Matched
User reviews
14 reviews with 4 stars
37 reviews
Overall rating
4.0
Plot
4.0(37)
Characters
3.9(31)
Writing Style
3.9(30)
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great love triangle
(Updated: February 24, 2012)
Overall rating
3.7
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Characters
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Unique, fun, and an interesting take on dystopian.
HM
Heather Marie
Top 1000 Reviewer
Great Beginning, Slow Middle, AMAZING END!
Overall rating
3.7
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Characters
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I have to say i was disapointed by MATCHED, what with its promising plot and interesting beginning. The first three chapters were stupendous, introducing the well-fleshed-out Cassia Reyes and Xander and her family, the great Matching sequence that i found oddly interesting. And as time went on, the book seemed to meld together. The love was not overpowering, though it consumed 3/4 of the book.
The last part of MATCHED is my favorite part, due to the great ending and the great running sequence. I found that the middle of the book was all the same, Cassi running from Xander to Ky and vice-versa in a desperate act of finding out who she really wants to be with.
Ally Condie is a fabulous author, though her pitfall is the romance. But Ally did one of the best jobs of fleshing out the Society and the people living in it. I haven’t experianced such a great dystopiann society built from the ashes in such a long time! The Hunger Games was a great world, and Divergent did an okay job, but MATCHED was a totally believable world with a good system.
Overall, i liked MATCHED enough that i am anxious to read CROSSED, but i hope Cassia can be more independant for decisions and free.
I expect great things from Ally Condie!
The last part of MATCHED is my favorite part, due to the great ending and the great running sequence. I found that the middle of the book was all the same, Cassi running from Xander to Ky and vice-versa in a desperate act of finding out who she really wants to be with.
Ally Condie is a fabulous author, though her pitfall is the romance. But Ally did one of the best jobs of fleshing out the Society and the people living in it. I haven’t experianced such a great dystopiann society built from the ashes in such a long time! The Hunger Games was a great world, and Divergent did an okay job, but MATCHED was a totally believable world with a good system.
Overall, i liked MATCHED enough that i am anxious to read CROSSED, but i hope Cassia can be more independant for decisions and free.
I expect great things from Ally Condie!
Good Points
THE WORLD BUILDING - This is by far without a doubt the MOST AMAZING WORLD BUILDING EVER DONE IN DYSTOPIAN YA! Literally. I mean every nook and cranny and rut in the Society's factual layouts and system is smoothed out! The government system is described in snippets so you accumilate knowledge quickly and easily! The descriptions of the buildings and the people and the rules is so vivid and believable i'm afraid this could actually happen one day!
The Ending - Probably one of the best endings i've ever read! Everything gets wrapped up just enough so that you can faintly see where the sequel is going to go! Everything is so put together throughout the book that Ally really didn't have a huge task at hand to tie the loose ends up perfectly, leaving some slightly unknotted to unwrap in CROSSED!
The Beginning - Sorry, i went Ending then Beginning, but that's because the Beginning is second best. I was captivated in the first paragraph...literally...the description of Cassia being a bird is so lyrical i was like: "i ALREADY love it?" and yes, i continued to love it through the first three chapters! Cassia was already well fleshed out and already distinguished! Xander was already three-dimesional!
Cassia's Character Development - though a bit panicky and clingy at times, i thought one of the best parts of matched was Cassia's development as she stretches away from the Society and towards the forbidden connection she feels to Ky. It is all so well plotted. Cassia's development is smooth and subtle, so you don't realize how much she's changed until you reflect!
The Ending - Probably one of the best endings i've ever read! Everything gets wrapped up just enough so that you can faintly see where the sequel is going to go! Everything is so put together throughout the book that Ally really didn't have a huge task at hand to tie the loose ends up perfectly, leaving some slightly unknotted to unwrap in CROSSED!
The Beginning - Sorry, i went Ending then Beginning, but that's because the Beginning is second best. I was captivated in the first paragraph...literally...the description of Cassia being a bird is so lyrical i was like: "i ALREADY love it?" and yes, i continued to love it through the first three chapters! Cassia was already well fleshed out and already distinguished! Xander was already three-dimesional!
Cassia's Character Development - though a bit panicky and clingy at times, i thought one of the best parts of matched was Cassia's development as she stretches away from the Society and towards the forbidden connection she feels to Ky. It is all so well plotted. Cassia's development is smooth and subtle, so you don't realize how much she's changed until you reflect!
good plot, interesting characters, but slow going
Overall rating
3.7
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This is a hard book to review, I liked the book a lot but it didnt blow me away. The characters are strong and well thought through and the plot for a good series is there. I just feel like it takes the author so long to get the story to were there meant to be!
Cassia is a strong minded young teen who has been matched with her "perfect" match according to what her society wants but when there is a mix up on her matching chip and another boys face is there she starts to question if society can really make choices for a person's whole life. I found the prospect extremely scary actually and I am glad that this story is about Cassia fighting to make her own choices in the world.
my hope for the second book would be a little more happens to keep me hooked.
Cassia is a strong minded young teen who has been matched with her "perfect" match according to what her society wants but when there is a mix up on her matching chip and another boys face is there she starts to question if society can really make choices for a person's whole life. I found the prospect extremely scary actually and I am glad that this story is about Cassia fighting to make her own choices in the world.
my hope for the second book would be a little more happens to keep me hooked.
Good Points
The writing is smooth and clear
Plot is well thought through
Strong main character
Plot is well thought through
Strong main character
M
Melissa
Top 500 Reviewer
Matched by Ally Condie Review
Overall rating
4.0
Plot
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Reader reviewed by The Bookshelf Sophisticate
Ally Condie if you're out there reading this....will there be a sequel? This book has been talked about and hyped up all over the blogosphere and I couldn't wait to read it for myself. Now that I have I can say I know why it's been talked about at the volume that is has been. I loved it! Well, I loved it if there's a chance for a sequel, if this is a stand alone I'm very sad and without getting into spoiler zones that's all I can say.
Because I'd never read any of Condie's previous works I wasn't sure what to expect, but after reading her work you can't help but see she has a talent for this type of career in spades. The dystopian world she created in Matched is very unique and terrifying, and at the same time it's of course strangely fascinating. The idea of having the Society select your perfect match for each individual sounded like such a romantic idea to me at first. Condie describes the events leading up to the matching and the characters are all so excited and nervous, it was incredibly suspenseful. After a while though, the romantic aspects of the situation fade and the controlling nature of the act presents itself. Boo to the Society!
Condie kept with the typical elements and key components necessary for a dystopian novel but at the same time she was able to make it very much her own. The struggle Cassia goes through as she realizes that her perfect life may not be so perfect after all is very sad. She's not alone of course but here is where I may not agree with other readers. Cassia struggles with her feelings for two different boys and her love for both of them is poignant. I was kind of rooting for one boy and I'm thinking there's a good chance the majority will be rooting for the other. Only time will tell but you'll have to pick up the book to see for yourself who you think is right for Cassia and what you think she should do about all of it.
I loved Matched and Condie's writing and I'm crossing my fingers to see more of these characters in the future.
Ally Condie if you're out there reading this....will there be a sequel? This book has been talked about and hyped up all over the blogosphere and I couldn't wait to read it for myself. Now that I have I can say I know why it's been talked about at the volume that is has been. I loved it! Well, I loved it if there's a chance for a sequel, if this is a stand alone I'm very sad and without getting into spoiler zones that's all I can say.
Because I'd never read any of Condie's previous works I wasn't sure what to expect, but after reading her work you can't help but see she has a talent for this type of career in spades. The dystopian world she created in Matched is very unique and terrifying, and at the same time it's of course strangely fascinating. The idea of having the Society select your perfect match for each individual sounded like such a romantic idea to me at first. Condie describes the events leading up to the matching and the characters are all so excited and nervous, it was incredibly suspenseful. After a while though, the romantic aspects of the situation fade and the controlling nature of the act presents itself. Boo to the Society!
Condie kept with the typical elements and key components necessary for a dystopian novel but at the same time she was able to make it very much her own. The struggle Cassia goes through as she realizes that her perfect life may not be so perfect after all is very sad. She's not alone of course but here is where I may not agree with other readers. Cassia struggles with her feelings for two different boys and her love for both of them is poignant. I was kind of rooting for one boy and I'm thinking there's a good chance the majority will be rooting for the other. Only time will tell but you'll have to pick up the book to see for yourself who you think is right for Cassia and what you think she should do about all of it.
I loved Matched and Condie's writing and I'm crossing my fingers to see more of these characters in the future.
G
Guest
#1 Reviewer
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