Review by Booklist Review
The uprising begins so quickly in the finale of Condie's Matched trilogy that Cassia, Ky, and Xander barely have enough time to register what is happening. Ky is still in the outer provinces, flying planes and waiting for orders. Cassia is now in the heart of the society, working as a sorter in Central and looking for clues that covertly signal the start of the rebellion. Xander works as a medical official and notes the beginnings of an outbreak: the plague that's been engineered by the leader of the Rising, the Pilot, which only the Pilot himself can cure. In this powerful series send-off, Condie ignites a race against the clock to find a cure and, along the way, tests the beliefs of her weary protagonists and studies the moral implications of biological warfare. Even through trials, the love triangle between Cassia, Ky, and Xander remains fiercely romantic, poignant, and heartrending. There is an expected happy ending tucked neatly into the aftermath, sure to gladden fans eagerly anticipating this thought-provoking climax.--Jones, Courtney Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
As the finale to Condie's Matched trilogy opens, Cassia, Ky, and Xander are separated, working as subversive agents of the Rising rebellion and awaiting their chance to take down the dictatorial Society. Condie doesn't waste time getting to the action: the long-awaited Rising begins in the early chapters, and its ramifications and complications unfold at a steady pace. As a deliberately introduced plague exceeds the Society's resources, the Rising steps in with a cure and tries to prove itself the better choice for the people. Events start to spin out of control as the plague mutates, and it will take extraordinary measures by the reunited trio to bring the story to its unexpected conclusion. Condie continues to draw readers in to her vivid broken world, adding rich color to the story through the interplay between characters and small but important moments. Unpredictable twists and revelations-yes, that includes a happy resolution to the trilogy's romantic triangle-will leave readers satisfied with the fates of their favorites. Ages 12-up. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-The final volume (Dutton, 2012) of Condie's "Matched" trilogy centers on the Rising, an attempt to overthrow the Society's data-driven repression. With a cure on hand, those who work for the Rising introduce a new plague. In alternating chapters, Cassia, Ky, and Xandor, the three young protagonists connected by computer matches and personal feelings, relate divergent attempts to deal with a mutation morphing into a lethal epidemic. The Pilot, their elusive leader, arrives desperate for a cure just as a very sick Ky is recovering thanks to Xandor's latest medicine compound and Cassia's devoted care. The concluding volume also includes romantic threads, references to past turmoil, and dark revelations about who's behind the Rising. Narrators Kate Simses, Jack Riccobono, and Matt Burns each establish their characters' youthful energy, inner conflicts, sense of loss, and courageous choices. With a complicated plot and a multilayered back story, listeners should be familiar with the previous two volumes in this dystopian series in order to fully comprehend its conclusion.-Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library, Rocky Hill, CT (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In this satisfying final book of the Matched trilogy (Matched; Crossed), Cassia, Ky, and Xander are reunited under intense circumstances. The long-coming plague erupts in the Society, and they desperately fight for the cure; meanwhile, Xander and Ky both fight for Cassia's love. Condie confronts change and growth toward an unknown future in her complex, intriguing dystopian society. (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
While staying true to the science fiction and romance at the core of Matched (2010) and Crossed (2011), the trilogy's breathless finale blossoms into a medical thriller too, adding breadth and resonance. Cassia, Ky and Xander are far apart. Ky unenthusiastically flies air ships for the Rising, an enigmatic organization poised to overturn the Society. The Rising sends Cassia to work from the inside, so she sorts data for the Society, awaits the Rising's instruction and trades poetry underground. Xander's a Society medical Official who uses his position to subtly immunize infants against the forced-forgetfulness tablets that the Society regularly gives adults. The three take turns narrating in first-person present, revealing tantalizing information gaps: What does one character wonder while another knows? What do readers not know yet? A plague breaks out, mutates and becomes a pandemicwhich aspects were intentional, and on whose part? Poems (Tennyson, Dickinson, Thomas) and a painting (Sargent) figure heavily and beautifully on both symbolic and literal levels. Is the Rising trustworthy? Can a living human also be an archetype? Condie's prose is immediate and unadorned, with sudden pings of lush lyricism. Her protagonists are no run-of-the-mill romance triangle, her forms of activism (art, medicine) rich. Each character is differently strong and differently wounded. With reveals seeming to arrive on almost every page, prepare to stay up all night. (author's note referencing poems and paintings) (Science fiction/romance. 13 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
