Reached by Ally Condie

512 pages

"All will be sorted.

Cassia's journey began with an error, a momentary glitch in the otherwise perfect facade of the Society. After crossing canyons to break free, she waits, silk and paper smuggled against her skin, ready for the final chapter.

The wait is over.

One young woman has raged against those who threaten to keep away what matters most--family, love, choice. Her quiet revolution is about to explode into full-scale rebellion." -Dust Jacket

I was going to hold off reading this final book for awhile because I felt like Crossed was a little slow. But then a friend, who I talk books with a lot, told me I needed to read it. I'm glad I did.

I spent a portion of this book feeling like I was reading The Giver. The Giver is a great book but there is a lot of symbolism in it and you read it trying to understand the deeper meaning of the story and wondering if you really get it. I felt like I needed to be doing that with this one. The Pilot is both literal and figurative and by the end has changed identities and meanings more than once.

I was kind of hard on Xander in my review of Crossed but in this book he was my favorite character. Cassia kind of took a backseat to Xander and Ky. As with all dystopian novels, the characters go on a journey that changes them and leaves them both scarred and hopeful. I was surprised that this book was really moving in that way. I shed tears over Ky and especially over Xander. Ky is such a strong-willed character. He's been through a lot. When he goes through something beyond his control in the middle of the book, you can't help but feel for him. Xander is just selfless. He gives and gives until there's almost nothing left.

I loved how the author wrapped up the loose ends. Cassia spends a lot of the book trying to remember a day with her grandfather that he said on his microcard was his favorite day with her and that she knows is important. She gets back bits and pieces and then the whole thing by the end and it makes you see how the story connects from beginning to end. I liked the intertwining of the Society and the Rising and the twist on how the Rising and the Plague began.

I'm really impressed with this third book and the things that it declared as valuable: choice, art and love. When I recommend dystopian novels/series to people this one is usually towards the bottom of that list but that's going to change. It's been over a year since I read Crossed and I was bummed that I couldn't remember a lot details about some of the minor characters - Vick, Eli, Hunter & Indie from Crossed. I had hoped that some of them would play a bigger role in Reached and then I wished I remembered them better when they did. I think this will be my summer read so I can read them all in a row like I did with The Hunger Games.