely a thought-provoking series, and I also really like that. So I didn’t like parts of it, but in the grand scheme of things I did? I’m still honestly not sure how I feel about this series. Would I recommend it? I’ll see where my opinion is after Reached. Would I not recommend it? No, I like it enough to probably recommend it. Again, we’ll see.
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What's the Story?

CROSSED, the second book in the dystopian MATCHED trilogy, finds Cassia in a work camp, far from home, searching for her love, Ky, who is fighting to survive amid the violence in the Outer Provinces and plotting to escape in search of Cassia. Their paths eventually lead them first to parallel canyons and finally to each other, with traveling companions in tow. Amid a backdrop of violence and death, they piece together information about the Rising, the rumored rebellion against the Society. Cassia is eager to find the Rising, but it's the one place Ky feels he can't go. All the while, the absent Xander -- Cassia's Society-chosen betrothed -- is revealed to have a surprising secret of his own.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (30 ):

Told from the alternating viewpoints of Ky and Cassia, this is the journey stage of the saga, and while the getting-there can be plodding, there's much to discover on the way. The tone is very different from the first book, set in the polished, controlled Borough. The action -- and there's a lot of it -- is now in the wild Outer Provinces, where the Society uses its undesirables as cannon fodder. Away from Society oversight, the love story that blossomed in Matched grows thorny: Cassia and Ky had united against the Society's plans for them, but now they grapple with conflicting desires.

Ally Condie continues to write with a poetic voice, returning often to the poems that preface the novel. Yet after all the drama of the journey, the hurried conclusion is emotionally flat. Crossed is unlikely to seduce new readers, but fans will be fascinated by the farmers and their caves stuffed with treasured books, clues to the Society's sinister workings, and Xander's tantalizing secret.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the poems used in the book. What do you think Tennyson was writing about in "Crossing the Bar"? Do you think the Rising views it in the same way, or has it offered a completely new interpretation?

  • The farmers salvage a treasure trove of print materials, from classic works to piles of pamphlets. What works of art would you want to save?

Book Details

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