Matched Trilogy Ally Condie Collection 3 Books Set

Matched #1-3

by Ally Condie

Matched Trilogy Ally Condie Collection 3 Books Bundle with Gift Journal includes titles in this Collection :- Crossed: 2/3, Reached, Matched: 1/3. Description:- Reached The final thrilling part of the New York Times bestselling trilogy, REACHED is the sequel to MATCHED and CROSSED by Ally Condie. After leaving the Society and desperately searching for each other - and the Rising - Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again. Crossed Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain 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 rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices everything to reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game once again. Matched Matched is the first book in an utterly compelling series by Ally Condie. On her seventeenth birthday, Cassia meets her Match. Society dictates he is her perfect partner for life. Except he's not. In Cassia's society, Officials decide who people love. How many children they have. Where they work.

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Fantasy, Romance, Fiction, Science Fiction, Childrens

Paperback

First published November 13, 2012

About the author

Ally Condie is a former high school English teacher who lives with her husband, three sons and one daughter outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, running, eating, and listening to her husband play guitar.

Reviews

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 1 out of 5]

Matched - 2 stars
The first book in the series started out pretty good but halfway through, I started to lose interest. I didn't like the main character and Ky and Xander were just okay.

Crossed - 2 stars
The second book was pretty much the same and brought nothing new to the YA Dystopian world.

Reached - DNF @ 45%

[NJ :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
- Dylan Thomas

Matched: 5 stars. It was pretty fast-paced and kept me turning the pages.
Crossed: 4 stars. This one took a little while to get going, and was kinda slow and monotonous in parts. Other than that, pretty good.
Reached: 5 stars. A fabulous climax and ending. The whole plague and cure thing was really interesting.

All in all, this series was very entertaining. It was fun and interesting and everything you could want in a dystopian YA novel. It had all the elements. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The corrupted-but-tricky government took on a different cloak, but the rebellion was a little cliché. I loved the characters. They were written in such a way that I felt for them and wanted them to do things and hated and loved them all at once. I love that. The main character, Cassia Reyes has a wonderful growth throughout the trilogy. She goes from insecure and unsure of herself to really strong and confident. That’s always fun to see.

Ally Condie used both a Thomas and a Tennyson poem to mold her rebellion around, and that was probably my favorite part. The fact that it used literature as a weapon was just wonderful.

I’ll have to look into Ally’s other stuff, because this was great!

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series had amazing potential!!!! Unfortunately, for me they did not deliver.

The story is a good one! The characters were a bit on the flat side, though they got better near the end of the story.

My main complaint was the flow of the books. It felt very choppy/bumpy. There were also quite a few plot twists that could have been added, but were left as loose ends. And the ending was just a bit anti-climactic.

I wish that Ally Condie had done a couple more edits before publishing to work out the kinks. But I do think she is very creative, and hope she comes out with more work!

[Fran Prather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished reading the first book, Matched, but the search on Goodreads will only allow me to add the whole set. Well, that's fine, because I am going to read all three-I really liked this book. Other reviewers are correct, it is a love story version of The Giver, but it is so much more than that. Yes, fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent (me!) will like it. The characters are compelling - I cared about all of them, even the minor characters like the younger brother. Maybe it's the weaving in and out of the Dylan Thomas poem that we all know and love, "Do not go gentle into that good night," that is appealing. I don't know, I liked the whole thing and couldn't wait to finish it tonight. And I'm forcing myself to wait until tomorrow to begin the second book or I won't sleep tonight. So much for being over my YA dystopian novel addiction!

[Mysee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone hoping for a dystopian novel where the main character is forced to kill and go through post traumatic disorder and undeserving of love.... should NOT expect it from this trilogy.

I've noticed that a lot of dystopian novels have almost the same outline but Ally herself rebels against this trend and reminds us that there can be hope and happy endings, or at least a satisfying one.

The perspective of Ky is beautiful and poetic while Xander's perspective reins logically and contrary of Ky's; and even then, Ally Condie effectively balances Cassia's point of view of both worlds.

A great read if you are looking for something that won't depress you in the end.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING EVEN RIVALS THE CANE CHRONICALS

[Bunny Butters · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series had potential I enjoyed book 1 but I lost interest with the rest I did finish them and they just were ehhhhh.

[Margot Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best series I’ve ever read. It has romance, mystery, dystopian, suspense… everything. So good! Love everything about it❤️

[Bekah Shambrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Condie writes in a way that draws the reader in, her characters are relatable and the Society she has created is something that can be understood but not liked. Cassia, Ky and Xander are wonderful characters with a depth that develops throughout the trilogy.
The Matched Trilogy is full of twists that keep you on your toes, you have to keep thinking and wondering what might happen next.
She builds tension well and you can feel the strain Cassia feels at times. You can also feel the love she has for her friends and family and the disdain she begins to feel towards the Officials.
I also love how Condie was able to tie in the beautiful poetry from Dylan Thomas and other wonderful poets.
It was a story I just couldn’t put down.

Reading Matched I struggled to have any feelings for Xander but as his character develops through the books I was able to sympathise with how he felt. All of Condie’s characters develop well through this trilogy. Some of this trilogy seemed somewhat slow paced but that was easily made up in the faster paced, tension fuelled scenes.

Condie’s writing flows well throughout the books, it has a very poetic feel to it, I found this series gripping and exciting.
I love her design of this dystopian future. We don’t know what happened to the world to create this Society but that doesn’t matter. The people in the Society aren’t outright oppressed or in danger, they honestly don’t know any better, but as readers we know that it is not as perfect a world as the Society would have its citizens believe. We can see that Condie’s Society is not one of progression it is stagnant and unmoving; as though the Officials are scared of development and change. Humanity cannot live this long without creativity or change.

Read more of this review at: Adofaer & Arkhdrauth

[Kayleigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Short of It: No connection to characters, no payoff at the end, no explanations about the society, I’ve seen CVS receipts that had a more engaging narrative than this. I do not recommend this series.

The Long of It: I wish I could tell you that I read these books out of a profound intellectual curiosity, or that the poetry stirred my soul, but the truth is that there is nothing on TV anymore, so I find myself looking in under every rock for entertainment these days.

This is one of those color-by-numbers crapsaccharine worlds where at first everything is super-controlled by an all-knowing government, and everything is beautiful all the time. But then something unexpected happens, and the officials get mean and ugly somehow, and there are a lot more of them. Before you know it they’re giving you bad medicine and you’re being sent off to work camps where you join a rebellion, and in the third book the ultimate battle is fought to change things forever--

Don’t forget the love triangle.

I can’t even say that’s a gross oversimplification of the plot, because that IS the plot. Now, I don’t mind a recycled plot, or this Milquetoast Dystopia, but what I do care about is not caring. I just didn’t care about any of these characters. I kind of cared about Cassia’s grandfather, and Ky made me angry when he burned that map in Crossed. Other than that, it was like reading dry, impersonal accounts of events, not people telling me about emotional things that happened to them.

Ky is my match. I love Ky. This is all you get from the narration. You never feel sadness on her grandfather’s death, anger when the government is taking their things, or fear when something dangerous happens. It’s all this is this and that is that. People blubber when their relatives die. They get mad when you take their stuff. They shake with terror when authorities take them to parts unknown. These characters don’t do any of that, so we don’t empathize with them and we don’t care about them.

I would have been interested in what the catalyst was that caused people to decide that they had to get rid of all the “clutter” and make people only have specialized knowledge, and when and how all that went wrong. That’s the only reason I finished the series. A few sentences explaining what happened in the past in between the pining over true love would have been appreciated—give me a megalomaniac hungry for power, or an accident, or perhaps an evening news special with Brian Williams with some alternative facts. Throw me a bone here.

I have to be honest about poetry, too. If the future of freedom rests on poetry, the first matchbox that comes along is going to destroy humankind. Milquetoastia only has a hundred poems, a hundred stories, a hundred songs, and so on. Everything else is being purged, and the stuff they’re keeping isn’t exactly accessible to people. For example, the hundred songs are only sung by artificial voices, and are not singable by real people because of how they’re written. Plus, nobody is allowed to create new music. Not that they would find songs that they couldn’t sing very inspirational in the first place.

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the poetry is the same way—they probably don’t enjoy or understand it much. So when someone in Milquetoastia sees a random new Tennyson poem, they simply won’t have a frame of reference. They won’t have an education to tell them to think about symbolism and how it relates to them other than getting into trouble.

This is a huge plot hole.

A love of poetry and literature comes from understanding what it is. Milquetoastia doesn’t understand written things—written things are disposable, they’re bad, they’re clutter that can get you into trouble and they’re to be burned. Cassia would never have been affected by poetry like this without a much larger foundation built by someone, like her grandfather, someone who remembered what the words meant and could teach her about symbolism. The quick one-two lessons from Ky wouldn’t have done it. Cassia would have tossed her grandfather’s poems into the incinerator and gone right back into her routine.

Matched consists of Cassia wondering which boy is for her, and passing napkins back and forth with Ky. That’s the whole first book. Cassia and Ky spend all of Crossed in a canyon trying to get away from the all-knowing, all-controlling Milquetoastia, only to get to the rebellion, which turns out to be all-knowing and all-controlling. At this point they should have blown both sides sky high and run off to live in Narnia, but nobody is capable of coming up with an original thought, so they just let the rebellion assign them new jobs and off they go to do rebel things. Ky absolutely didn’t want to join the rebellion, but he still does this for reasons that aren’t made clear.

Reached adds Xander’s point of view to this mess, although I’m not sure why, since it’s impossible to tell them apart. The bits of pertinent information each character adds could have been worked in some other way without this confusion. In the end, the Pilot reveals that there isn’t any difference between the rebellion and Milquetoastia, so the whole thing was pointless. They find a cure for the Virus and there’s not much of a payoff or answers to anything.

Even the identity of the current Pilot was a nothingburger.

There’s not even much to mock here. So, unless you are trapped in Milquetoastia and this is the last set of books anywhere, I do not recommend reading this series. I am going to move on to bigger and better things right after I take the red pill.

[Sheena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read all three in a few days. A really light easy read. Entertaining and always interesting. The third book was slightly predictable.

[Suzanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just fabulous! Best books I've ever read!

[Valerie Camille Prior · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these books! ;)

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this Trilogy! I couldn't put it down once I had started reading it! A combination of The Giver and The Hunger Games all mixed into one.
Check out my review on https://youtu.be/gdyp3LvLCu4

[elseigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

[Estella · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEST BOOKS EVER

[Milosska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Первое, что хочется сказать по поводу прочитанного – от любой антиутопии типа young adult книга отличается не слишком, так что останавливаться на сюжете особого смысла нет. Все как всегда: есть власть (в данной книге названная Обществом), есть оппозиция (здесь это Восстание) и есть главные герои, которые примыкают куда? Да ладно, и как вы догадались? Так что если вы ищете чего-то нового и оригинального – проходите мимо.

На сюжете шаблоны только начинаются. В последствие вы встречаете просто огромную кучу моментов déjà vu (ну или в нашем случае déjà lu), таких как: опасный трудно/неизлечимый вирус (привет «Бегущему в лабиринте», «Лесу рук и зубов»), странные таблетки («Матрица», ты ли это?), иммуны ( снова здрасьте «Бегущий», да тут ещё и «Дивергент» с тобой), отсутствие возможности добыть еду самостоятельно (хай, «Голодные игры»), влюбленный лучший друг (здравствуй, «Гарри Поттер»), внезапный приход к власти опозиции (даже перечислять не хочу), любовный треугольник (число стремится к бесконечности) и это пришло на ум всего за пару минут. А что будет, если копнуть поглубже?

Несмотря на все это, книга читалась бы довольно таки легко, если б не второй, и на мой взгляд главный, минус трилогии: бесконечная любовная тягомотина. Сразу скажу: я знала, что она там будет – в конце концов это young adult, который ещё и начинается все с банкета Обручения – но не в таких же количествах! И что самое главное – хоть бы не такой однообразный. Да две книги из трех можно было бы прекрасно сократить, сжав весь этот любовный бред до данного абзаца: «С Ксандером я могла бы иметь семью, хорошую работу, быть любимой, счастливой, жить в каком-нибудь Городке с чистыми улочками и четким будущим. С Ксандером я могла бы заниматься теми вещами, которые всегда предполагала. Но с Каем я могу делать то, о чем даже не мечтала. Мне нужны оба». Именно это растянутое обмусоливание и обсасывание одной этой мысли со всех возможных и невозможных сторон затрудняет чтение, ибо то, как будет разорван этот любовный треугольник, понятно с самого начала.

Но вопреки всему вышеперечисленному у книги есть и положительные моменты. Например шикарное антиутопическое Общество. Оно продуманно и прописано более чем хорошо. По сути именно эта антиутопическая составляющая книги заставила меня прочитать весь цикл до самого конца. В какой-то момент мне вспомнился «Дивергент». Там тоже была шикарная идея фракций, загубленная на корню. Но в отличие от Вероники Рот, Элли Каунди прекрасно прописала и Общество, и Восстание, и, собственно главную мысль многих антиутопий: «Восстание и Общество так глубоко проникли друг в друга, что уже и не понять, кто есть кто. Это как змея, которая пожирает свой чертов хвост». Так что тем, кто хочет почитать антиутопию не в классической, а в подобной, легкой, форме, книга должна понравиться.

Потери в книге тоже прописаны правдоподобно. И вроде ничего особенного, а цепляют. Так что, как ни странно, я запишу это в положительные моменты.

Ну и что ещё стоит записать в несомненные плюсы – так это огромное количество ссылок на произведения разных деятелей искусства – поэтов, писателей и художников. И что здорово – такая идея не только радует отсылками к первоисточникам, но и подчеркивает тоталитаризм общества, создавшего систему Ста (лично я, как книголюб и меломан, даже не представляю, как в таких условиях можно нормально жить)))

В итоге вынесу такой вердикт: читать стоит тем, кто любит антиутопии, но не ищет особой оригинальности в произведении. Мне, несмотря на недостатки, книга все же понравилась (хотя по отзыву и не скажешь))))

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review appears on my blog: https://confessionsofabookwormweb.wor...

I read this book after reading The Divergent Trilogy and Cinder. Several of my friends had read and enjoyed it, and the whole premise of the first book sounded interesting, so I read it.

I was intrigued by the whole concept of the Society and how they choose who people love and when a person’s life ends. However, after a glitch in the Society’s perfect system causes the heroine, Cassia Reyes, to question everything she’s been taught.

Matched was a good introduction to the world of the Society and the characters. I enjoyed how it was from Cassia’s point of view. It was slow moving at times, but I still liked it and it made me want to read the rest of the series to find out what happens. I gave it 3/5 Stars

The second book in the series was Crossed and it was pretty boring, I felt like not much happened and I didn’t like how it was told from both Ky and Cassia’s points of view because it was sometime confusing, there were times when Ky kind of sounded like Cassia and vice versa. It just dragged on, but the last 30 pages was interesting because something actually happened. I gave it 2/ 5 Stars.

I wasn’t going to read the third book, Reached, but I was looking for a book to read and it was the only book that was interesting at the book store I was at, so I bought it. It was interesting to see how Condie wrapped up the series. There was very little action, again it felt like not a whole lot happened. The ending was unsatisfactory, there were just too many loose ends left untied (I can’t go into detail because it is a spoiler.) And there were so many grammatical errors, which is terrible considering it was published by a major publishing company. I don’t know if it is just the edition I have, or if it is in every copy of the book. I don’t know. I am giving it 2/5 Stars because the ending was terrible, not much was resolved in 500 pages(!), and there were so many grammatical errors I was cringing every time I saw it.

The series as a whole was okay, it was not as good as the Divergent trilogy, and the ending was bad (I know I just said that). The third book had a lot of potential but then it just fell flat. I would give the whole series 3/5 Stars, maybe even less.

I really wanted to like this series and the first book was promising, but the rest of the series was disappointing.

[Vi · Rating 4 out of 5]

So overall this series was nothing new from other dystopian novels. It was very basic and there wasn't much action compared to other dystopian novels. There was 2 opposite forces rising against one another but in the end nothing happened between them. They worked together. I personally thought it was refreshing. I liked that in the end they had to all choose to work together to save basically "the world" in some areas of the book I felt like it was dragging on and in other areas I wanted a bit more information. Overall I enjoyed the characters and how they all in the end were able to think and choose on their own. They all came to certain conclusions on their own.

I feel like this book is more realistic in a way. Just in the sense that we have to work together. We do believe in someone in this case the "pilot" to come save us. This one person is the person we hope for and only they can save us. I like that in the book while they were hoping for the pilot to come they also understood that they had to take action and make something happened. The main characters all reached their limits and had to trust one another in some form to continue moving forward and survive. We can often rely too heavily on others making or guiding our choices for us. While we are entirely capable, we can have a bit of guidance. However we won't always have guidance. It is always our choice on what we want to choose. We always have a choice. Even if it can have dire consequences. The main characters weren't forced to choose sides necessarily and if they picked the losing side they would all die. In the end they had to work together and came out stronger. It is truly refreshing to read compared to other dystopian novels.

Overall I thought this was a great series and written beautifully. The writing is different but the author Condie draws you in and her writing style is so different it gives you the opportunity to reflect on your own and come up with meanings.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This young adult series is an engaging mix of "The Giver," and "Divergent." In a post- apocalyptic (dystopian) society, called THE SOCIETY, citizens of the society are well cared for and groomed their whole lives for specific jobs and genetically matched to ideal partners. Most illnesses have been conquered, as well as creativity, independent thinking, and lessons from the past. As we so often discover, this "perfect" society with its advancements and accomplishments comes at a very high cost.

Throughout the trilogy, our three main characters (Cassia, Ky and Xander) must find strength in each other. They take risks in love, discover the many shades of friendship, determine their loyalty to the society, and loyalty to what they believe to be right.

I appreciate that the author keeps the romance at an appropriate level for young adults as well as older kids who are ready for more challenging books. A tween can read these books without parents worrying over the content. There is violence and death, but nothing terribly graphic or disturbing. I also feel that the books offer some good content for adults. The third book "Reached," is especially pertinent at this moment in time because a large part of the third book is dedicated to a pandemic event that changes everything. Some of the descriptions of the effects of the pandemic are eerily similar to what we are all experiencing now in the covid crisis of 2020.

There is not currently a film available for this series, but Disney does own the movie rights and is supposedly working on a film adaptation. Could this turn into a Disney+series? I'd watch it.

[Devon Lundberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this book series because I saw it on the shelf in my classroom and I had nothing else to read. I'm not usually big on romance books, but these books are my personal favorite! Anyway, once I opened the book, my friends would come over to me at random times and tell me how they thought that it was really cheesy. But I didn't listen. I was enjoying the book from the start! On the first couple of pages I was slightly confused, but that vanished as quick as it came. I normally like to read things about mythology but I go into all sorts of "modes" when I have my nose in a good book!I finally decided to the book out of the library because I wanted to give the book "a shot."I continued to read it and as I did, I gradually became more fond of these books. When I got to the end of the last book, I found myself wishing there were more of it just so I could inhale more of this wonderful piece of writing. But alas, I cannot; the series has ended and that is that. In conclusion, my only advice is to the readers and it is to read the book slowly, savor every second that your eyes spend scanning the page and taking in the scenery of the story around you.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dystopian futuristic story. Several generations b/f the story begins, this portion of society has allowed the gov't to control all aspects of a citizen's life (where you live, what job you have, if and to whom you marry, what you can read/see/do, etc.). For the most part, the citizens are not dissatisfied w/ their lot--mainly through superior propiganda. In the 3 books of the series, you follow 3 characters who are just becoming adults and through a series of unexpected events discover many truths about their society and about themselves. I found the premise of the story to be very intriguing and the plot had many interesting and unexpected twists. The characters were also believable and their internal experience kept me engaged. However, I have recently read a few novels w/ steller expression of the character's experience and this wasn't quite as good as those---still very good though. Definitely a worthwhile read.

[Kayla O'Malley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read books 1 and 2 (Matched and Crossed) back when I was a teen, probably around 8th grade. LOVED them! I did not grow up as a reader, but this was during the Twilight-era. I couldn’t really handle books the size of the Twilight saga, but I wanted so desperately to read that type of story. My friend recommended this series to me and I was instantly hooked. At the time, the third book wasn’t out yet, and my teenage life kinda flipped upside down. I picked up book 3 as a young adult (early 20s) and still loved it. A little more cringe and harder to take seriously, but still in my top 3 series list for sure. It just hits the spot for a love triangle sci-fi without being deeply and grotesquely toxic teen romances.

[Kayla Sprenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm writing a review for all three books at once.
Can I just say: THESE ARE MY FAVORITE BOOKS EVER!
Part of that might be because I kinda fell in love with Ky Markham. :) Ally Condie did an AMAZING job of building the romance between Ky and Cassia. She even included how they knew each other before this story takes place. I seriously can't even begin to say how great these books are.
The second book Crossed, may be a little slow going but do NOT stop reading it. It gets SO good about halfway through until the end of the series.
The last book has the best ending ever.
Love this series so much. Thank you so much, Ally Condie, for writing these perfect books.

[Zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Matched series is a beautiful exploration of the possibilities of revolution. It is a series for poets, for people who love words, and for those who believe that a better world is possible. The series, particularly the last book (Reached), gives a hopeful but complex look at the politics of revolutions, and asks you to think about what your line is for when you stay and fight, and when you let go and search for something else entirely.

I also appreciate reading this series in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, thinking about structural response to public health crises, and the way health continues to be weaponized.

[christyanne zlotowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mediocre

The first book interested me most. As the books continued, I waited for a big climax that never came. It just felt like it was dragging on forever to finish. I kept waiting for a change. Waiting for cassia to maybe switch to fall for Xander or ky to fall in love with indie and ditch cassia. The plague and the pilot story had no big climax either. It just rambled on. The only big climax at the end was remembering the red garden day, which was nothing that great.

[KC Merrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great series. Enjoyed the world, the characters, the storyline and especially the truths she explored. Figured partway through that her concepts of the importance of agency, responsibility of personal growth, personal freedom, and choice vs. control despite giving up possible safety and comfort was too close to gospel principles, and sure enough, she is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Will definitely find more of hers to read.

[Mansi Khedekar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read up to book 2 and I was not feeling as engaged as with the world as I should have been. Book one seemed to build the world up very well but book 2 seemed too long for just making it to the Rising. Hurdles, self discovery, experiences were not as much and based on this I was not sure I wanted to read the 3rd book. I read it's summary and I am kind of glad I didn't read it because the plot seems all over the place. So eh.

[Ella Buckley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love is mysterious... especially to teenage Clarissa who has recently been matched. But getting matched isn't as easy as she thinks. She is left having to make a decision that will determine her future... her love... and, most of all, her side. She must choose until it's too late.

This trilogy is truly eye-opening and suspenseful, with secrets revealed on every page.

[Autumn Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would not recommend, all 3 of the books felt like the same thing just dragged on and on. I did not enjoy and I felt myself falling asleep halfway through most of the books. You only need to read the first one to know the plot of the rest, its an easy read and I did enjoy the first one but I feel as if the setting never changes after they reach a certain point of the book.