Matched



Matched
Ally Condie
Dutton

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 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.

This is actually a book that I had seen before online somewhere, and so since the cover looked familiar when I saw it for the first time at the library, I decided to check it out. I actually found Matched, for the most part, enjoyable. The beginning really drew me in, but then it started to drag a bit during the middle- it was a long book, and I think it could have been a tad bit shorter with no damage done to the plot. There were several chapters in the middle where I really was kind of bored and just hoping that something interesting would happen. I mean, I guess I appreciate the fact that the author was trying to focus on how Cassia and Ky’s relationship developed so it wouldn’t be one of those “love-based-on-attraction-alone” type of romance stories, but I found it rather dull. I also didn't care for the whole "two love interests" aspect of the book, which is one of my Least Favorite Plot Devices Used in Romance, but it turned out better in the end -so far- than I was expecting. The book did pick up my interest again at the end, though, so I think I'll probably read the next book.

Matched reminded me, just a little, of Farenheight 451. Granted, it was slightly less depressing and less hopeless than the latter, but that was a good thing. I hated Farenheight 451.

This book was also very clean. It was secular, so there wasn’t any mention of God at all, good or bad. It was like He was completely nonexistent. (Again, it was only slightly less hopeless than Farenheight 451….without God, is there ever hope?) However, there wasn’t any language, violence, or sexual content (although in the last half there were a few quick kisses I certainly could have done without.)

Matched was really an interesting book, and though I wouldn’t say it was my favorite YA novel, it was certainly one of the cleanest I’ve come across.

Rating: 7 1/2 

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