Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Reached (Matched #3)

Reached. Ally Condie. 2012. Penguin. 512 pages.

Reached is the third in the Matched trilogy. (The books are Matched, Crossed, and Reached.) I liked Crossed more than Matched, and I think I like Reached even more than Crossed. I can easily say that I LOVED both Crossed and Reached. The world-building continues in Reached, readers get to see more, learn more. It is narrated by Xander, Cassia, and Ky. New characters continue to be introduced as well. (Lei, Leyna, Anna, Oker, etc.) The time for the Rising has come. The big, big sign of the Rising's coming was the appearance of the plague. When Xander, a medic, sees a toddler with the plague, he knows the time has come, that the Pilot will start the rebellion quickly. He knows that everyone who is a part of the rebellion are all waiting to hear the Pilot's voice. Ky and Cassia aren't aware of the coming Plague and the danger that poses to everyone who isn't immune, but, they are both eager to see the Society brought down. So Reached is essentially a compelling novel about the breakdown of a society. The plague is supposedly "helping" the cause (the rebellion) for it is the Rising who holds enough of the Cure for the public, the Rising that can provide immunizations for those not yet sick. But the plague has a mind of its own not really caring about either side, and the mutations from the original plague mean the Rising is in big, big trouble for they have no cure yet to offer the public. And no cure means people dying, a lot of people dying as they wait for the scientists and doctors and researchers to find something--anything--to find a cure.

Reached is definitely the MOST exciting of the trilogy. I loved, loved, loved reading Xander's narrative. And I love seeing the characters through his eyes. I liked Ky's narrative too, especially at the beginning because it gave readers a way to stay in touch with Indie. And Cassia is still Cassia.

I enjoyed reading a trilogy series where my love and appreciation grew with each book. As much as I enjoyed Hunger Games, I can't say that I loved the other books in the trilogy to the same degree. Especially the last book in the trilogy.


Read Reached
  • If you like dystopias
  • If you like YA romance
  • If you like love triangles
  • If you enjoy reading about epidemic diseases

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

3 comments:

melissa @ 1lbr said...

So glad to hear you loved this last book. I'm really excited to try it and the plague story sounds very intriguing. Thanks for a great review.

Robyn said...

I am glad to read your review. I have been thinking about reading this book over the holidays. Now I will go for it! There is a book being released in March that I am dying to get my hands on. It is called, "http://www.stelladaur.com/" by author S. L. Whyte. he story is a young adult fantasy novel with romance. The main character, a sixteen year-old boy, discovers he has unusual powers, which takes him on a journey of discovery. http://www.stelladaur.com/

Ms. Yingling said...

I have this in my TBR pile and was sort of dreading it because of the length. Now I shall gird my loins and attempt it!