The first book in a series is usually the introduction: of the characters, of the plot, of the conflict. The second book is typically the journey: across worlds, through understandings, toward a solution. The third book is the hopeful resolution of the initial, or sometimes new, conflict. This is typically what I have found about books in a trilogy. Though sometimes, it's not always true. Mockingjay, from Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy, did not find a resolution to Katniss' problem. She could not save her family from the evils of the world and she could not rid the world of an imperfect government. What Mockingjay did provide us, however, is an understanding that things will not always work out the way we want or plan for them to. We must learn to cope and survive through the surprise, the pain, and the horror of reality.
This is exactly how I felt while reading Ally Condie's Reached. While reading Matched, I was immediately enthralled in Cassia's and Ky's forbidden love and Xander's hope of winning Cassia over. I felt for the characters who desired to be more, to do more, to have the freedom to choose for themselves. Crossed was a little more difficult for me to hold on to, but I still felt the sense of literal and figurative journeys the characters underwent in order to become the people who would save themselves and the rest of the world.
In Reached, we begin shortly after we left off, with the love triangle separated once again, but using their own strengths to help the Rising. Soon the Rising takes over and carries out its plan to take control of the Provinces and win the hearts of its citizens, but we all know things never go according to plan. What began as a source of persuasion behind the Rising, starts to become its downfall. People are beginning to doubt everything they ever knew, everything they've come to hope for, and everything that could ever be. It is then up to Cassia, Ky, and Xander to save everything.
Even though this is the third book in the trilogy, the characters still have a bit of growing to do before they can reach their solution/salvation. This is evident in the mere length of the book (509 pages). With this continued journey I found it difficult to really get lost in the book. I just kept thinking, "Can't anything ever go right? Can they just be together? Or is this whole story going to end with everyone dying in the end?" I admit, I became hopeless at points, but maybe that's what Ally Condie wanted us to feel. She wanted us to understand the hopelessness of constant setbacks and no light at the end of the tunnel.
*Brief Spoiler Alert*
There are parts of the book that I don't like at all mostly because I'm a hopeless romantic and I want everyone to end up with a happy ending. I still don't like Indie. I never have, but I admire her spirit. There's something to be said about a girl who does what she wants because she has not inhibitions. And maybe it's the fact that there was no certainty of tomorrow for her or anyone that she felt she needed to express her emotions to Ky. Either way, my strong sense of loyalty could not believe Cassia's friend could so easily forget her. That may be the only major issue I have and it's not at all in the writing, but in the reality of human nature. We're selfish and we take what we want.
That being said, I love the story. I respect it, and I will most certainly enjoy reading it again. As I reached the end of the book, I found myself trying to understand what was going on. I tried to get a feel for what Ally Condie was putting out there for us to read instead of just living in the story. Maybe I always want there to be a solution. Maybe I hope that, even if life can't give happy endings to us, that happy endings for anyone are possible somewhere. Unfortunately, hoping isn't enough. Reached brought up the fact that, like in Mockingjay, salvation is not always possible. There will always be conflict. What matters is how we deal with it. So Reached did not end with a joyous reunion between all the characters and their loved ones, setting off in the sunset to live out their lives happily ever after. It ended with the hope that the characters can learn to overcome the hardships they have endured and create a world where people are free to choose.
What sticks with me the most is the understanding both Xander and Cassia come to within themselves. Things change. Events change who we are and how we look at everything around us. There is no going back. You can't bring back the dead. You can't go back and relive a happy memory, a happier life. You can only move on. Maybe we owe it to the people who came before, but most of all we owe it to ourselves. We might not always be happy with what life throws at us, it might even tear us apart, but we have the will to survive, and we have each other.
The Pilot could be any one of us. He is no one and he is everyone. There is always hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment