Overall, this was a really unique conclusion for a dystopian YA series. Rather than have her heroine overcome some huge obstacle to discover the worldly corruption being hidden from society, Condie lets Cassia learn a simple, universal, life lesson. Of course, it's brought to her as society crumbles under a deadly plague that the Rising is trying to cure. Basically, there's no loss of action or urgency even with a more ambiguous ending.
This third book finally presents a scenario where Cassia, Ky, and Xander can be with each other. They've intertwined as a functioning love triangle where their friendships with each other overshadow the awkwardness of mismatched love. They come together to literally save the world. A plague everyone thought was under control has mutated and a cure must be found. Cassia, the sorter, can calculate outcomes with data. She can see how long before the mutated plague does significant damage. She can guess at potential cures through a subset of the community that is immune. Xander, the medic, can build and administer a cure once its compounds are known. Ky, unfortunately, serves as the test subject in this struggle. He eventually falls ill to the plague. Each of the characters though are integral to the process, not only for the job they take on but for the emotional motivation they provide for each other. Solving this puzzle is personal.
These books read really fast. Condie doles out new bits to the plot at just the right face to fully engage the reader, and her unique angle to dystopia keeps it interesting. I really appreciated that through all the action, the three main characters still remain anonymous to the larger community. They don't become emblems of salvation for either side in this battle, they just work at what they do best to save the world so everyone can then work to bring the community back together in the right way (the way that works best for everyone.) The big win here is that each individual gets back the right to choose - a worth cause to fight for in any instance.
The second book in her Matched Trilogy, Condie takes YA fiction in a post-dystopian society with a strong, young female lead in a unique direction. Rather than concentrate on the action - essentially the fight against societal norms and control - Condie focuses on her characters and what leads them to the choices they make throughout the story.
In league with this focus on choice, Condie introduces a second narrator. While in Matched we only heard from Cassia, Crossed brings in the voice of Ky, her boyfriend, as a narrator. Both characters have led such different lives and are making choices from such different viewpoints that the action in the story really stems from the disparity in their thoughts and inner turmoils rather than any action taking place around them.
Because of this, I fell Condie kept the external action to a minimum. In Crossed, Cassia and Ky have both been sent to the Outer Provinces where a war is waging between Citizens and members of The Rising. Both of them escape their assigned locations and, along with some additional help, end up reuniting in The Carving - a cave system that felt a little Grand Canyonish to me. As they travel through The Carving trying to find the rebellion we learn about the history behind those who decided to live outside Society, Ky's past, and what both he and Cassia are willing to do for love.
This is a book about inner strength, about using what you know but also what you feel for others to make those hard choices that will define your life. It's so much more than the second part of an epic journey that could eventually bring down a corrupt way of life. I don't know what the final installment in this trilogy will hold, but I'm definitely looking forward to both the outcome for this world and of the lives of the characters we have really gotten a chance to know.
Yes, it's another YA trilogy with a young heroine coming into her own and beginning to question the society she has been raised in although, unlike The Hunger Games, children in Cassia's world aren't forced to fight to the death. In Cassia's world, they're just told what to eat, where to work, when to play, and who to marry. Everything is coordinated for optimization - even lifespan. Disease has been genetically eradicated, but these people don't even know how to write. History has been shaved down to almost nothing so people have no understanding of where they came from. So, it's a corrupt place, full of guarded secrets, but the inhabitants are still relatively happy - for now.
We meet Cassia just as she's about to attend her Matching Ceremony where she'll be paired off with the boy she'll marry. The matches are based on compatibility generated through a machine. To Cassia's surprise, she's matched with her best friend, Xander. Unfortunately, she discovers she's also matched with Ky, another boy she knows. This anomaly in the system creates a fissure in Cassia's certainty about the life she lives and whisper of rebellion begins.
The flames are fanned by discovery of a Dylan Thomas poem whose words urge Cassia to fight against complacency (that gentle goodnight) leading her to reach out to Ky. The relationship she forms with Ky is full of "illegal" actions and knowledge. Equipped with information she isn't supposed to have, having feelings for a boy she's not supposed to love, Cassia really beings to question the system that has mapped out her entire life. We leave Cassia at a fork in the road - only book #2 will tell us which path she decides to take and I have a feeling the choice isn't so cut and dry.
This is an incredibly fast but entertaining read; on par with the other YA trilogies gaining in popularity. What I liked about Matched was that our culture is still part of the story. Whittled down but not forgotten, our reality still influences this fictionalized one. This story also focuses on choice rather than setting up a battle between the establishment and the underdog. There isn't any evil bearing down on Cassia (yet) rather the story is full of individuals simply making their own choices even though it's not something encouraged by the Officials.
There's a lot we don't know about Cassia's world and where her story will lead, but Matched has definitely got me hooked and looking forward to book number two.
