Matched

Matched by Ally Condie

 

Number of Pages: 369

Genre: Dystopian, Romance

Books like it: Delirium, Hunger Games

My favorite quote: “I believe in you," he says, his voice hushed and almost reverent. "That's more faith than I ever thought I'd have.” 

 

Brief Synopsis from Goodreads: 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.

 



     My summary: Cassia Reyes has grown up in a place called the Society, a place that decides who you marry, when you die, and where you work. When she get's Matched (the ceremony that chooses her soul mate, and the one she will marry) to her best friend Xander, she is radiant and excited for the life with him she is always dreamed about. Then Cassia goes home and puts the card in her computer that she received from her Matching Ceremony, and she sees Ky Markham's face on the screen before it flashes to black.

The Society says he was put in the Matching Pool by accident, that he is an outcast who can never be Matched anyway, so she should not worry about it. However, Cassia finds herself being drawn closer and closer to Ky. Who will she choose? Her Match, and best friend, Xander, or Ky, a life with so many new possibilities?

 A big part of this book is the two poems that Cassia's grandfather gives her right before he dies. She finds out that these are not part of the Hundred Poems. Years ago, the Society burned every work of art in the world except for the Hundred Songs, Hundred Paintings, and Hundred Poems. This poem teaches Cassia that there are other things out there to discover. She will rebel. She will not go gentle.

Pros: This book was a good idea that was for the most part well developed. The Society is really similar to places like the Capitol in Hunger Games or the UNA in Forsaken. I felt like the romance in this book was fairly good, and I loved Xander right from the start, and eventually grew to love Ky. I thought Cassia was a great character, and I loved her sense of rebellion throughout the book.

Cons: Like I said, the Society was similar to other "futuristic societies" in other dystopian books. It had a lot of similarities to Hunger Games, although they do not kill each other in an arena. :) Condie left a lot of the parts unexplained, and she must have forgotten about some parts in the book because she never referred to them ever again. I liked the romance in the book, however, some parts of the romantic relationship seemed to fly by a little to fast for me.

Overall rating: 3 stars. Maybe 4 on a good day. I would read it again if I had nothing else to read.