On My Bookshelf: Crossed by Ally Condie

The basic plot from Amazon: Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky--taken by Society to his certain death--only to find that he has escaped into the majestic, but treacherous, canyons. On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life . . . and the enthralling promise of rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices everything to reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game. On the edge of Society, nothing is as expected, and crosses and double crosses make Cassia's path more twisted than ever.

Why I liked it: Crossed picks up where Matched left off. Cassia is in a work camp in the Outer provinces, still committed to finding Ky and Ky manages to escape from his work camp in hopes of finding Cassia. Their journey to find each other and then once united, to find the Rising, the rebellion against the Society, encompasses most of the plot. It is definitely a slower read than the first book in the trilogy.

It was interesting to see other places outside of the Oria Province where Cassia and Ky once lived and a few new characters were introduced. Cassia befriends a girl named Indie from her work camp with whom she later escapes. It is never clear if Indie can be completely trusted or what her motives are, but she sticks with Cassia and is essential in her survival as they travel through the Carving. Similarly, Ky escapes with another young man, Vick, and younger boy, Eli, who accompany him on his journey through the Carving. Vick and Eli are from different provinces and offer different viewpoints on the Society and the Rising.

Classroom application: Just like Matched, I appreciated that Crossed was "clean" and truly appropriate for a middle school or high school classroom library (no sexual content or heavy violence). 

The segregation of certain populations and use of work camps could be compared to Americans internment of the Japanese during WWII or the Germans or Soviets internment of their enemies.

The people living in the carving could be compared to the Pueblo people's cliff dwellings in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Chihuahua, Mexico. Their chosen seclusion from the Society could also be compared to the Amish community in Pennsylvania.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Crossed for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

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