Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Synopsis: 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.

Book Details:

Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group

Pub. Date: November 30 2010

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 384

My Review: Matched is a great dystopian novel. While Cassia has always listened to and respected the society. She soon finds out things that the government does not want people to know about. The government is making mistakes and don’t always have their citizens’ best interest at heart.

I liked Cassia as the protagonist. When she is matched with her best friend, Xander, she couldn’t be more happy. But when the society gives her a micro-card where she can find out more details about her match another boy’s face flashes on the screen. A boy who is not just any boy; a boy who is not allowed to be matched.

When Cassia grandfather dies he gives her a gift that turns her life around. Cassia starts thinking for herself and does what she wants to do. The world that Ally has created is fascinating. Its pretty odd to think of people only being good at one skill while other people do other things for you. Like today we can choose what we want to eat. But for Cassia she has others choose her meal for her and have them cook her meals. Another example is that there are people who clean your dishes for you. I mean sure we have dishwashers or ourselves, but other people taking care of your dishes? My main point is that we can do things for ourselves easily but for the people in Matched they are very dependent on others.

The romance story line of the book is really the only interesting part of the book besides Cassia following her heart with making her own decisions. Both Xander and Ky are great boys. Xander is the safe one and Ky is the forbidden boy. At times the book was slow and boring. I’m not sure if it was because I read two books at a time. Matched regardless is a good book that anyone should read. It also is a book that will make you think “What if I had people making my decisions for me?”. May I add that the cover is awesome! The cover is sparkly and shiny! While reading the book it made sense to have Cassia wearing the green dress that she wore to her Matching Banquet and have her in a bubble/Glass ball.

3.5 Stars!