Review: Reached by Ally Condie

Reached
Ally Condie
November 13th 2012
384 pages (hardcover)
Publisher: Dutton
Source: ARC from publicist

Highlight to read the summary: "After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising— and each other — Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again.

In this gripping conclusion to the #1 New York Times-bestselling Matched Trilogy, Cassia will reconcile the difficulties of challenging a life too confining, seeking a freedom she never dreamed possible, and honoring a love she cannot live without."

An excellent ending to an incredible trilogy, REACHED ties everything together in ways you'll never see coming. As with the previous novels, Condie's writing is fluid, unhurried, and poetic with each line, each page. In REACHED, Condie lets readers know and learn more about Xander as a new narrator, in addition to Cassia and Ky's points-of-view. All three narrations are strong and each voice is authentic to each character, making it easy to always know who is narrating at any given point. Life has changed – and continues to change – drastically for all three characters as a deadly plague spreads and each character comes closer to choosing their future. 

Overall, this conclusion to the MATCHED trilogy is gripping, romantic, exciting, and surprising. Anyone who hesitates reading this trilogy because of the love triangle is missing out, because these books are about more than two young men and a girl struggling to choose between them. They are about freedom, fighting for what you believe in, and so much more. Condie's writing is evocative and completely engaging. All in all, REACHED is an outstanding conclusion that will captivate readers until the very last page. 

Highlights: I enjoyed how Condie tied everything together in this novel – a few moments that seemed inconsequential in previous books became extremely important in this story. This story surprised me a few times, and I loved the three distinct points of view – it was nice to finally get to know more about Xander's character. Character growth, especially Cassia's character. 

Lowlights: Very slow going and character-focused, which is to be expected from Condie's writing. However, it felt like it took a very long time to get to the main plot. 

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

Release: June 28, 2011

Pages: 320 (hardcover)

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Source: Galley Grab

Summary:

Sometimes there's no turning back.

Amber's life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of her family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself.

Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell that he's also looking for an escape. Together they...Click here for more of this summary.

Thoughts: The Day Before perfectly exemplifies the beauty of words tied together through emotion - this story is poetic, lyrical...and just overall spectacular.

Amber needs this last day for herself, and only herself. Running off early in the morning with a backpack full of essential items - her drumstricks, P!NK blaring on her iPod, and of course, some jelly beans - Amber heads off for a day that she can control. Early on, she runs into Cade, the two of them click, and decide to see where the day takes them. As the day spirals onward into more adventures, the separate mysteries surrounding these two characters are slowly revealed. Mixed in, letters to Amber help hint at her predicament, but it's Cade's that will surprise the most.

Schroeder knows how to string words together beautifully. Her characters are easy to connect with and I couldn't help but grow quickly curious about what was going on in Amber's life. Her impromptu day trip alone intrigued me -- After all, who hasn't ever wanted just a day that you can control completely, where you can go anywhere and do anything?^{1} The situations and issues revealed in this novel are a bit heartbreaking, but this story still manages to come across as endearing. 

From fun at the beach, to an awesome concert I wish I could attend^{2} and so much more, The Day Before is truly an incredible story about one day and how easily life can throw some surprises your way. 

Highlights: References to various musical artists, movies were a bonus (especially for a current pop culture movie/music fan). But even more, I enjoyed how Amber and Cade bonded over music/movies. This novel is written in pure emotion and still remains very realistic to the narrator - despite being so lyrical, she still comes across like a teenage girl. I'm not usually a verse-novel fan, but I always find Schroeder's work enjoyable and worthwhile to read. 

Lowlights: It was far too quick, too short. By the time it ended, I wanted just more out of the story/characters to give them both a bit more depth. The attraction - while sweet - between Cade and Amber needed some more time to develop into something believable. 

Rating:   

{1} Raises hand*

{2} Trust me, you'd want to be at that concert too. *dances*