Crossed by Ally Condie

Rules Are Different Outside The Society 
Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky--taken by the Society to his sure death--only to find that he has escaped into the majestic, but treacherous, canyons. On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life and the enthralling promise of a rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices every thing to reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game once again. Narrated from both Cassia's and Ky's point of view, this hotly anticipated sequel to Matched will take them both to the edge of Society, where nothing is as expected and crosses and double crosses make their path more twisted than ever.

Even though I hadn't heard to many great things about Crossed, I still decided to pick it up and decide for myself. I did enjoy Matched, so why would Crossed be any different? And besides, with such a pretty cover that matches Matched? I just wanted to have it. Unfortunately, Crossed was a huge dissapointment.


Ky is send to the Outer Provinces to fight the Enemy. From there he escapes to the canyons. Cassia, who is determined to find Ky, gets relocated to the Border Provinces. From there on out, she tries to find Ky. 


While I liked Ally Condie's writing style in Matched, I couldn't appreciate it in Crossed, because it didn't match the story. That is one of my major complaints. Cassia and Ky are in the Outer Provinces, a rough wasteland, and they are at war. But Ally Condie still maintained the poetical style of Matched, while it should have been rougher. 


I also couldn't connect with Cassia and Ky at all. They have so much bigger things to think about, but all they could think about is each other. Cassia didn't really think so much of her parents. Sometimes a little about Bram, but not much. This seemed a little unrealistic to me. Especially Cassia annoyed me a lot. 


The characters introduced in Crossed were okay. I liked Eli, but the others didn't do much for me. And even though you get inside Ky's head in Crossed and we don't see too much of Xander, this book totally made me team Xander. 


Then there is the Enemy. Who is the Enemy? By the end of this book I still had no idea. Maybe this was explained in Matched and I just forget, but I can't remember. Hopefully Ally Condie will explain this in Reached. 


If you ask me, this book could have been 250 pages shorter. If you read Matched and you are determined to finish the trilogy, like me, then I would give Crossed a try. Otherwise I wouldn't be bothered.


2 out of 5 stars.

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons 

Published: January 31th 2012
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages hardcover: 364

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.
The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes. There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back. Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different. Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow. That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.    

Article 5 was everything I wanted it to be and more. It is quite a dark dystopian and I loved it. This future of the US is terrifying. If you don't stay under the radar and obey the Moral Statues you get send to prison or worse. Ember's mother is caught for breaking Article 5, basically being a single mom. When she gets arrested,  Ember is sent to a reform school for girls. Ember is determined to break out and save her mom. 


This isn't your dystopian where some things are wrong and it is not pleasant, but you'll live. No. It is a dystopian where people who won't obey get beaten up or killed. Where you can't trust anybody. The pace is great and the story is amazing. It is so realistic it gave me chills. I could picture everything in my head even though I sometimes really didn't want to.


The characters are what really made this story. Ember was strong and fierce, maybe a little naive, but she had to be in order to make it through. But Chase, oh Chase, he is just amazing. He has been through a lot and makes mistakes, but he loves Ember more than anything in the world. He is one of the best male protagonist out there for sure. He has been scarred, but still tries to protect Ember, even though there is a lot at stake for him. Also Sean, one of the soldiers from reform school, was a great secondary character. I loved how he was woven into the story and tied everything together. 


I can't believe there isn't a hype surrounding this book. It is definitely one of the best dystopians out there and I really encourage you to read it. I will preorder the second book for sure! I wish it could be 2013 already..


5 out of 5 stars!

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Published: October 6th 2009
Publisher: Vintage
Pages hardcover: 440  

Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men. 
Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered. 
With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.

Leviathan is the first steampunk book I've read in my life and I really, really enjoyed it. The concept of the book is very cool. The whole idea of steampunk is that the society is far ahead of its time. The book is set in World War I, but instead of having the Allies and the Central Powers like we're used to, you have the Darwinists and the Clankers. The Allies experimented with the DNA of animals and now they have these incredible beasts that they use as weapons. The Clankers, on the other hand, have very experienced technology. They have gigantic robots as weapons. In most books the steampunk aspect has to do with technology, but this time it also had to do with nature, DNA and genetics. 


I love reading about the World Wars and especially with this new take on it. It made it all really exciting for me. The world building was phenomenal and I could picture everything in my head (but there are these amazing pictures in the book if you need help). The book is action packed and hard to put down.


Then there are these amazing characters. In the beginning of the book the Archduke Frans Ferdinand and his wife Sofia are killed in Sarajevo. With four of his father best trusted servants Alexander escapes from Austria. At that moment he is just a little boy, 16 but mentally just 12. In the few weeks that follow you see him change, growe up and making decicions on his own. I really loved him. In the beginning I just wanted to hold him, but in the end I admired him. He is loyal, good-hearted and clever. Then you have Deryn, a 15 year old English girl that passes as a 16 year old boy called Dylan to join the airforce. On her first day with the airforce she boards the big airship the Leviathan. There she is the bravest one of them all. She is so though that I almost felt like I was reading about a boy, but at some moments you can still see she's a girl which I really liked. She has a big love for flying and for the beast and you could sense that through the book. 


Scott Westerfeld is an amazing author. I've read Uglies too, but I liked this book so much more. The creativity in this book with the Darwinists was amazing and he created some great protagonist. However the ending seemed a little abruptly and I would like to see the relationship of Alek and Deryn grow more. Thankfully, there is a second book called Behemoth and a third book called Goliath. I will be picking up Behemoth soon. 


Leviathan was an excellent read that I would definitely recommend. 


4 out of 5 stars.