Review ~ Reached ~ Allie Condie

Title: Reached

Author:  Allie Condie

Published:  November 13^th 2012

By: Razorbill

First line: A man pushed a rock up the hill.

Last line:  Reaching and reached.

Fave line: Is actually a blank page which in the context of the story is genius!

Well, we’re now at the end of another fantastic series.  I’m a big fan of the dystopian genre and the Matched series certainly ticked all the boxes for me. I loved the characters in these stories and the way that the series progressed.  All the major players have come a long way since the series began.  They all came from a certain standpoint, seemingly clear in their convictions and as the plot deepens we the reader get to discover that what exists on the surface doesn’t necessarily reflect the true beliefs of Cassia, Ky and Xander.  The last book in the trilogy is no exception.

Reached is a mahoosive book! It weighs in at 512 pages and understandably so.  There are a lot of loose ends to tie up here.   When we left Crossed we were waiting for the arrival of the Pilot and the Rising. Cassia, Ky and Xander are all waiting for what they hope will be the end of the Society and in effect the dawn of a brave new world.  Their patience is rewarded when the Rising finally begins but as you would expect nothing is ever as perfect as it sounds and there are greater dangers facing them than anything they could have anticipated. 

Their journey reads more like an epic. It is a multi POV focusing on Ky, Cassia and Xander as they work with and react to the rising.  I love multi POVs anyway but I have to say I think this one works particularly well.   The three leads are separated by the roles they undertake in the Rising for the majority of the book and this way it is a neater way to keep up with the progression of the plot.

Condie’s writing has reached a whole new level for the end of the series.  Her development of the central characters is amazing and the plot she creates is complex and addictive and we learn so much more about Xander in this one.   Love him! There also seems to have been a step-change in the depth of emotion depicted.  There are some scenes in Reached that are heartbreaking and given the nature of the plot there is little that is joyful for the most part, not surprising given the way that the story unfolds. That said, there are uplifting moments amongst the doom and gloom.

I would say that where with some sequels you can pick up the book and catch up on events so far that is not the case with Reached.  There is no catch-up so you need to have read Matched and Crossed to be able to pick up the last in the series. If you haven't started the series so far and are a fan of the dystopian genre I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

4/5 A really fitting end to the series.  I’ll be sad to say goodbye to all three characters but this is one series where I got everything I wanted in the end! Can’t wait to see what Condie writes next.