Matched
(Matched #1, By: Ally Condie)
SUMMARY:
In the Society, officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.
Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one…until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.
Matched is a story for right now and storytelling with the resonance of a classic.
Published November 2010 by Dutton Books for Young Readers
REVIEW:
I gave this book 3 stars. From the start, this story was a quick and easy read. While the building of conflict was a bit too slow, I found the dystopian world and the promise of relationships to be intriguing.
Initially, I found the main character, Cassia, to be a bit dull. She was so ingrained in the society and their beliefs that she came off robotic and lacking drive. While this was necessary for her character arc, it slowed the pacing a bit too much for my liking. However, as the story continued, there was a steady build in tension and conflict. Finally towards the end of the book the intensity picked up and Cassia began to drive the plot - which led me to really enjoy the final third of the book.
I also really appreciated all of the relationships in this story. The sweet romance, as well as the friendship and family bonds were strong and emotional. It was heartfelt and lovely to be experiencing a true young adult innocent romance where the characters were discovering what love meant to them. It was also refreshing to see how the author portrayed the bond between friends and family and showed that even in a repressive society, human connection can hold strong.
The world itself was also interesting and solidly built. From the beginning, you see the image of a truly perfect society, one that even the main character is completely supportive of. It is not an outright violent dystopia, unlike many others, and from the surface everything seems to be quite ideal. The author does a great job of making you ponder what life would be like if you didn't have choices and if everything were based on probability and data. Could humans live and thrive in a world like that?
Although I wanted more personality and drive from the main character earlier in the book, I ended up engrossed in the end of the plot, and invested in the characters. I look forward to reading the rest of this series and seeing how Cassia's story will continue to unfold.
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