Crossed by Ally Condie

CCrossed by Ally Condie is the sequel to Matched which came out last year.  It is a dystopia society type novel along the lines of Hunger Games, but way less violent.  Is there really freedom when one has not choice?  There is a love triangle between Cassia, Ky, and Xander.  Cassia decides she will do anything to get back with Ky including leaving the Society and life as she has known.  Journeys are made and rivers and mountains are crossed as both Ky and Cassia search for each other and what they really want and where they really want to go.  Now that they have a choice, what will they choose?  I enjoyed it, and the ending leaves you waiting impatiently for next November when the final book in the trilogy comes out.  If you haven't read Matched, then definitely put it on your reading list so you can read Crossed. 

Matched by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie is the first in a trilogy.  It is along the lines of The Giver, 1984, Brave New World, and The Hunger Games.  Cassia lives in a dysophia society where they choose everything for her and just tell her what to do.  But when you turn 17 you can choose to be matched, and the Society will match you with your perfect mate.  Amazingly Cassia gets matched with her best friend Xander, but then later when she gets home another name and face flashes on her screen of who she should be matched to--Ky--who is someone she also knows.  Cassia is torn by this "mistake" and who is her real and true match?  In a society with no choices, she now has one, and it is the biggest one of her life.  This is a great read.  Thought provoking--how lucky are we with our choices and our lives--even when we don't always make the right choices.  What is true love and how do you really show it?  How can you show freedom and make your life your own if you never have any choices?  My 10-year-old daughter picked this up right after I put it down, and she is also enjoying it.  We can't wait for the 2nd to come out in November 2011 and the 3rd set for November 2012.  Does it have to take that long????