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tiareleine 's review for:
Reached
by Ally Condie
I have been looking forward to this book for a long time. At first it was because I wanted to get the series over with, but by the time I actually picked it up, I was genuinely interested in reading it. Yes, that's right, Crossed didn't send me packing as fast as I could. (I actually... kinda liked Crossed if I'm being honest) And Reached made me glad I stuck with it. I'm really surprised that a series than began with a two-star book could end with a four-star one, but it did.
I know a lot of people complained about Crossed being really boring, and I kind of agree. It wasn't the most action-packed book ever; but it was necessary. It was a bridge between the first book and the last one. If you liked Matched you'll probably like Reached, even if Crossed didn't really do it for you.
It is a slow story, I won't deny that, but I think it's still interesting. A story doesn't have to be all action in order to keep your attention. It's not... it's not faster than Crossed, it's slow, but there's a lot more happening... if that makes any sense. The plot is a lot more obvious, their characters have goals that are apparent to the readers. That's a huge plus. (Because I had no idea what the heck their were doing for most of Crossed)
And that goal is trying to take down the Society. I thought the way they went about overthrowing the government was really interesting and creative. It wasn't through war and fighting, it was through helping. They helped all the members of the Society by trying to find them a cure.
The reason I didn't give it a five-star review is an issue with the narration. It was told in alternative perspectives--Cassia, Xander, and Ky. They all sounded exactly the same. There were times I had to look up to the top of the page and check to see whose head I was in, because I couldn't tell based on the writing alone. This is a common problem with multiple POVs in a book, and unfortunately Reached fell into the same hole.
Also, at the beginning I didn't remember who was Xander and who was Ky. It's bad, I know, but they sort of blended together. They separated for me as I read, and pretty soon it all came back to me, but it was frustrating at the beginning.
I won't say much about the ending, but I will say this: this book is proof that the ending of a book doesn't have to be sad for the book to be good. Spoiler alert, most people survive! Yay! I appreciate this, because character deaths only serve to distance me from the book. Whenever a character dies I get angry and I feel empty, I do not get more attached to the book--so, when the only deaths were ones that were obviously necessary, I was happy.
This was a good conclusion to an okay series, and I'm glad I stuck with Cassia until the end.
I know a lot of people complained about Crossed being really boring, and I kind of agree. It wasn't the most action-packed book ever; but it was necessary. It was a bridge between the first book and the last one. If you liked Matched you'll probably like Reached, even if Crossed didn't really do it for you.
It is a slow story, I won't deny that, but I think it's still interesting. A story doesn't have to be all action in order to keep your attention. It's not... it's not faster than Crossed, it's slow, but there's a lot more happening... if that makes any sense. The plot is a lot more obvious, their characters have goals that are apparent to the readers. That's a huge plus. (Because I had no idea what the heck their were doing for most of Crossed)
And that goal is trying to take down the Society. I thought the way they went about overthrowing the government was really interesting and creative. It wasn't through war and fighting, it was through helping. They helped all the members of the Society by trying to find them a cure.
The reason I didn't give it a five-star review is an issue with the narration. It was told in alternative perspectives--Cassia, Xander, and Ky. They all sounded exactly the same. There were times I had to look up to the top of the page and check to see whose head I was in, because I couldn't tell based on the writing alone. This is a common problem with multiple POVs in a book, and unfortunately Reached fell into the same hole.
Also, at the beginning I didn't remember who was Xander and who was Ky. It's bad, I know, but they sort of blended together. They separated for me as I read, and pretty soon it all came back to me, but it was frustrating at the beginning.
I won't say much about the ending, but I will say this: this book is proof that the ending of a book doesn't have to be sad for the book to be good. Spoiler alert, most people survive! Yay! I appreciate this, because character deaths only serve to distance me from the book. Whenever a character dies I get angry and I feel empty, I do not get more attached to the book--so, when the only deaths were ones that were obviously necessary, I was happy.
This was a good conclusion to an okay series, and I'm glad I stuck with Cassia until the end.