Ky takes with him Vick, a young boy about his age from a military base, and Eli, a young boy who reminds Ky of Cassia’s younger brother. When Ky is taken to a village near where his family lived years ago, he decides that he must run away. Xander helps Cassia get information she needs to find Ky, but also expresses unhappiness in her decision to abandon him to search for Ky.

As she reaches the end of her time in the camps, Cassia receives a visit from her match, Xander. At the same time, Cassia is in the work camps hoping to find an opportunity to escape into the Outer Provinces and find Ky. Ky spends most of his days burying the dead and his nights trying to stay alive. Ky is stuck in the Outer Provinces where the Society is using him and other Aberrations like him as decoys in the fight against an unseen enemy. Crossed is a dystopian novel that questions the bindings of true love in the face of adversity. Eventually Ky and Cassia reunite, but their happiness is spoiled by Cassia’s determination to join the Rising and Ky’s determination to avoid the Rising at all cost. Cassia follows Ky into a group of canyons called the Carving. When the chance finally arrives, Cassia learns that she has missed Ky by just a few days. In this novel, Cassia has been in work camps hoping to find a chance to go to the Outer Provinces so she can find Ky. (Nov.Crossed is the second novel in the Matched series by Ally Condie. Newcomers will need to read the first book for background, but vivid, poetic writing will pull fans through as Condie immerses readers in her characters’ yearnings and hopes.

Narrated from Cassia and Ky’s viewpoints, Condie’s sequel to her acclaimed Matched is very much a middle book, centering on a transformative journey and setting up the finale to come. As Cassia and Ky hike through dangerous territory in search of a rumored rebellion and the freedom to be together, the specter of Cassia’s betrothed, Xander, hangs over them. Ky has survived being used as a pawn in the Society’s war against a nameless and faceless enemy he and two companions have escaped into a no man’s land, and Cassia follows. About to be sent to the Society’s biggest city for her permanent work assignment, Cassia instead grabs an opportunity to reach the war-torn Outer Provinces, where she finally gets a lead in tracking Ky.

Separated by the dictatorial Society that rules them, Cassia has been searching for Ky while suffering the harsh conditions of labor camps far from home.

Crossed by ally condie