Crossed by Ally Condie

I am having a hard time writing a review for Crossed.  First, I did not even write a review the first book in this series. Because I had many mixed feeling about Matched. But I have to say Matched was so much better than the Crossed.

In this dystopian series everything in Cassia's life is control by the society. The society controls what you eat, who you love, and even when you die. In the prior book Matched Cassia starts to question the society. By making her own choices she falls in love with a person the society feels is wrong for her.

In Condie most recent addition to the Matched trilogy Crossed, Cassia's has abandoned her home, family, and the only life she knows to find Ky the boy that she really loves. Ky is dealing with the aftermath of being forced to leave Cassia. This is the whole book! More importantly, in Crossed we learn very little about the society.

What is good about Crossed?
1) Love the fact that Tennyson’s Crossing the Bar and Dylan Thomas' Do not go gentle into that good night, are reoccurring themes throughout the book. Condie does an great job with weaving the poems into the story.
2) I also liked the part were Cassia and Ky find each other after all the crap they both have to go through.

What is not so good about Crossed?

1) The first part of the book was just Ky and Cassia wondering in the woods. I know there was character growth during this time by Cassia and Ky put really this should not have been the first half of the book.  This could have been done in a few chapters.

2) It really pissed me of that  Cassia did all this crap to find Ky, and when she find him she seriously thinks about not staying with him. Of course you know she decides to stay with him. But wait the Rebellion sends her back to the society. Ky has to go to a different place, and fight for a cause that he doesn't believe in. Surprise! There will be a third book. I guess all will be answered.

I just have to say thinking back I did like Matched. I found the story really interesting despite the fact there was stuff in that book that I did not care for. But with Crossed I am so mad that I paid money for this book. I could have wait until  the book was at the library. I think Condie fell into the same trap that so many authors do with the 2nd books in their series.

Reading and More

Very simply I am a girl that loves to read novels about things that creep around outside people’s window at night. I also love to read about bloodsuckers. In real life I hope to become a professional bloodsucker one day soon. I know that I am silly! Sorry for the bad lawyer joke, to all my professional bloodsuckers. It is just a joke.

By following these two passions I have traveled a unique path.  I am one of those people that read every day and love it. One of my favorite websites is Goodreads. http://goodreads.com After reading a few of my friend’s from Goodreads blogs I was inspired to start one of my very own. I mostly read paranormal fiction. Particularly, I enjoy YA paranormal romance. I also enjoy dystopia novels and historical fiction.  Lastly, I also like true crime novels. I literally grew up reading John Grisham. Well, my mom read the novels and I just listen.

I think growing up listening to John Grisham was the first contact that I had with the legal world.  But when I was in 7^th grade I had to do a report on the justice system and I based my report on the movie 12 Angry Men and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird.  Every since that report I wanted to be a lawyer. 

The road has not been easy for me.  When I was in 2^nd grade I found out that I had a learning disability.  My junior year of high school I told my college advisor that I wanted to be a lawyer. She told me that I would never be able to get into law school. I can proudly say that in 2011 I graduated from law school. But the universe is not always fair. I have taken the bar exam and failed.

Now I am currently dealing with the aftermath of failure. I am not going to fib. I do have some regrets. However, I do not think they are typical. Most of my regrets are about the bar exam and my first year of law school.  Since learning  that I failed the exam I have wonder would I have received a different result if I went to a different law school and took a different bar prep class. I have even questioned if I really want to be a lawyer.  Those are not true regrets; those are just doubts that I think any one in my situation would have. My real regret is that I doubted my self.  But through all those fake and real doubts I have arrived at the conclusion that I really want to be a lawyer.  

When I enter high school I kind of lost my love of reading. But during my junior year I read one of my all time favorite books The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George.   After I graduated from college I began to read again. But I went to grad school and I never had time to read.  So who would have thought that I would find my lost love in law school.

My first year of law school was somewhat academically successful. However, my first year was personally horrific.  Despite the fact that I wanted to be lawyer since I was in 7^th grade, I loathed the actual experience of law school.  I had never been one of those people that study that much despite having a learning disability.  For the first time in my life I had to study and read a lot just to keep up.  I made it through my first year right in the middle of the pack.   But I knew that something had to change. I came to the conclusion at the end of my 1^st year that I would not be able to keep that pace for the next two years.  I began my 2^nd year of law school and I had to take a legal ethic class.  The professor on the first day of class talked about how different the life of a one L was from the life of two L.  He talked about how as 2^nd year students we must find a balance. He told us that we should pick up a non-legal book some time.  On that day I rediscovered my love for reading.