Matched by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie

Source: Library
Publisher: Dutton
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 366

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.

Oh, dystopians! I don't see myself getting tired of you for a very long time. Matched turned out to be just the read I was hoping for with likeable characters, interesting relationships between them and that crucial focus on how a person chooses to live their life.

Cassia is a character that I easily connected with and although I didn't agree with all of her decisions, I still respected what she tried to accomplish. I really liked the fresh dynamic between the two love interests, Xander and Ky. There is an ocean of love triangles out there right now, but I liked that Xander and Ky weren't friends, per se, but kind of challenged each other in a way that makes you wonder what exactly they are.

Something that stands out for me, especially towards the end, was how much I liked Cassia's family. It's no secret that I like families that stick together and protect each other. Cassia's family does exactly this. They all do what they think is the best for the family and I found it interesting how different that sometimes was.

Ally Condie has a beautiful writing style. It was easy for me to lose myself in the story and just go where it took me. It's not a very action-packed story at all, which is something that may be a problem for other readers. Personally, I didn't mind at all. The story was interesting enough to me even when it wasn't full of high tension, edge-of-your-seat goodness.

To sum it all up, Matched was a story that I really enjoyed. The wait for Crossed is on!

Cover Comments: I really love it. It's simple and pretty, and the symbolism of Cassia trapped in a bubble is glaringly obvious.