Reached by Ally Condie

Reached by Ally Condie

·         Sequel to Crossed; 3rd book - Conclusion to the Matched Trilogy

·         Cover rating: 3.5 out of 5

·         Writing style: 4 out of 5

·         Story: 4 out of 5

·         Overall: 4.5 out of 5

     I just finished reading the book, and all the feels are still crisp as a dry leaf. I have felt, survived and gone through so much with this book, and you don't know how much this almost ruined my life. It was such a good read!!!! Filled with a lot of plot twists, revelations and mind-blowing parts. I'm pretty proud of myself for surviving this roller coaster ride of emotions. There are times where I find myself staring out of the midair, letting the scenes sink in and understand what's happening. And that's the good thing about this. I felt like I loved Reached so much which is good because I've almost given up on the trilogy just because Crossed was so slow-paced. Ally Condie really made her come back for her readers, and I loved her for that. She also answered the questions that were boggling my mind for the longest time. She tried her best to weave everything together, and while reading Reached I always have these gasping moments wherein I'll say to myself "Ohhh so that's the reason why that happened before!" and stuff like that. This book made me remember why I liked Matched, why I tried to read all the way through Crossed even though its almost dreadful. And there are many beautiful poems that were in this book that I really loved!!! I barely understood that idea but the words are wonderful. If you didn't like the second book, I'm sure you'll love this one! Maybe it’s because it's filled with too many answers which is pretty obvious because it's the last book. But I have to say that it's pretty phenomenal. I can't even predict what will happen next, but I'm not much of a thinker when reading books, I just go with the flow and stop over thinking because when I do that, I sometimes end up depressing myself or worse being disappointed. I haven't read dystopian novels lately, which is such a bummer but reading Reached is such a good way to start the marathon all over again.

    Here's a little synopsis about Matched which is the first book of the Trilogy: Matched is about a place ruled by a strict and conservative government, the Society. The Society matches the girl or boy when they've reached the age of 17. Being Matched is like an arrange marriage, but the government does the arrangement instead. Our protagonist, Cassia is about to have her Matching bouquet, that where the story starts. After knowing who her Match is, while she was looking at the information of her Match, something weird happend, which is unusual because the Society doesn't make errors. But Matched is not only about romance, but also about the rebellion forming against the Society. I don't really want to spill much, that's why that's all I can say. I don't even want to tell you who's the mystery guy that she'll be Matched with 'cause I'm so done with spoilers.... after what happened with Allegiant. I don't really recommend it for all YA readers, but if you're really into rebellion and love triangles (which I'm a huge fan of btw) then maybe you could try to grab a copy or borrow it from your local library. It might take a long while before you can read this review again, but I hope to see you back here and discuss about Reached!! Good luck when you're already reading Crossed because I swear based from other experiences, and mine too, it’s such a traumatic experience, I feel like some parts from Crossed isn't really necessary but still, it's like a requirement you can't just jump from the conclusion! That's just wrong, haha! But if you've read this book please stay around and let's have a talk about the book!!

    Reached is an example of book that can literally blow your mind off your head. Right????!!? I'm not even joking and I hope I'm not one-sided with this feeling!!!!! But let's talk about each character first because I have no idea how to summarize everything that I've felt for each of the characters, the Plague and the looong journey to the cure! I honestly don’t know how to even tell you all that is written in my journal wherein I wrote all the parts that I wanted to share with you guys. I’ll just make it totally random, not really in order but we’ll get through it.

   Let’s start this by feeling sad for our female protagonist, Cassia. I FEEL SO SAD FOR HER LIKE SERIOUSLY YOU DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH I WANTED TO HUG HER. Not because she was feeling alone in the Central or whatnot but because the only people she trusts are cheating on her!!!! Like no no no, how can Ky and Xander do that to her? If she only knew that they’re like stabbing her at back (or heart) without her being aware of it. I know that she does the same to the other guys by cheating with Ky and then with Xander but still!!! I love Cassia, I like her very much. And her boyfriend, Ky is flirting with Indie, and her Match, Xander with Lei!!!! That annoyed me so much that I almost ripped the book!!! I think half of the book three of them were away from each other? And Indie, that snake, is flirting with Ky! How dare she kiss him?! HOW CAN SHE DO THAT TO CASSIA? I knew her even back from the Carving that she’ll do everything just to get what she wants, but still…. I think she’s beyond the line for kissing her friend’s boyfriend. And mind to tell you, she knows that Ky loves Cassia. And then Ky on the other hand, thinks of Indie all the freaking time, he even dreamt about her while he was still! I was so scared that Ky might fall in love with Indie, that somehow even though Ky and Cassia are so strong in the whole triology, Ky would eventually realize that he loves Indie and not Cassia, and Xander will be with Cassia, which is what I’d die for to happen (I LOVE XANDER OKAY). Anyway, I hate how the flirt with each other in these little ways that they’re aware of, and how Indie kind does the first move which annoys the heck out of me. Same goes with Xander, I’m not really blaming Xander for liking Lei, because Cassia, being in love with someone else, I think Xander deserves a rest and to move on. But still…. It feels wrong that he loves Cassia and he’s starting to fall in love with Lei, too. Though, I know that it’s not going to work that way because both of them haven’t moved on yet with their lovers. I felt kinda betrayed because I liked Xander for being loyal and seeing his love for Cassia go weak breaks my heart. That’s all I’m going to say for this issue, though I might insert some of this in the next topics but at least I’ve let out my feelings.

         

     What I want to talk about next is Cassia’s letter for Ky and Xander. I was so scared that she might not be able to update the guys about her because Ky and Xander are worried sick, that’s why I was so relieved when the Archivist gave the letter to Ky! And THAT PART when the letter got ruined!!!!! I knew it, I really do! Something bad will happen, I can smell it. And when Ky was pushed into the water, I was like “WHAT NO”. What a great way to make the readers go gaga. Of course, I have no complaints about Ky’s part in the letter because it’s just perfect. Xander’s is what killed me. Why does the letter have to end in BUT? If I were Xander, I’d shoot myself. I’m happy that he trusted Ky enough not to conclude that Ky intentionally did that (even though it was an accident). You know what broke me the most? This line:

  What was she going to say? She said she would always love me, but --. Part of me wishes the message ended right there, before the last word.

   ALL THE FEELS FOR XANDER!! Isn’t he the saddest creature ever L I salute him for holding on, and lasting that long even though he is aware the his Match loves someone else. I mean, who wouldn’t love Xander? The way he always looked out for Cassia, loved her all these years and held on despite the circumstances. If I were Cassia, I’d rather hang myself than choose between Xander and Ky. Xander is the best ever. He didn’t even become bitter about what happened. I know that he undergone so many things to break him and change him, but he is still Xander, the one who’s always been with Cassia. I wish Cassia could see that. I know she does but she doesn’t do anything for Xander, all she did was break him. And in the end she’ll be like “Xander’s changed, I can’t reach him anymore”—like seriously? You were the one who changed him. He remained as constant as he can, his feelings for you never faded away…. Okay, I think I’m just getting a little emotional. But I’m happy that Xander found Lei. I’m not really a pro for their relationship, but as long as they can heal each other, then that would be the best choice. Since we’re talking about Lei, I was so surprised that Vick was her Match or whatever you call it with their relationship. What a small world, right?

   And for my favorite part, the Plague!!! I really really loved this part. It interests me a lot as a medical student! I’m so curious with what’s happening and the story about the Plague intrigues me so much that I think that’s the reason why I pushed on finishing this book. The plot twists were so cool, like how Oker said that the Pilot is the Plague. It fits everything! And how this Plague got mutated, which caused for the almost downfall of the Rising. How excited I was when Oker found the cure, that it was the Camassia plant that were making the citizens of Endstone immune, how he changed his mind when he saw the picture of the flower Cassia was holding. I also loved how Cassia found out about the cure that Oker was supposed to get!!!! It was so epic that I literally squealed when she knew what it was; the Sego Lily or the Mariposa Lily. I think that the Plague is the most fruitful and productive story in Reached, which made the book so good in my perspective. Many things happened during their journey of finding the cure, which made my heart beat fast every second that the answer is getting close. I’m so scared that Ky might die before they find out the cure. Thank God he survived. It had this Chapter where it’s Ky’s turn to tell his POV and it was blank, it cracked me up. But maybe tha laugh was a product of a relief because there’s no Indie in his POV which really annoys me every. single. time. Anyway, the Plague was my favorite part of the book. I’m really happy that Ally Condie added that into the book!

   Soooo, I think that’s just about it for this review. But let’s make a conclusion first. I really loved the book. I have to be honest that it was a good read, and a good present for us reader of the Matched Trilogy because majority hated Crossed. It’s got a lot of potential in it. The writing style is so good, too! The poems that Ally Condie added were gold, just perfect for the book. Truckload of mind blowing, gasping, ahhhh-ing and happy moments. This made me fall in love with dystopian novels all over again.