Monday, April 9, 2012

Crossed by Ally Condie

~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.~

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Some of you might remember the review I did for the book Matched by Ally Condie..well this is the sequel to that book! If you haven't read Matched I suggest you do! It is an amazing book..here is the link to my review..http://graciesreviews.blogspot.com/2012/02/matched-by-ally-condie.html..check it out!

My Review: Let me just start out by saying that I love this author and all the books that she writes, So when I found out that she was writing the second book in the Matched series I was ecstatic! Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I didn't love Crossed...cause I did, it was just a little...confusing. Take for example Xander, from the little blurb of him in the beginning I kept waiting for him to show up...and he never did. You have to realize though that from the first moment I read about Xander in Matched I fell head over heels in love with him...so I really just wanted him to be a bigger part in Crossed. 

Crossed was written from the different view points of Cassia and Ky which I loved. I liked being able to see what they were both thinking until Ky turned crazy. He started to turn all bitter and cold--not at all like what he was like in Matched. At the end of the book I was pretty glad about my Xander love affair because I don't think I could ever like Ky anymore--although I know he does love Cassia very much and would do anything for her. 

I loved reading about them in the Outer Providences and all the characters they met there. Croseed definittly reminded me of The Hunger Games, no not the whole death/violence thing, but the terrible/twisted love triangle. Although I am team Xander all the way I seriously doubt that she will end up with him. That's just not the way these books end up. I can't wait until the next book in the series comes out just so I can find out!
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Check out the playlist for Crossed!


1. Empty by Ray LaMontagne
The melancholy and beauty in this song made this the #1 most-listened to song while I was writing CROSSED.

2. A Dustland Fairytale by The Killers
There’s a such a story in this song, and the chorus is unbelievable.

3. Edwin’s Tale–1862 by Peter Breinholt & Big Parade
The perfect song for Ky as he’s out in the decoy villages, and for anyone left behind.

4. Violet Hill by Coldplay
The mention of snow is especially perfect for the book. It’s what I picture playing in the background during Chapter 3.

5. Blue Lips by Regina Spektor
One of the songs I discovered at the very end of editing CROSSED. I especially like the part where she sings about “all the pictures in his mind” because that’s how Ky thinks. And the blue references throughout the song have a lot of resonance for the color blue, which is emphasized in this novel.

6. Doubting Thomas by Nickel Creek
I’ve always thought of this song particularly as Ky’s song, because it’s hard for him to believe sometimes that someone like Cassia could really love him.

7. The Ghost of Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen (the version w/o Tom Morello)
This song has haunted me since it was first released back when I was in high school, and it kept coming back to me as I wrote Ky’s journey during CROSSED.

8. Keep Breathing by Ingrid Michaelson
This song felt like what Cassia would be thinking/singing to herself as she searched for Ky.

9. Yazala Ambambuti by Samite
Simply beautiful.

10. If I Should Fall Behind by Bruce Springsteen
This one makes me cry just about every time. You can picture the farmers in CROSSED gathering around a campfire to sing it. (And how great is it that it’s Bruce and his wife singing to each other?)

11. Sinner’s Sonnet by Andrew Whitman
A great song about searching and love.

12. The Climber by Neil Finn
His voice and the words are lovely, but it’s the background that really gets me every time.

13. Captain of a Shipwreck by Neil Diamond
My all-time favorite Neil Diamond song. This song is not just something Ky would sing to Cassia, but I also think of it as a song that Xander would love.

14. Crossfire by Brandon Flowers
For me, this song really fits Chapter 35 and how Ky is feeling then.

15. Set the Fire to the Third Bar by Snow Patrol and Martha Wainwright
Ky and Cassia, maps, poems, trying to find a way to each other in spite of everything. In spite of themselves.

16.In for the Kill by La Roux
How Cassia feels near the end of her book when she makes her decisions about the Rising and about Ky.

17. The Rising by Bruce Springsteen
If you’ve read the book, you’ll know exactly why I picked this song.

18. This Hard Land by Bruce Springsteen
See above.

19. Roll Away Your Stone by Mumford & Sons
A last-minute addition to the playlist, but it’s the perfect Sisyphus stone song. And everything about it fits Ky in this book.

20. Every Time It Rains by Charlotte Martin
There’s a particular scene near the end of CROSSED that this fits, but it also calls back to things that happened in MATCHED and to what will happen in Book 3. It’s the ideal song to end the playlist.

Check out the next book in the Matched series coming out September 2012! 

Enjoy reading Crossed! Love, Grace Elizabeth Nickols :) 

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