Crossed had a lot going for it considering I enjoyed Matched very much last year. There were lots of mixed reactions about Matched, but I was one of those who loved it as it was less action-oriented unlike many dystopians, but much more introspective through Cassia's point-of-view giving you a more thought-provoking read. Crossed on the other hand--although having that same introspective prose--fell flat as really nothing happened in the book (only travelling). We do however get to learn more about The Society and The Rising. 
 Basically Crossed loosely picks up where Matched left off (via a little time-jump), where Ky is sent to the Outer Provinces to live the rest of his days, and Cassia struggles to escape The Society to seek out Ky. But Ky himself escapes the Outer Provinces, therefore making Cassia travel further. Most of the book takes place in The Carvings, and all you'll read for the scenery is rocks and stone and caves and hills and whatever else is in these barren environments. And as all that happens in Crossed is Cassia and Ky picking up companions on the race through The Carvings, and climbing and climbing, and running, and climbing, and sleeping, and camping, and nothing much else happened. Because of this and the less events that occurred within Crossed, it was slower than Matched allowing my mind to wander onto other things. 
 Unlike Matched which was just told through Cassia, we get the perspective of both Cassia and Ky this time round. By giving us part of the book through Ky, we get to dig deeper and see into his past and how he became the person he is now. Although it was a great move by Ally Condie to further enhance our reading experience to see/learn more of the characters and their beliefs and give more of the story, however, there was a downside to it. We were not given two distinct voices, of the two genders, and of the two individuals. At times it got distracting trying to figure out whose perspective it was from although each chapter was titled with either "Cassia" or "Ky". If Ally Condie is going to continue to use the dual/multi-POV in the third book, I believe there needs to be further improvements. 
 Besides the slowness and the indistinct voices, Ally Condie continues to deliver her introspective and wonderful prose which I enjoyed immensely from Matched. It flows brilliantly. There are many passages or quotes I would like to share just to get my point across but I will just choose a couple. 
 "Everyone has something of beauty about them. But loving let's you look, and look, and look again. You notice the back of a hand, the turn of a head, the way of a walk. When you first love, you look blind and you see it all as the glorious, beloved whole, or a beautiful sum of beautiful parts. But when you see the one you love as pieces, as why's, you can love those parts too, and it's a love at once more complicated and more complete." 
 Do you agree? And this: 
 "Love has different shades. Like the way I loved Cassia when I thought she'd never love me. The way I loved her on the Hill. The way I love her now that she came into the canyon for me. It's different. Deeper. I thought I loved her and wanted her before, but as we walk through the canyon together I realize this could be more than a new shade. A whole new color." 
 Although my expectations for Crossed were not met, this sequel still manages to set us up for what is to come in the last book of the trilogy. I just hope it is more engrossing and involving than Crossed was, and brings us more into The Rising...and back within The Society where it all started.