The books go as follows: first book - Matched, second book - Crossed, third book - Reached.
All summaries are provided by publisher, since I'm too lazy to type my own.
Summary of Matched:
Cassia (the protagonist/main character) has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.
The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.
Summary of Crossed:
In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky — taken by the Society to his certain death — only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.
Cassia’s quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander — who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia’s heart — change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.
Summary of Reached:
After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again.
In this gripping conclusion to the #1 New York Times-bestsellingMatched trilogy, Cassia will reconcile the difficulties of challenging a life too confining, seeking a freedom she never dreamed possible, and honoring a love she cannot live without.
Back to my post!
I was actually hoping to reread Matched (I reread Crossed before reading Reached) before writing this blog post, but I just couldn't wait XD so yeah, this is written after reading Matched twice (yeah, I read it twice already), Crossed twice, and Reached once. (I plan to reread it again though.) A warning though, this post ISN'T a book review but more of a post about my feelings on this trilogy. And it's going to be spoiler-filled. Also, all insights provided by me are from my personal point of view, and definitely do not represent the thoughts of Ally Condie - unless we are on the same wavelength.
Hmm, maybe I will start off with a summary of my own to cover what the publishers didn't (and to provide more of an insight into the world where our main characters Cassia, Ky and Xander live in).
Imagine a world where...
... what you eat is controlled...
... what you wear is controlled...
... what you do is controlled...
... what you study is controlled...
... what your job will be is controlled...
... who you date (and marry) is controlled...
... when you die is controlled.
Imagine a world where freedom exists only in your dreams and choice is non-existent.
That is the world that our main characters live in.
(And if you don't know what a dystopian novel is, that is roughly the gist - a world set in the future where people are generally oppressed by the ruling government.)
To be fair, the Matched trilogy is set in a world where freedom is more controlled than in other dystopian novels (like the famous The Hunger Games, or even George Orwell's novels and Lois Lowry's The Giver), so someone new to this genre should not assume the world described above is true for other dystopian novels though there will be some similarities.
Now, finally on to the trilogy. To be honest, I didn't know this was going to be a dystopian romance story when I first picked Matched up. I was browsing in Popular one day when I came across the book in a shelf and intrigued by the cover (come on, you gotta admit that's a pretty cover and represents the book well), began reading a few pages. I soon understood that this was a dystopian novel but the writing is so fantastic (props be given to Ally Condie, her prose is awesome) I couldn't put it down. So I haunted the library and was super frustrated when I couldn't borrow the book simply because I couldn't find the book in the system. (Turns out while the book had the author's name as Ally Condie, the library saved it as Allyson Condie. Rawr.) When I finally found it, it's crazy how happy I was - and the fact that I can still remember all these details, years down the road, shows how much I like this trilogy. (FYI, it's printed in November 2010, and I found the series in early 2011 - around March?)
Maybe it's because I haven't really been reading much dystopian novels before stumbling across Matched (I'm not entirely sure if Animal Farm can be considered dystopian, and while I've seen The Giver, I haven't read it - okay, dystopian lovers can shoot me for not reading dystopian classics) but I thought it was really well-written, especially the prose. Ally Condie writes in such a way that when you read Matched (and the subsequent titles in the trilogy), it seems that almost every phrase has a deeper meaning than what is on the surface. I swear, when I first started reading Matched, I almost wanted to do the usual literature analysis taught in literature class on the book - so that I could understand the book better. The usage of poems written way before the Society was formed also made it a more 'literature' book than usual, because you had to look at how and why the poems were used in the book, and their links with the story and theme(s). Simply put, the Matched trilogy is certainly not a book you can read 'passively' - it has to be read with a clear mind in order to decipher the author's meaning behind the words she chooses.
Another thing about the trilogy is that, like many dystopian novels, chooses to employ the present tense - seeing as how this story is set in the future. I don't know about other readers, but I personally like the idea of using present tense - to me, it reminds the reader that the story, while fiction now, can become reality in future, not to mention the totalitarian governments of the past. And it also allows the reader to feel that they're in the same situation alongside the characters right then, too. What's interesting is the titles are in the past tense instead of the present tense, but I think this makes the story more 'impactful' (for lack of a better term) than having the titles in present tense.
On to the covers. I must say whoever designed the covers was brilliant - the designs are simple, yet pretty (especially so for the first novel) and encompasses what the book is about. For Matched, it shows a girl - Cassia - in her Match Banquet dress (a ceremony where sixteen-year-old guys and girls attend and find out who is to be their future spouse) and trapped in a bubble. The Match Banquet dress highlights who Cassia is - a normal, loyal, obedient Citizen (at the point where she is attending the Match Banquet) who follows what Society decrees loyally and is unaware of how life is for others who aren't like her (loyal Citizens, I mean). The fact that she's trapped in a bubble shows that she's been, essentially, living in a bubble throughout her whole life, oblivious to the suffering that non-Citizens (Aberrations, Anomalies as well as people who don't live within Society). It also shows that she's trapped in her life - forced to live in a life where she will never get to choose.
For Crossed, Cassia's dressed in a blue shirt and blue pants, symbolising her awaiting her final work assignment (which is her permanent job until she retires). Why blue? Think of this, blue-collared workers, white-collared workers... Does it ring a bell? Yes, terms we apply in our everyday lives. Cassia's currently working in the Outer Provinces as a labour worker, not in a cushy environment - but this is by choice. (Yes, she finally gets a chance to choose!) FYI, the Officials and Officers who work in the Society's government, they wear white... Another allusion to the blue/white-collared reference? I think so. Also, the cover shows Cassia breaking the bubble she's trapped in - symbolising her change from an obedient Citizen girl to a rebel, to wanting the freedom to choose. She's also exposed to hardship and finally learns how people who aren't Citizens are treated in Crossed, much like how a spoilt rich kid learns hardship except Cassia isn't spoilt, and rich doesn't technically apply in their world - they don't have money and what they have (except artifacts, which are left by their ancestors) are what everyone else has (reminds of Communism much?) so no one is technically 'rich'. The only differences are across status, between Citizens, Aberrations and Anomalies and people who don't live in Society, and what privileges are accorded to these people. I also envision the fact that Cassia's not wearing a pretty dress but clothes that are more practical to be symbolising the change in her life - that it's not going to be comfortable since she chose to abandon her pre-decided life in Society and go after a life that she wouldn't otherwise have.
For Reached, Cassia's in a red dress (perhaps because Ky drew her wearing a red dress to the Match Banquet in Crossed even though he knew Cassia wore green, and Xander's favourite colour is red) and exiting the bubble, which is seen to be cracked. This, obviously showing that Cassia's breaking free of the hold the Society has over her, and showing that the Society is 'cracking' (since the bubble represents Society).
What is interesting is the colour theme of the covers - green, blue and red; the three colours of the tablets that the Citizens have. (FYI, green tablet is for calming purposes, blue tablet is to sustain the consumer without food - though it has a more sinister purpose as seen in Crossed and Reached - and the red tablet is to make people forget.) Throughout the three books, these three colours are more often mentioned than any other colour in different situations with different objects, too.
There are little things throughout the books that make it a worthwhile read too, most importantly the way Ally Condie writes that makes you think deeper to understand the meaning of each phrase she uses. She's great in writing twists too, incorporating many twists that readers won't expect (though the general ending in Reached is expected), although some reviewers have mentioned that she could have fleshed out some of the twists more. When I was reading the books, my expectations don't often become reality because of the twists that Condie provides. In addition, the points of view are rather interesting, with Cassia as the only narrator in Matched, Cassia and Ky narrating in Crossed and our three mains narrating in Reached. I did expect Xander to be narrating in Reached seeing as he was practically non-existent in Crossed, and I'm glad Condie did so; Xander's not just the 'second lead' but is a very important character in the story. By doing so the reader is provided with more of an insight into Xander's mind.
I must say though, one of the lowlights of Matched trilogy is that the switch between POVs is not very clear; the "voices" of the main characters are not uniquely distinct enough to know exactly who's speaking at which part. I would find myself wondering who's narrating at times in both Crossed and Reached, so it's a good idea that in Reached, the top of the page indicates the narrator of the chapter.
One thing that struck me as memorable in Reached was the blank page for Ky. Instead of using words to tell us that Ky is unconscious and very close to dying, Condie gives us a blank page during Ky's narration to show that he's no longer conscious because we can't see his thoughts. While Condie has an amazing way with words, sometimes the best way to convey something is not through words. Props to her for such a unique yet powerful way of conveying the story to us.
Anyway, if anyone is bored, I highly recommend this trilogy to you. It's one great trilogy.
Finishing off with some great quotes from the trilogy:
“Every minute you spend with someone gives them a part of your life and takes part of theirs.”
“Now that I’ve found the way to fly, which direction should I go into the night?”
“Cassia.
I know which life is my real one now, no matter what happens. It’s the one with you. For some reason, knowing that even one person knows my story makes things different. Maybe it’s like the poem says. Maybe this is my way of not going gentle.
I love you. (Ky Markham)”
“I think of how perhaps the best way to fly would be with hands full of earth, so you always remember where you came from.”
“But if you were Matched,” I say softly, “what do you think she’d be life?” “You,” he says, almost before I’ve finished. “You.” We do not kiss. We do nothing but hold on and breathe, but still I know. I cannot go gently now.”
“They are giving us pieces of a real life instead of the whole thing. They have perfected the art of giving us just enought freedom; just enough that when we are ready to snap, a little bone is offered and we roll over, belly up, comfortable and placated like a dog… – Cassia”
Merry Christmas everyone!
.// &&CALZ
