Review Detail

It’s that age-old question: Is there such a thing as a soul mate? That one person who is made just for you, and the universe is doing its darndest to put you two together. (That’s how I always felt about Dolly Parton, but the world has still failed to cross our paths.) But could it be possible that there is more than one person who is perfect for you? That’s the question Ally Condie tackles in “Matched.”

For Cassia, Condie’s main character, everything is electronically tracked, from how well you perform academically to what sort of things you like to do in your free time. With all of this information, computers do a little beep-boo-beep, and voila! They discover your perfect match. Unfortunately for Cassia, the system has found her two perfect matches. The problem? Besides not allowing polygamy as an option, the government has also chosen the match Cassia is required to eventually Contract with (marry), and she thinks she is falling more in love with the other guy.

“Matched” explores that lovestruck concept of whether or not there can ever be the perfect person for you on paper (or on a computer screen), or if true love comes from random, unpredictable moments. To give it a little pizzazz, the concept is paired with a futuristic Giver-like dystopia where everything seems picture perfect on the surface, but might be a lot more ugly as you dig deeper. If it turns out computers actually can find that perfect partner, that’s one app Apple really needs to capitalize on.