I would definitely be willing to try whatever Ally Condie comes out with next. What really kept me reading the book was the writing. The love triangle even becomes a little perfunctory–which is fine by me, since I didn’t care for it in the first place. I did not see any of the passion or even tension that characterized Matched and Crossed. There was too much science to overlook it as a mere plot point, but not enough to satisfy a biologist.Īll the focus on the Rising and the plague leaves less time for the characters’ relationships. But as an adult scientist, I sometimes felt like I was reading a (bad) primer on epidemiology and the scientific method. And I feel that if I’d read this book 10-15 years ago, it would have gotten me intrigued about its biological concepts (like “mitochondria” did in A Wind in the Door). I liked that Reached added more scifi elements the concept of the three colored tablets has always been one of my favorite things from the series. The concept is interesting to me (and if it is to you also, I recommend another book about rebellion and plague warfare: the Star Wars X-Wing series by Michael Stackpole, specifically The Krytos Trap).

But complications arise, and our three main characters have to step in to save the day. The Rising will be welcomed with open arms. As the Rising makes its move to liberate Society, it uses not brutal violence, but rather a tactic that will play upon the populace’s emotions: the rebels have helped introduce a plague, and then they will bring the cure. The second book has the characters fighting for love as well as survival in the real world outside of Society. The first book develops the idea of forbidden love in a rigidly controlled Society.

All three individual books left something to be desired, but I think together they have some very interesting ideas, and if you like dystopia and scifi and love triangles, they are worth a look.Įach book in the series has a slightly different setting and theme, looking at different aspects of dystopian society in a thoughtful way, less action-packed than other current YA selections. I requested Reached from my library as soon as it came out in November, and as the months passed waiting in line for it, I actually forgot I had done so, so little was my interest.īut after reading Reached, I feel comfortable recommending the series as a whole. But I am a completist, and I hate leaving books and series unfinished. I gave a fairly lukewarm review of the first two books in the series, Matched and Crossed. Reached by Ally Condie was a book that I felt I *should* read rather than I *wanted* to read.

Reached matched series