TEAM. XANDER. 
 Okay, now that I have THAT out of the way... 
 3.5 stars (but I'm rounding up because Matched was beautiful) 
 Better than Crossed but not as good as Matched. Let me say, Ally Condie has some gorgeous writing in this book. There are moments of real brilliance in her prose. However, her writing style is so introspective, so sparse, so poetic that it doesn't fit a story with any kind of action or peril. There is no urgency in these words. The writing worked SO WELL in Matched with its forbidden love and journey of discovery, but it added a total level of boredom in Crossed that also permeated this novel as well. 
 I love to be engrossed in a book--I'm a I-read-this-in-one-sitting kind of girl--and I feel like my bar for getting hooked on a book is low. I'm just aching to lose myself in a book (um, maybe that's my procrastinator personality speaking). It took me A MONTH to finish Reached. It felt almost like a chore to finish it--I even had it on my to-do list--and a reader never wants to feel like that about a book. Beautiful writing--the last few paragraphs were gorgeous!--but too much ponderous introspection for a story requiring a sense of urgency.