Matched

Ally Condie

Matched #1

Summary:

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.

Plot:

I liked this book’s setting. I like dystopian settings to be relatable, but still contain many things that are different from our way of living. This book managed that very well. It was still Earth, but in a completely different way. However, the story wasn’t as good as I’d hoped it would be. Love triangles tend to annoy me, especially when the heroine or whoever is at the tip of the triangle can’t seem to make up her mind. I can excuse two guys being in love with one girl, but one girl loving two guys, and basically cheating on both just doesn’t seem right to me. The story also seemed a little melodramatic to me. Their lives aren’t that bad, not at the moment, and yet there seems to be little or no humour, except maybe for Cassia’s little brother. I would have liked some light-heartedness. The writing also seemed a little stilted at times, as if the author was trying too hard to sound good. It didn’t flow enough for me.

Characters:

I do like most of the characters. The problem is that, of the main characters, the heroine is probably my least favourite. I don’t dislike her, but the others are just better in my opinion. She’s not a bad character, but I couldn’t relate to her, and because the book is written from her perspective there are no mysteries like there is with Ky. I like her little brother, Bram, and both her love interests. Ky is a very interesting character, and I would love to learn more about him in the next books. Xander may be Cassia’s safe choice, but he’s also not afraid to break the rules and he’s incredibly smart.

Who should read this:

10+, this is probably the cleanest dystopian novel I’ve read so far. There’s very little, to no language or other mature content and the violence is not very graphic. If you like love triangles and dystopian books then you might like this one, but I feel like there are better options.

My rating:

Like I said, I feel that there are so many dystopian books out there that are better, I just don’t think this one is quite up to standard. But I didn’t dislike it. 3/5.

Quote:

‘I already know the person you’re going to marry? That’s so strange.’  ̴ Bram