Reached (Matched)

What I Liked: 1) How Cassia and Ky's relationship has changed. They have both grown up so much from what they were and knew in Matched, and it's made their relationship very mature, and I have loved watching that. It happened gradually, especially since they spend so little time together, but I really noticed the changes in Reached. 2) There is an all around maturity that I found in this book. I'm not just talking about the characters, but in the story itself. The plot advances with perfect pacing, and the situations that the characters encounter...there is just a maturity to all of it that I notice is missing in some YA books. It appeals to the adult in me, I guess. 3) Xander. I've always been a Xander fan. That's one of the hardest things about this series is that it seems that there is only one thing that will make both Ky and Xander happy, but they obviously can't both get it, so one of them will have to be unhappy. That breaks my heart. But I really loved getting parts of this story from Xander's perspective. Everything up until now has been Cassia's perspective of him, or Ky's. But there was a lot going on under the surface that you never really knew about until Reached, when we the story was switching between Cassia, Ky and Xander's POVs. 4) The ending. I was so thankful for the way this ended. It was perfect for the storyline. There was no big build up and then crash down to the ground. Enough of the twists were resolved to make everything end satisfyingly, but also open-ended enough to give the reader a sense that these lives in this world go on, no matter if we are reading about it or not. I love it when a book ends on a note like that. What I Didn't Like: Nothing! Overall Thoughts: Ally Condie is one of my favorite authors, despite this series being the only books of hers that I have read. If everything else she writes has this level of intrigue and maturity, then I will always read stuff that she writes. The Matched series is one with romance, action, a great setting, and a battle of good versus evil that sparks a lot of thought about just what is right and what is wrong. If you haven't begun this series yet, I'd definitely recommend reading it. If you've enjoyed it so far but haven't yet read Reached, then don't hesitate! It holds up to the high standard set forth by Matched and Crossed, and ends on a very satisfying note!

Reached brings us to the end of Cassia's issues with the Society and her potential Matches, Ky and Xander. Now a member of the Rising, Cassia works undercover as a Trader while she waits to see if the Pilot will come to power. She knows both Ky and Xander are taking risks for the Rising so they cannot be together, but when a Plague epidemic strikes, she knows the time has come. Problem is, those who unleashed the Plague did not anticipation it mutating and placing those they love in great danger. This is where the trio become reunited and a race against time for the cure begins. While Reached does not give on the edge of your seat excitement, it does move everything along to its ultimate conclusion well. There are lots of scenes where Cassia must interact with those she's either known in the past or has feelings for, and lots of mysteries are explained, though some take a while to get there. What I liked most is that Cassia's feelings for her family were never left out, nor did she put her feelings for Ky ahead of those for family. It's nice to see a heroine acknowledging her longing for her grandfather and the debt she owes to those who have gone before. There are some coincidences in the book, such as the identity of Lei, which probably stretched my imagination more than they should have, and a few times I felt as though some action was thrown in simply to pad the story. I did feel Indie got shortchanged, and I would have liked to have read more about upcoming changes to the communities and if the Otherlands existed. Perhaps that will all be answered in another book or two. My biggest gripe with Reached, which I found interesting and intriguing overall, was the Pilot himself. He just was. That's it--I did not feel much about him one way or the other. What was the big attraction? How did he personally come into power? He seemed threatening at times and just bewildered at others. Though I could see him as figurehead for the Rising, I was ultimately let down by everything about him, including how he came to know about our trio. I really didn't understand why those three made an impact on him out of thousands, and I felt he treated them shabbily in expecting so much. Reached isn't without its issues, but it definitely is deep on meaning and relationships, and those components alone kept me involved in the story. I felt Reached was a big improvement over Crossed, and I liked the ultimate resolution. I loved the idea that Cassia could have been part of something she didn't know about for so long, and I loved that these three relied mostly on brains rather than luck. A good solid ending to the trilogy.

Reached, by Allie Condie, book 3 of the Matched trilogy. The book was so good! The only thing was it has Xander, Cassia, and Ky’s POV, which can be hard to follow going back and forth every chapter between each of them. It’s nice to see from the other characters POV, but also a little hard to follow as said before. Overall, the series was REALLY good! One of my fave YA series!!

Finally, after two years since the beginning of the MATCHED trilogy, we finally get to the conclusion of an epic dystopian series. Except...it turns out not so epic, for me. Cassia, Ky and Xander have reached the resistance, and have been dispersed to various assignments, aiding in the Rising's goal of seizing control from the Society. The love triangle continues in this third book, but it becomes obvious who Cassia will choose (and let's just say, it's not who I had hoped for). The Rising is prepping to take over the Society, albeit in a pretty nasty way. I really liked MATCHED. I thought the world was intriguing, and I was hoping that Condie would explore it more in CROSSED. When that didn't happen, I figured it was just Second-Book Syndrome and we'd finally get an epic conclusion and world-exploration in REACHED. I truly looked forward to this novel, and while I liked it, I feel a little let down at the same time. Condie's writing is fluid and poetic, and it's nice to read. But I don't want nice to read. I want exciting to read and I don't feel like I got that in REACHED. The poetic nature of the book took over the story, so much so, that the action felt overshadowed to me... what little there was of it anyway. There were also a lot of questions about the world that I thought were left unanswered, like, who exactly is the Society? Who the heck runs the Society?? Who is the Rising? Why aren't people allowed to communicate with one another after the Rising takes over? This is never explicitly stated, but it's hinted strongly that they aren't allowed. And... Who the heck is the Enemy?! This one bothered me the most, because The Enemy is mentioned in all three books, but you never find out who they are and I think Condie just expects her readers to accept that an enemy exists and they needed to be dealt with. Yeah....no. Not this reader. I also feel like Cassia's character never really grows from MATCHED to REACHED. Yes, she has to make tough decisions, and I respect her for them, but in the end, I think she's the same person she was in the beginning, just a little more worldly about her surroundings. I disliked Ky a lot less in REACHED than I did in CROSSED and believe me, that's a good thing. I think being in his head less helped his cause a lot, but he also seemed less whiny and more accepting of their situation... and he really seemed to fill out while having something worth fighting for. (I know in my CROSSED review I said I liked Ky, but after I thought about it some, & met with my book club, I realized, I didn't really like him all that much and kind of actually wanted to stab him in the gut, he was such a crybaby. But anyway...). In the end, I was really proud of Ky. Xander was the most interesting character of this book. Finally, we get the story from his point of view, and he had so much going on in that head of his, that I found him fascinating. It's clear that when Xander loves, he loves with his whole being, but he also feels a sense of purpose in his life that his love doesn't necessarily distract him from. He is multi-dimensional, and multi-faceted. There are a lot of themes going on in this novel, but the one that at one point wanted to make me beat myself in the head was The Pilot. Pilot pilot pilot pilot pilot pilot pilot. God dang, it was all they talked about, like an obsession really. At one point, I was ready to scream, "stop about The Pilot already!" For all their searching for The Pilot, I think the answer to this burning question is, we are our own pilots, carving the way for ourselves. Or maybe that's just how I interpreted it. The other themes throughout REACHED drew heavily on poetry and while Condie's prose was beautiful, I often felt lost in the story, just trying to muck my way through it, and hoping to understand something in the end. Most of it I didn't. Overall, I did enjoy the book. It was a good ending to MATCHED and CROSSED, but out of the three, I think the first book was the best, because that's where we learned the most of the world. But I think that MATCHED series fans will still love REACHED and I do recommend you read it. Just make sure you devote the time necessary to puzzling out the writing.

Although I did enjoy the first two books in this trilogy, I was not expecting to enjoy this third book this much. It was not what I was expecting at all. I expected a story about the revolution to take over the Society. I expected grand battles and for the Society to crumble. What I got was much better. I enjoyed seeing the more behind-the-scenes events and the revolution took a completely different turn. When Matched came out, love triangles were at the forefront of the YA genre. In my opinion they were an unnecessary evil. I felt that the love triangle took up so much of Matched. I wanted more world building. Thankfully, as this trilogy completes I am satisfied. The world is fleshed out, although there still are mysteries left. And, the love triangle felt natural and wasn't so dominant in this book. Pretty much all the questions you had after reading Matched and Crossed are answered. Some of the answers are not what you expected. It is always disappointing when you read a completed series and feel unsatisfied. In this case, I was satisfied by the answers to all the mysteries I had. Condie did a nice job on revealing them, as well. I really enjoyed that this book is from three points of view: Cassia, Ky, and Xander. I liked finally getting to see inside Xander's head. The concept and idea of the Pilot was my favorite thing in this book. I love the way Condie wrote when talking about the Pilot and what makes the Pilot the Pilot and what a Pilot is. The Pilot! Towards the end of this book, there was a lot of color imagery. I enjoyed it, but it seemed slightly repetitive. The colors of green, blue, and red are not only represented on the covers of each of the books in the trilogy, but also the tablets each member of the Society possesses. They are also used to represent the elements to an extent. Overall, I was surprised by and really enjoyed this book. If you have read the other two int he series, you definitely need to pick this one up. And if you, like me, were not so excited about them, I hope you enjoy this conclusion as much as I did! I give this book a 5/5.

THIS HAS SPOILERS!!! YOU ARE WARNED!!!1 Title: Reached Author: Ally Condie Rating: 4.0 My Review "The way that the two of them look at each other is like touching." This trilogy has been something of a long and personal journey for me. Matched was one of the first books I read after downloading the Kindle App to my phone, and helped to reawaken my interest in reading for enjoyment. Matched also reminded me how much I'd always enjoyed dystopians. I loved learning little details of the Society, like the "Hundred" things and the Banquet Ceremonies. I also appreciated the oppressive, inescapable tension created by the Society. What I craved at the time was to know more. Reached gives you more. WAAAAAAAAAAY More. To say that this final installment gets going quickly is an understatement. It fires you out of the cannon from the first page, which is something of a relief after the waiting, waiting, waiting of Crossed. I will say that Reached is so detailed that at times I had to go back and review to keep up. That being said, I was also reading at warp speed, because the tension was good. General impression: I enjoyed Reached. What I Loved Cassia - I didn't write this review until a week had passed since I finished the book. Sometimes that means my impressions whisper away with the time, but sometimes it helps to clarify them. In Reached, what struck me most was Cassia. I finally loved Cassia the way I'd always wanted to love her: NOT as a thing of Ky's or a thing of Xander's, but a thing of her own, like Indie. Entirely, utterly Cassia. A poet. An artist. A rebel in her own way. A seeker of beauty in an ugly world. I love that she finally found her center and her strength. It actually made me retroactively like Crossed better. There was a reason Condie had to drag Cassia through all that (or at least most of it), and there was a reason Indie was her foil. Do Not Go Gentle - In this series, I have always enjoyed Condie's use of imagery and poetry. Her love of poetry is intensely palpable. And as a long-time lover of dystopian's, I have to say that Condie's selection of Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle" is genius. It is the beating heart of her tension, and is interpreted literally through Cassia's grandfather's final choices and figuratively through the personal rebellions of the main characters. Allowance for complexity - A lot of reviewers were critical of Matched for not providing enough info about the Society. I can agree with this. I personally wanted more of my villains. But then, I've always loved a good villain. In Reached, Condie nearly overcompensates with the detailed history of the chess match between the Society and the Rising. In the end, I actually found myself confused at points about who gave what Plague to whom and which version??? Overall though, I ended up with the sense that as organizations, neither the Society nor the Rising was ideal. This, to me, is a realistic outcome. I'd read some critiques of The Hunger Games that expressed dissatisfaction for the "non-happily-ever-after" ending. But that was something I really liked about that trilogy. I feel the same way about Reached. I like that Condie's characters and story line all grew up together. In the beginning, this was a story of children. By the end, it's a story of adults. The things that were not my absolute favorites.... Too much I LOVE CASSIA SO MUCH. - Ok, the boys both love her. With all their hearts. Since they were young (much younger than I realized before, apparently). THIS is why people kvetch about love triangles. I don't mind them, because they happen in real life. But they don't happen like this. I LOVE HER SO MUCH SO MUCH SO MUCH, CAN"T LIVE WITHOUT HER HOPE WE END UP TOGETHER SHE"S SO BEAUTIFUL AND VIBRANT AND ALIVE I LOVE HER SOOOOOOO MU UH UH UCH! Sometimes, Reached felt like this. A little too much longing in an area where no one is confused that longing already exists. Also, the Lei-Vick-Ky-Xander thing was a little weird. Sometimes I wonder about weaving characters back in (Lei Nei - Laney). It seemed too convenient for no reason. I could have liked the Lei-Xander connection without it... Repetitive Imagery - I sometimes feel like she hammers the images over and over once she creates them. Particularly red, green, blue. If you've read this series, then by book three, you've absorbed a lot of this trio. She doesn't have to revisit it as often as she does, particularly in the wrap-up. End of Indie - I get it. I do. I totally get it. She's the Pilot. It's a metaphor. She guided them over the River Styx, never to return herself. And the world didn't need a Pilot like her anymore, not once the THREE stepped into their own. I get that your heart aches for her, just like Condie wanted it to ache. For some readers, this may be the *perfect* ending to Indie's story. But I personally am kind of hurt by this treatment of this character. The goodbye felt hurried, somehow, for a character who had earned my interest. And it felt like what always happens to the super-cool, badass girl who's outside-looking-in on the love triangle. (Sort of a la SuperTroopers.) Just once, I want the Indie to get the girl and the Cassia to bite it...or maybe they both find love, or both die. Just seems to me that the cool girl "outside" of a love triangle is about as long-lived as an ensign on Star Trek. OVERALL Reached was an enjoyable, action-packed ending to a good dystopian series. If you are a Matched-lover, I have NO doubt you'll love Reached. If you, like me, were a little less happy with Crossed, but did like Matched, you should still pick up Reached. You will really enjoy it.

An excellent ending to an incredible trilogy, REACHED ties everything together in ways you'll never see coming. As with the previous novels, Condie's writing remains fluid, unhurried, and poetic with each line, each page. In REACHED, Condie gives readers a chance to know and learn more about Xander as a new narrator, in addition to Cassia and Ky's points-of-view. All three narrations are strong and each voice is authentic to each character, making it easy to always know who is narrating at any given point. Within the Society, life has changed - and continues to change - drastically for all three characters as a deadly plague spreads and each character comes closer to choosing their future. Overall, this conclusion to the MATCHED Trilogy is gripping, romantic, exciting, and surprising. Anyone who hesitates reading this trilogy because of the love triangle is missing out, because these books are about more than two young men and a girl struggling to choose between them (in fact, it's quite different from that). These books are about freedom, fighting for what you believe in, and so much more. Condie's writing is evocative and engaging for each point-of-view. All in all, REACHED is an outstanding conclusion that will captivate readers until the very last page. HIGHLIGHTS: I enjoyed how Condie tied everything together in this novel - a few moments that seemed inconsequential in previous books became extremely important in this story. This story surprised me a few times, and I loved the three distinct points of view - it was nice to finally get to know more about Xander's character. Character growth, especially Cassia's character. LOWLIGHTS: Very slow going and character-focused, which is to be expected from Condie's writing. However, it felt like it took a very long time to get to the main plot. But, I didn't necessarily mind, since it was nice to focus on the characters. SOURCE: Received advanced copy for review and purchased a finished copy for my bookshelf. RATING: 4.5 out of 5

Ally Condie does not disappoint in her final installment of the "Matched" series. I read the first two installments in the summer and was hooked immediately. I admit to being a fan of YA fiction but I am a lover of all things beautifully written. I was so disappointed when I went to buy the third installment using my Kindle Fire and found out that the book was not available until November. I bought it as soon as it was available and enjoyed reading every page. While the story is original and engaging and I enjoyed every bit of it, I was delighted with the use of language, imagery and poetic prose. The use of poems by Thomas and Tennyson throughout the series was a huge treat and a wonderful reminder of the richness of our poetry heritage. In terms of the story itself, I think this book is a great illustration of the "power of one" and a great example of reaching from within to not only survive but to lead and change your world. Casia evolves from a timid, studious and obedient daughter and citizen who had a bright future promised to her by the Society due to her skills in sorting, to a self-determined, self-assured leader who is willing to risk all, including herself, for the sake of what she believes to be right. It is also a story of loyalty, friendship and perseverance even when all seems lost and hopeless. This is a great series to give to a young woman finding her way in the world, a young man who enjoys a good YA book with both strong female and male young characters who dare to take on their world or to a friend, like me, who loves a great story written in beautifully crafted language.

This book was such a good read and brought the story together perfectly!! It was definitely better than the second book so if you find yourself on the edge of not wanting to read it/ wanting to read because of the 2nd book, read it!!!! I really love the way that the author has managed to create this whole new world but hasn't made it so extravagant that it's not believable. I would recommend this book to any one but particularly young adults!!

livre anglophone broché à couverture cartonnée souple petit format récent (2013) présentant le troisième et dernier tome d'une trilogie d'anticipation imaginée par Ally Condie; Reached (Conquise pour sa traduction française): dans ce tome final Cassia, redevient citoyenne de la "Société" tout en étant une partisane du "Soulèvement"; elle est soumise à de terribles épreuves car la "peste" une épidémie virale qui a échappé à ses concepteurs décime les populations; elle retrouve Xander, devenu médecin et son amour de jeunesse Ky devenu lui aviateur dans les provinces frontières où ils sont chargés par le "Pilote" de chercher un remède à la maladie; on assiste à la lente prise de conscience de la jeune fille et de ses amis qui découvrent que les cadres du Soulèvement et de la Société sont en fait interchangeables depuis des générations et que cette catastrophe aurait pu être évitée; elle est toujours amoureuse de Ky et cherche à ménager son fiancé qui devra néanmoins finir par s'effacer malgré sa perfection; de nombreux flash-backs font références aux parents et grand-parents de la jeune fille et de Ky expliquant à posteriori bien des comportements; ce magnifique roman d'anticipation captivera tous ceux qui ont lu premiers tomes; l'anglais est tout à fait accessible dans cette édition brochée bon marché mais à la police plus grande et donc lisible que dans les éditions de poche habituelles; le papier recyclé et la brochure ne paraît pas devoir résister à un usage intensif et au temps; pas d'illustrations sauf les merci de cliquer ci-dessous si ce commentaire vous a paru utile

This is the 3rd book in the series. I read the 1st one a while back and really enjoyed it! I usually don’t enjoy reading, but this series I did. The story line is easy to follow and it is unique, as it happens in some sort of future. The book is well written and draws you into it, as though you feel like you are in the characters eyes through the story. The first book she starts out in a bubble on the front cover and as the series goes on, she starts to break out, which represents this book well. I highly recommend reading all three books in the series (Matched, Crossed, andReached). I hope you all enjoy!

Love this book read first two books and got hooked on. Loved it!