Cassia & Ky (2) - Crossed by Ally Condie
And now to thrilling part two of the series about Cassia, Ky, and a system that wants to destroy their love: Crossed (in German Die Flucht, in French Insoumise). I read it German, where it contained 455 pages. Originally published 2011.
Cassia would follow Ky anywhere, even into a place without civilization, where the rebels fight against the soldiers of the system. While she chases Ky, she stumbles over dangerous truths – like the rebels, what the war really means, how empty her choices were and which means the system uses to get what they want – and where Ky and Xander really stand...
This book is as good as the first. The characters are realistic, with their own background – a background that's more important than before, in Ky's case. I was surprised by how much Ky's name, or rather the one of his father means. Sure, we knew what happened before, but this has been a while back.
Spoiler:
What's interesting as well is how Ky handles the situation. It makes sense for him to absolutely refuse to join an organisation that is the reason his parents were killed. And it makes sense as well that he wouldn't want Cassia to join it either, but it's just... Ky's seemed to be so strong before. He broke the rules for her, so in a way, he fought for against the system. And the jets of that very same system did kill his parents. So... it would make sense for him to really want to fight with the rebels, especially after he has been sent in this camp for no reason at all.
As for Cassia, she really has grown. I liked her before, but now I like her... well, I like her even better. She really knows what she wants – and she's willing to sacrifice so much for it. She makes sense
What doesn't make sense in my book are her parents. Sure, they know about love and probably guess that they couldn't stop Cassia. But I wonder why they didn't put up a fight when she came with the notion to leave home for ploughing fields close to the theatres of war – and her family has to know that this means military – military, for goodness sake! Seriously, everybody knows that the soldiers don't come back. And she's a girl and, because of that, military is a little more dangerous. I don't means this in a women-to-the-kitchen-kind of way. I am a woman and I do believe in the equality between men and women, independence and all that jazz. BUT there are simply situations in which “because you are a girl” seriously is a reason to not do something. Because no matter how feministic, independent, strong, whatever you are, there are parts of the world in which women are not seen as equal and are, well, bluntly said abused. So you have a better chance there as a man. Additionally there are just physical differences between girls and boys that do make a difference. Best example: Boys can't get pregnant. In this situation, I'm talking about something else: Military is probably more dangerous for Cassia, because she a) doesn't have any experience with violence and b) because women tend to get raped in war. So, if I was her mother and I heard that she wants to give up a really good job for hard labour in an insecure environment and then military for a boy, I kind of would at least try to make her reconsider. Her parents are like “okay, have fun”. This... seems just a little weird.
Spoiler:
However, I'm so sorry for Xander. Seriously, that poor boy! This is such a shitty situation. He knows that she's where she is, because she loves someone far more than him – even though he could have had her (and should have, according to the system). But because of that very system, he can't really let her go to be with that person, but has to pretend that their relationship is paradise. This sucks. And the fact that Cassia calls upon his help has to hurt him as well – and her, since she has a real bad conscience. But his choice is interesting.
You get to know a lot more about what happens behind the curtain of said system, by the way. It's really... well, it's something, just nothing good. The DNA? The pills? Da fuck?
To continue: There are new characters in here as well. I like Indie, she has fire, and, like Cassia, she is determined to fight for what she wants.
As you can see, you can talk a lot about this book. It's tense, surprising and full of good characters.
In brief:
I give the book a star for characters, plot, ideas and style. Even though it's as good as the first, here's nothing that special it could deserve the fifth star.
Prequel:
Sequel: