Reached by Ally Condie 
Publisher: Dutton Children’s Books
Publishing Date: November 2012
Genre: young adult, dystopian
ISBN: 9780525423669
Goodreads: 3.83
Rating: ★★
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.
Cassia, Xander, and Ky are all members of the Rising. Ky flies planes filled with medical kits and cures for the Plague that has consumed the Society. Xander is a medic that administers the cure within the Society. Cassia continues to sort, a vague position still left unexplained, and trade with other Rising members. The three eventually team up to help the Pilot fully, when a deeper issue begins to concern both the Rising and the Society they once loved.
I deeply wanted to love this. Matched was a favorite. I loved the Brave New World concept, the use of pills to calm or forget things, a Society that only allots a certain amount of knowledge so that the people will not be overwhelmed with needless facts. I enjoyed the language: simple, cut and dry, very much like the Society Cassia lived in. Unfortunately, this did not meet my expectations after Matched and Crossed (which I also loved for its gritty politics and on-edge fight-or-flight feel). I was disappointed with this last installment.
The flaws in the book point to the perspectives, the writing style, and the meekness of the Rising’s plot. Condie overwhelms the reader with three perspectives: Cassia, Ky, and now Xander. Xander and Ky had distinct voices — excellent when writing from two different male perspectives, as it can be a bit of a challenge — that kept the reader updated on the events about the Rising in that same dry tone from the first book. Xander is, unbelievably, a high-ranking medical staff, and Ky is, also unbelievably, one of the best fighter pilots the Rising as ever seen. Despite this, their point of view within Society walls and on the outskirts of Society help create a rounded story. Cassia’s perspective, however, was dripping with poetry. It was beautifully lyrical, but there were so many illusions and strange references that it made me fear for her sanity. I could not understand what exactly was going on from her end of the Rising, other than a desire to create a culture through art once again. Her mentality also came into question for every single reference she made to keeping silks and papers against her skin underneath all of her uniforms, or tacking sheets of paper covered in poetry onto tree branches. Really? Cassia, you do not sound stable.
As for the plot, there was no power behind the propaganda. The Rising simply swooped in to save the day, bringing a cure for the Society’s Plague. And then what? There was no fight. No struggles were made from the Society. And yet the book dragged over 500 pages when nearly 200 of it could have been cut. I felt no emotion, no anticipation, no concern or worry for any of the characters. Everything I had hoped for, considering the success and tension from Matched and Crossed, was left to dust.
For the sake of the series, I gave this book two stars for “it was okay.”
Scribbles & Wanderlust 
6 thoughts on “Book Review: “Reached” by Ally Condie”
Steven Atwood
Was more of a literary fiction piece than YA?
Laura
Mmm, no it was still definitely YA. You can still have literary YA — in fact, I deeply appreciate and love literary works. But the voice in this third installment of the trilogy was completely off. It did not fit the character, the setting, the situation. That’s why I was concerned about her mentality — is the author doing this on purpose to demonstrate Cassia’s “awakening” or is Cassia traumatized from her experiences in the 2nd book? But even then…her voice, her chapters, seemed entirely off and unnecessary for the book (which is an awful thing to say, considering this trilogy is ABOUT HER).
In short, the continuity was disjointed with the lyrical narrative.
Steven Atwood
Good point. Just curious, from a reader of YA (and not related to me), what makes good YA? Specifically science fiction and fantasy. I guess where do you draw the line between adult books and YA, the lines seem to be fuzzy to me.
Laura
That’s exactly it with YA now. YA is not necessarily “teen” anymore. YA is “young adult” which fits anyone from 12 to 28, even if the main characters are 16. They deal with drastic as well as daily issues, which is what makes readers relate to them. There’s also that “fuzz line” you mentioned between YA and adult, which the publishing industry is thinking of calling “New Reader”: people who are not teens but like the simplicity and language of YA fiction. You can thank Hunger Games and Harry Potter for this. As for what makes good YA, it all depends on the reader, just like what makes good fiction, good fantasy, good sci fi, good romance. For me, it’s the maturity of the character (as I found myself to be mature compared to other teens when I was younger), the consistency of the language in the books (if it’s a series), and believable situations (whether real life, or world-building in sci fi/fantasy; the laws of nature for that particular world must apply to certain situations, always). A thesis idea of mine is along these lines.
Steven Atwood
I am planning my next series and I am looking to tailor it to that market.
Laura
Oh, excellent! YA is definitely an expanding and booming genre. I’d probably read a few books here and there to notice what works and what doesn’t. Another great blog to check out that’s heavily YA is theprettybooks here on WordPress. She works for a publishing house and adores YA – I’m only just entering thanks to the great dystopians out there.