Began reading: 10.1.2016
Completed reading: 18.1.2016
Overall rating: 4 stars
Cassia's journey began with a momentary glitch in the otherwise perfect facade of the Society. After crossing canyons to break free, she waits, silk and paper smuggled against her skin, ready for the final chapter.
The wait is over.
Cassia has raged against those who threaten to keep away what matters most - family, love, choice. Her quiet revolution will soon explode into full-scale rebellion.
In the gripping conclusion to the bestselling Matched trilogy, Cassia, Ky and Xander return to the Society to save the one thing denied to them for so long: the power to choose.
The wait is over.
Cassia has raged against those who threaten to keep away what matters most - family, love, choice. Her quiet revolution will soon explode into full-scale rebellion.
In the gripping conclusion to the bestselling Matched trilogy, Cassia, Ky and Xander return to the Society to save the one thing denied to them for so long: the power to choose.
Reached by Ally Condie is the third and final novel in the Matched series. It combines science fiction, fantasy and a hint of romance to create an interesting plot for young adults. Overall, I enjoyed the book, especially as the structure was more clearly defined.
I found the book to be well-written, as expected, with some grammatical errors. There were also quite a few good quotes that are worth sharing. These include:
I can’t wait to get out of this uniform. It promises more than we can deliver, and it represents something I haven’t believed in for a while now (p. 46).
Either the Rising will take me to the ones I love or I will find a way to do it myself (p. 125).
There are many of them in the world, I think, good men and women with their frail deeds. Wondering what might have been, how things might have danced, if we had only dared to be bright (p. 128).
You cannot change your journey if you are unwilling to move at all (p. 232).
If you let hope inside, it takes you over. It feeds on your insides and uses your bones to climb and grow. Eventually it becomes the thing that is your bones, that holds you together. Holds you up until you don’t know how to live without it anymore. To pull it out of you would kill you entirely (p. 255).
‘You walked through the Carving to find me,’ I tell Cassia softly. ‘I’m going to walk through this to reach you’ (p. 291).
When you fall in love the first time, we don’t know anything. We risk a lot less than we do if we choose to love again (p. 504).
More quotes from the book can be found here.
There were a few plot twists throughout the novel, which kept me interested. In particular, I liked how the twists weren’t too major. Each twist was subtle, and readers could predict the lead-up to it. Deaths of some significant characters kept me intrigued. *WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER* My favourite twists were when Xander realised his feelings for Lei, and when Cassia realised who Lei really was. I predicted that Xander would fall for Lei, but I didn’t recognise who Lei was until Cassia pointed it out. I didn’t see Xander and Lei coming — totally unpredictable. I hoped that he and Indie would be together, but I think these two make a cute couple.
As I mentioned previously, this novel’s structure was more clearly defined, in comparison to the two previous books. I think that this was one of the main reasons why I enjoyed this book. I could easily distinguish where I was in the book, as the complication and resolution were emphasised. If only Condie had done this in her previous novels… Anyway, it was great to see!
I was glad to read about the secondary characters from the past two books. Even Em got a mention! I still don’t understand why some of these characters barely got a mention in the last book, but bringing them back made the plot and characters more realistic. It would have been great to know what happened to Em and Hunter in the end, but I suppose that it’s good to leave a bit of mystery for the readers.
Including Xander’s point-of-view in this novel was also a good move. It provided readers with yet another voice, and added diversity to the slightly dull voices of Cassia and Ky. As I mentioned in my review for the last novel, I found Cassia’s and Ky’s points-of-view to be a bit dull, but including Xander’s voice added diversity.
The love triangle was beginning to drag on. I was hoping that this love triangle would have finished at the end of the last novel, but no. In this novel, Xander just kept going on about how he’s trying to let Cassia go. JUST. LET. IT. GO.
*WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER* I got a bit excited when Indie became attracted to Ky, but I was also confused. I thought she liked Xander. I was so confused. I wanted her to be with Xander! In the last book, Cassia mentioned that Indie was in love with him, and yet she hardly showed any interest to him in this book. It just goes to show that the loosely-used ‘love’ in this series made things somewhat unrealistic. I was excited when she kissed Ky because I thought it would spice up the dull love triangle, but obviously not. I was left disappointed.
As always, Cassia is my favourite character, but I had hoped that Indie would end up taking that position. Obviously, it didn’t happen. *WARNING: SPOILER* I still have no idea why she had to die. I mean, it would have been better if she became the Pilot. It’s just another disappointment for me.
*WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER* My favourite parts of the novel include when Ky contracted the mutated Plague, the idea of the Gallery, and the dance section in the end. I liked the part when Ky contracted the Plague because it made him more realistic. Up until this part, he seemed to be invincible, so having him finally succumb to something made him more realistic. I enjoyed the idea of the Gallery, as it was set up in an unexpected place, and allowed people to share their poems, songs, etc. It was very creative, and I would have loved to have been able to be there. Finally, the dance section towards the end was also sweet. I could see the little girl with the wings running around and dancing with Ky. I could also picture Cassia and Xander talking and dancing together.
Recommendation time! If you like Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, Naughts and Crosses by Mallorie Blackman and Countdown by Michelle Rowan, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes Elysium, Oblivion, and In Time.
Happy reading!
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