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 notajammiedodger on

3 of 5 stars

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This is only the third ever dystopian series that I have read. So it kinda had a lot to live up to with me; I have only read The Hunger Games series and Divergent. Both of which I absolutely loved. I wasn't expecting a lot, so it mostly lived up to my expectations. I did enjoy this book though, it's a very interesting idea.

The story takes place in a world where everything is controlled by the government. The people are told what they eat, who they will marry and have children with, where they will work, even when they will die. Everyone believes that the system is for the best, everyone lives healthy and happy lives, no ever gets hurt and everyone is content. Cassia, like everyone else, believes in the society, that what they do is for the better. She believes that she will be happy with Xander, her best friend and match. But as Cassia begins to fall in love with Ky, she begins to question her government. Is what they do really better for everyone, never getting to make any decisions of their own?

I couldn't really get into the relationships in the book. I liked all of the characters, but I couldn't feel the relationship between Cassia and Ky or Cassia and Xander. There were some really sweet moment between Cassia and Ky that had me going aww, but it still felt weird, like it wasn't real enough. I really liked Cassia's family, Bram and her mother and father and Grandfather.

Some parts of the book felt a little boring, like they were dragging on a bit. The story wasn't fast enough for me. Personally I like a book that gets straight into the action and has lots of it. I am not a big love story person. But I did like this book, it is always a very interesting to experience the worlds that people live in in stories like this one. I am eager to see where the author takes the story in the next book.

I also really liked the cover. Mostly only after I had seen the second one. I like the idea that she is trapped in her world in the first book. But in the next one it is like she is trying to break free of the grasp that society has on her. I am looking forward to reading it.

This review is also on my blog The Confessions of a Book Nerd :)

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 1 August, 2011: Finished reading
  • 1 August, 2011: Reviewed