It's a page turner (obviously, since I was so enthralled in the story). Ally Condie's prose is poetic and musical. It's a very psychological narrative. Matched is written from Cassia's point of view. Crossed is written from Ky's and Cassia's points of view. Reached is told from Xander's, Ky's, and Cassia's points of view. I found it very engaging as I followed each of their very personal changes. Condie leads readers to understand the characters and their choices.
The story is about the right to choose, the people we love and effect, and what we need to really live. In one of my favorite quotes in Matched, Cassia comments that the Society gives just enough to satiate people, but that it's not really living.
Cassia, Xander, and Ky live in the Society. Their data is collected and then analyzed. Choices are limited; optimal results are best.
One example of their limited choices is that citizens of the Society can choose whether to stay Single or be Matched. Matched opens with Cassia's Matching Banquet. She is matched with Xander. Later, when she sits down to view the microcard of his information, another face is presented. Ky. And so begins Cassia's journey as she opens up and begins to look around her, to see more, and to wonder.
The story takes the reader to the Outer provinces of the Society, through the Carving, into the Rising against the Society, out of the Society, and into the heart of the Society. I liked that Condie took readers all over the world she'd created. I really liked how the reader sees the good and the bad of the Society, the Rising, and the characters. Condie did a fabulous job showing how people and society are complicated and intertwined.
When I finished reading Reached, I was satisfied. Condie didn't leave loose ends, and she led the reader to understand the decisions the characters make. The characters are believable and consistent yet not stagnant.
In Reached, I loved finally being inside Xander's head, but I was a little disappointed. I first envisioned him to be more cunning because of how much he loves using his skill in games and how well he uses and lives inside the Society (references to Matched and Crossed), but in Reached, Condie focuses on his more compassion, dependability. I felt a little let down; however, as I ponder it more, I am grateful. It shows Xander's depth of character and keeps more with his character than I originally thought. I learned that we aren't just what we choose to share with the world, we, as individuals, are more, and we want to be seen for what we really are, for our depth.
On a fun note, the second letter of each book title is written abnormally (though very computer-like). The letters spell: ARE. I find this significant because of the themes of seeing people for their depth and feeling alive.
The final scene involves a city hall, like the place where Cassia's Matching banquet occurred (though in a different province). It is fitting. The story ends where it began, but shows how things have changed. The people are voting. Condie doesn't tell us the result of the vote, and that keeps with the themes of the books. It's about choice. The opportunity to choose no matter what you do with it. The right to choose.
To finish, I love the cover art. It's very symbolic and beautifully simple.
