Matched by Ally Condie

Matched (Matched, #1)

by Ally Condie

#1 New York Times Bestseller

“[A] superb dystopian romance.” – The Wall Street Journal
 
“Strong feminist ideals and impressive writing that’s bound to captivate.” – The Los Angeles Times  

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Look for the sequel, CROSSED, and the epic series finale, REACHED!

Reviewed by Stephanie on

4 of 5 stars

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The book starts out with Cassia on her way to her Match Banquet. She's really excited and nervous to find out her Match and to live the life the Society has chosen for her. She's happy to find out that her Match is her best friend, Xander. Everyone is surprised, it is not common for someone to be Matched with someone they have known their whole life.

But what is even more surprising is when Cassia goes to look at Xander's microcard, which holds information of Xander, Xander's picture disappears and another picture shows up. It's her friend, Ky, who she has known and lived next to. Now she has to decide between Xander, the Society's choice, or Ky, the choice that could take her away from everything she loves.

I have not read many good reviews for Matched. But for some reason, I still really wanted to read it. I read the first few pages in Wal Mart and was hooked. I bought it that night and stayed up till 3 in the morning reading it. I couldn't figure out what others didn't like about it. I enjoyed reading about Cassia's world and how controlled her society was. They have barely any freedom. The Society choose which poems they read, what songs they listened to, what movies they see, what job is best for them, what clothes they wear, and the list goes on. They don't even know how to write.

The story focuses on Cassia and Ky and their struggle to keep their relationship a secret, from everyone. Towards the end I got a little confused and started to lose interest. That's what really kept me from giving it 5 stars. I know that there is another book coming out, which I will definitely read, but the questions I have, I feel like they won't be answered in the next book. It should have been explained in this book. But, you never know.

Also, the writing is awesome. It's written in present tense, which I'm not quite used to, but I loved it. It was so smooth and pretty. It's what really got me into the story.

Overall I really enjoyed Matched and am looking forward to reading the next book, Crossed.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 2 January, 2011: Finished reading
  • 2 January, 2011: Reviewed