This is not my usual type of book. I’m normally the type that goes for something with a happy ending, so when I received it from Penguin NZ to review I put it off for a day or two – because I knew from reading the back cover this definitely could not have a happy ending. I had to wait for a day where I could deal with a book with a sad ending (is it bad that books can affect me that much?).

Well, a few days passed and I started to read.. and read and read and could not put it down. I found excuses to not do house work and other pressing obligations, just so I could find out what happens. To sum it up (without major spoilers) it is about twin sisters, one beautiful and one “disfigured”. Hephzibah (the beautiful sister) has died and Rebecca (disfigured) is talking about her funeral and how she was forced to go. It then steps into flash backs, told from both Hepzhi and Rebecca’s perspectives, coming back to the present every now and then in Rebecca’s voice. The flash backs are about how the girls are finally allowed to go to a public high school after years of being home schooled. Hepzhi instantly falls in with the cool crowd, while Rebecca is left behind, too ugly and odd to be considered.

Their life at home is terrible, and more so for Rebecca then Hepzhi. Rebecca’s love for her sister has allowed her to be sheltered from so much horror, and as a result Hepzhi is awfully naïve in some instances. Either way, Hepzhi wants to escape her life and start a new one with her boyfriend. Away from her father, the (evil) vicar and her mother who is too scared to do anything.

I found the style very similar to Brother/Sister in the way that it starts to unravel slowly at first, and then faster and faster and everything is happening all of a sudden and you’re being taken to terribly dark places. It is very effective and as I said before, I could not put it down.

I won’t say I enjoyed the book – it’s not a book that is written for you to enjoy. It’s a book that makes you feel terribly for these characters in a hopeless situation. You can feel their fear and sadness and anger. It is however, an excellent read. While it isn’t a book that I want to rush out and tell everyone about (like the back cover suggest you’ll want to do), it is something I would definitely recommend to anyone who wants a good, serious book to sit down with on a cool almost winters day. Just maybe have something cheerful and light-hearted lined up to read afterwards or you might end up in a bit of a slump for the next few days.

Release Date: 10 May 2012
Published by: Penguin NZ 
Pages: 274
Rating: 4.5/5
Buy: Whitcoulls (NZ)

Goodreads

After Bloodlines, Crossed was probably my most anticipated release of the year. Matched was such an amazing book, and it had me hooked from the very first word. As soon as I finished it, I turned straight back to the first page and started reading again. For awhile there I was counting down the days till release. Penguin NZ graciously offered me a review copy and my reaction was something like OH BOY AND HOW!

I started reading it as soon as I could rip into the courier parcel (sorry courier bag, I didn’t mean to rabidly hack at you with nail scissors after my futile attempts to claw my way into you with my fingernails failed).

On one of the first pages is a map and that got me really exited! Oh weeee, I’m going on an adventure with Cassia! There’s a canyon! And an arrow pointing to the Rising! Oh boy, oh boy!

By about chapter five, sadly, my excitement was starting to wear off. The further I got, the harder it was to read. There were a few times that I actually put it down and walked away to do something else because I was losing my concentration too easily.

After the first little flicker of excitement, danger and adventure the story winds down and the story seems to go around and around in circles (no, litterally.. the characters seem to walk in circles in the same area for 80% of the book). It does go on to explore Ky’s past a lot more, and we do learn a lot about him and his parents.. their story and relevance to the present. We also meet a few new characters who help to nudge the story along with their own back stories.

Overall, I get the feeling that this story was more about the author explaining the situation, the past and how it’s going to link up in the future. A lot of the time, it really didn’t feel like the Matched story world.. and so references to things in the Society did come as a jolt sometimes and make me go “oh yeah, that’s right.. there was a book before this one!”

Despite the overall experience being a lot less than I had hoped for, I would still recommend people to read Matched and Crossed because I was left with the feeling that book three has been set up really well and could be very exciting. It is still a good series and regardless of the less than exciting plot, there are some incredibly interesting ideas and themes in the series which redeem it.

Release Date: November 1st, 2011

Published by: Razor Bill/Penguin
Pages: 367
Rating

Buy: Crossed by Ally Condie from Amazon (International) or Whitcoulls (NZ)

“Just give them a chance to explain”

This is not a book I would normally pick up off the shelves. Not since I was in my early years of High School and I was really into reading the “hard stuff”. So when Penguin NZ offered me a copy to review I accepted, but was a little unsure if I’d really be able to get into it. How wrong I was!

Right from the very first page I was hooked. I read the book in one sitting (and managed to get a sunburn, sitting in the sun for so long). The story opens with the brother, Will and the sister, Asheley both being interviewed by the police about a murder. The brother confesses to a murder, saying he had no choice in the matter, it was to protect his sister and wants to explain.. and so the story begins.

The start was a little slow – Asheley going on about how she desperately wanted to fit in and how she single handedly helped her team win an important sotball game. Will is the opposite – he never wants to fit in – not with the people who mocked and abused him for so long when they were younger. We are then introduced to the abusive alcoholic mother who you love to hate – but of course is one of the key factors that makes the relationship of Will and Asheley less like tpyical bickering teenage siblings and more into BFF’s.

Once the murder finally takes place, things start to speed up – a lot. You actually feel like you are running with the book, trying to keep up, trying to anticipate what will happen next, and every moment you are being absolutely consumed with the madness brewing in Will’s mind as he steadily loses grip with reality and the sense of Asheley’s fear of her brother and what he has done, page by page.

The end of the book is a brick wall you never saw coming – or maybe even a massive solid mirror would be a better analogy. You are forced to sit down, the breath knocked out of you, and re-evaluate everything you just thought was the truth about this story. My mind was reeling for hours, even days after I finished this and everytime I think about it, I see another early clue that the author has artfully slipped in to make the ending valid and not just a shocking twist for the sake of having a shocking twist.

Even if this is not hte type of book you usually go for, don’t judge the book by it’s cover, or even it’s sypnosis. You will not be disappointed.

Release Date: October 3rd 2011 (New Zealand)
Published by: Penguin NZ
Pages: 250
Rating

Buy International: Brother/Sister by Sean Olin at Amazon.com

Buy in New Zealand: Contact your local bookstore