Crossed

Crossed ditches the Society's manicured world for canyons, dust, and two characters finally speaking in their own voices—Cassia and Ky alternate narrators here, which gives the story a rawness the first book didn't have room for. Ally Condie writes this one like poetry dressed up as dystopia; it's quiet and internal where Matched was propulsive. Readers who want big action will struggle with the middle, but readers who fell for the language and the longing will find exactly what they came back for.