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cmcgowan76 's review for:
Reached
by Ally Condie
The third book was a huge disappointment.
Reached by Allie Condie is the third book in the Matched series. I review both Matched and Crossed previously. You can find the reviews for each book by clicking their title.
If you read my previous reviews of this series, you will note that I absolutely LOVED both books. Which is why I'm having such a hard time writing about Reached. Unfortunately, it did not "reach" my expectations of a strong finale in the series. Much like The Hunger Games series that fizzled out with Mockingjay, Reached left me reaching for a better ending.
The characters did not grow. Who they were in book one was who they remained until the end. Given the circumstances and dystopian nature of the series, I felt like each major character should have experienced a significant change. The novel series, based on the concept of a corrupt government that is superseded by yet another corrupt government seemed to have little impact on their way of life. I wanted to see more strength from Cassia, more depth from Ky, more scheming from Xander.
The plot was too predictable and in the end, everything was tied up in a neat little bow. Based on the first two books, I wanted a war waged. Instead, I got a battle, and a minimal one at best. The language used was quite mediocre and more so in the final book than the others, I felt like the author wrote "down" for the sake of playing her words to a teen audience.
It pains me to say these things, because I thought this series was really going somewhere great. I would give the book a 2 out of 5 stars though for minimal character development, simplistic sentence structure, and a predictable plot. While I can't recommend the novel, if you need to see how it all plays out, give it a read. However, my hunch is you probably already know.
I, however, hope this series isn't the last we'll see of Ally Condie. Her ideas are strong and in my experience with authors, once they've developed a writing dynamic, their work betters with age and time. I would like to see a solo work from her rather than a series. It seems the series concept is "all the rage" with young adult literature. Sometimes, it's just a single great story that needs to be told.
For more information about Ally Condie, visit her at http://www.allysoncondie.com/
Reached by Allie Condie is the third book in the Matched series. I review both Matched and Crossed previously. You can find the reviews for each book by clicking their title.
If you read my previous reviews of this series, you will note that I absolutely LOVED both books. Which is why I'm having such a hard time writing about Reached. Unfortunately, it did not "reach" my expectations of a strong finale in the series. Much like The Hunger Games series that fizzled out with Mockingjay, Reached left me reaching for a better ending.
The characters did not grow. Who they were in book one was who they remained until the end. Given the circumstances and dystopian nature of the series, I felt like each major character should have experienced a significant change. The novel series, based on the concept of a corrupt government that is superseded by yet another corrupt government seemed to have little impact on their way of life. I wanted to see more strength from Cassia, more depth from Ky, more scheming from Xander.
The plot was too predictable and in the end, everything was tied up in a neat little bow. Based on the first two books, I wanted a war waged. Instead, I got a battle, and a minimal one at best. The language used was quite mediocre and more so in the final book than the others, I felt like the author wrote "down" for the sake of playing her words to a teen audience.
It pains me to say these things, because I thought this series was really going somewhere great. I would give the book a 2 out of 5 stars though for minimal character development, simplistic sentence structure, and a predictable plot. While I can't recommend the novel, if you need to see how it all plays out, give it a read. However, my hunch is you probably already know.
I, however, hope this series isn't the last we'll see of Ally Condie. Her ideas are strong and in my experience with authors, once they've developed a writing dynamic, their work betters with age and time. I would like to see a solo work from her rather than a series. It seems the series concept is "all the rage" with young adult literature. Sometimes, it's just a single great story that needs to be told.
For more information about Ally Condie, visit her at http://www.allysoncondie.com/