Reached (Ally Condie)

Title: Reached

Author: Ally Condie

Publisher: Dutton Books (Penguin)

Length: 512 pages

Rating: 4.5/5

Reached is the final book in the Matched trilogy (find reviews for Matched and Crossed here). Cassia has chosen to join forces with the Rising, a rebellion against society. But when things get out of hand, she finds herself paired with both Ky and Xander to find a cure for the disease that threatens to destroy everything.

Can we just pause for a second and love on the simple beauty of these cover designs? The green/blue/red symbolism continues to feature and shine in the final installment of the trilogy.

The first book started with the power of choice, and the question of what you could give up to have the freedom to choose. Cassia is swept up into something much bigger than herself when she makes her choice, and Xander and Ky make their own choices to be swept into the Rising as well. But nothing in this book is ever black and white, and there are some great moral dilemmas about choice, love, freedom, and who to follow.

I liked that this book was told from three narrative perspectives: Cassia, Ky, and Xander. I liked also that it wasn’t a simple love triangle. These characters were driven by more than just their love for one another, and Ky and Xander had their own significant relationship outside of their love for Cassia.

In the end, Reached was a satisfactory conclusion to an enjoyable trilogy. 

If I Stay (Gayle Forman)

Title: If I Stay

Author: Gayle Forman

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Length: Audiobook: 4 hours

Rating: 4/5

After an car wreck kills the rest of her family, 17-year old Mia must choose between staying and coping with her enormous grief, or leaving her body and joining her family.

Normally I don’t like books that deal with death. I like escapism rather than realism. But this book was beautifully done. In the audiobook format, I really got a sense of Mia’s voice and the character came to life under actress Kirsten Potter’s portrayal.

While this book was haunting and tragic, it was also quite beautiful. We meet Mia as the catastrophe occurs, and then through flashbacks, learn her story and become quite attached to her as she decides whether to stay or go. This book will make you take a long look at how you value family, love, choice, and life. 

Embrace (Jessica Shirvington)

Title: Embrace

Author: Jessica Shirvington

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc

Length: 369 pages

Rating: 4/5

Weird things start to happen on Violet Eden’s 17^th birthday. Not only does she find out she’s half-human, but the guy she’s been crushing on knew about it and didn’t tell her. He’s half-human too, and together, they’re destined to fight angel exiles on earth. But Violet doesn’t trust him anymore, and turns to the support of Phoenix, who just happens to be an angel exile. Choice and destiny don’t seem to be getting along for Violet who is learning that life and the higher powers definitely don’t exist in black and white.

Violet Eden not only has the coolest name, but she’s pretty awesomely hardcore herself. Yeah, she’s got the attention of two hot guys, but she doesn’t become passive or whiney because of it. Instead, she’s all about choosing her own destiny, even though she doesn’t actually have a whole lot of choice in the matter. But she tries as hard as she can to control her own fate and has a lot of respectable inner strength to match her outer strength.

Speaking of those two hot guys though- talk about some great romantic tension. I couldn’t put this book down. Lincoln and Violet are made for one another, but angel rules dictate they can’t be together. And he’s broken Violet’s trust and she has a hard time getting past that. Phoenix has a major thing for Violet, because she’s a new, special kind of fighter, and he’s intrigued. All in all, the makings of a great love triangle.

Some of the angel hierarchy explanations still left me a little muddled, but hopefully it’ll clear itself up in the next book. Which I’m very much looking forward to reading.