Matched (Matched, #1)

by Ally Condie

[Katie King]

**1 Star**

This is yet another one of those books that I have already read at least once. But of course when I bought the sequel I hadn't realized that I didn't remember the plot at all...

Matched is your typical young adult romantic dystopian, similar to The Selection and others. However, while The Selection has uniquity, Matched inherently lacks anything of substance. One-dimensional characters, a boring plot, a snooze-worthy love triangle make for a seriously unenjoyable novel.

Cassia doesn't seem so bad at first. She has the sort of "yes ma'am" attitude that would make any oppressive government happy. This later develops into what I call "limp noodle heroism", wherein the heroine has neither a legitimate cause nor a plan of how to fight for it. In short, Cassia is desperate to be important in some way, yet without a reason or way to achieve it. She is a pitiful role model.

Cassia's family was very cookie-cutter. The mother is very docile, always following the rules and even working as a gardener. The father is more rebellious, and in a job I could describe as police work. The younger brother was annoying, clingy, and emotional. They were used to add bodies to scenes so it didn't seem like Cassia was constantly alone.

Xander was also a pretty useless character. He played the role of childhood-friend-turned-love-interest, except Cassia was never really interested in him at all. From the beginning she was hesitant to be with him, and obviously moved on as soon as someone more interesting popped up. Actually, I felt pretty bad for him. He asks Cassia at the end if she would have ever picked him. She says yes, but Xander and I both know that she wouldn't have.

Ky seemed like the tragic, dark bad boy that Cassia was obsessed with whispering poems too. He had a shitty life growing up and that was constantly being referenced. He likes to talk about forbidden poetry with Cassia while they're climbing the hills, and somehow that leads to intense, burning love. Cassia decides to give up her cushy life to go chase after him for whatever reason in the end.

On that the love triangle was a joke. Cassia loves Xander until she sees Ky's face and decides she likes him better. They chat about the alphabet and poetry and then Cassia is ready to lay her life on the line for him. I don't understand where their relationship came from because they had exactly zero chemistry. If Cassia hadn't seen Ky's face on her screen, she wouldn't have given him a second glance and Xander would be a hell of a lot happier with his life.

The entire plot was ridiculous. This book isn't about a dystopian society, it's about a dystopian romance. In the end, Cassia didn't even defy the society's system because the two guys she was fighting over were both presented to her by the matching system. A real revolutionary would've fallen in love with a guy she met at the bus stop. The whole book is literally about Cassia angsting over poetry with Ky and how to tell Xander she just isn't into him. Ugh.