Matched

Good book. This novel succeeded in spades in all the ways that ACROSS THE UNIVERSE crashed and burned (I compare the two only b/c I read them so close together, and I was harsh with ATU for its failure to properly place the characters in the context of their frame of reference). The protagonist of MATCHED, Cassia, took the full length of the novel to slowly awaken to the horrors of her twisted, dystopic reality. The voice was engaging and I sympathized well with the characters. The world was intentionally drab, simple, and boring, yet Condie managed to maintain my interest throughout. I enjoyed her vision of a future that is dictated largely by a nearly-religious reliance on probability and percentages to effect outcomes and therefor exact control. I think that the profession of her matchers and "sorters" won't seem so strange to readers of this novel a hundred years from now; we're ineluctably heading in that direction.

Condie's writing is superb. Her patience with plotting and with Cassia's slow development as a would-be rebel are rewarded with a story that feels utterly plausible. The creepier aspects of her dystopia are genuinely creepy (everyone is mandated to carry a set of three pills, one for anxiety relief and one for which no one knows the actual purpose; mandatory euthanasia at the age of 80; etc...). There are several nice allusions to the best of dystopic literature and film, titles too obvious to bother naming. I think this novel aspires to be a celebrated master of its genre. Ultimately, it doesn't reach that pinnacle for me. I'm afraid the YA focus on the main character's romantic entanglements hold the story back. This is a criticism I often have with YA novels, so dismiss it if you like. Regardless, the novel embraces an overly-simplistic larger world structure in which this control through mastery of probabilities is too tidy within the story to be taken too seriously. Granted, Cassia's awakening isn't "tidy," and the hint of unrest in the outer provinces is welcome, but still, the control aspect is too one-dimensional for this novel to achieve the high status it aims for.

Anyway, I'll probably keep reading the series (you almost have to--the story doesn't "end." We're left with too many questions about characters we've grown to care about. This is another gripe I have...a first novel, even in a series, should be able to stand alone. I don't like to feel that my continued readership is assumed.) If you're interested in how to write a story in which a character slowly awakens to surroundings that they've otherwise taken for granted their whole life, this is a good study. I would recommend it to any reader.

Nice cover.

Think Delirium meets The Selection meets bits and pieces of Hunger Games and Divergent.

To be honest, while reading Matched, I felt I was reading all the other dystopian novels I had read rolled up in one. The matching reminded me of Delirium. The banquet reminded me of The Selection. The pills reminded me of The Program. And a lot of other things reminded of a lot of other YA books.

BUT I enjoyed it. It was an engaging read, good enough to while away a lazy Friday.

While reading, I imagined myself to be part of The Society which is proof enough that the world Condie has created is pretty believable. The story goes like this:

Cassia lives in a world where people are ‘matched’ with a suitable person when they turn a specific age. She is matched with her best fiend Xander, but there is a slight glitch. When she takes a look at the microcard that holds her ‘matchee’s’ data, she sees someone else’s face. Ky’s.

It’s the ultimate love triangle but where Condie has failed is in the development of the characters. I never felt much for either of the guys. Cassia on the other hand was entirely relate-able.

I couldn’t help thinking how a matching is so much like an arranged marriage (very common here in Pakistan). The excitement, the nervousness, the joy at finally having been matched would be something a lot of girls can relate to.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if all the decisions in your life were already made?
That's what Cassia, a 17 year old girl living in the Society has to deal with. The society choses everything. What your job is, where you live, when you die. Specifically of these things, who you're matched with. At 17, each person will be matched with someone to marry and live a life with. When Cassia is matched with her childhood best friend Xander, she is sure he is the right one. One day, when she is checking out his micro card, another face appears on screen. One she knows. Ky, another friend of her's. But, Ky is an exception. He can never be matched because of his past. After Cassia sees him on screen, she starts to question who her real match is. Will Cassia take the choice society picked or try a different path? Find out in matched.

I really loved this book. The story line was great, exciting, and made me want to keep reading. The romance aspect made it interesting, yet there wasn't too much of it to be annoying. I recommend it for anyone.

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.

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I thought I would be hooked on this book since the book's main character had such a similar name to me. I thought that it was funny that she did, and that she might be like me a little bit. No, not true. The poem that kept popping up, the 'don't go gentle' one, I thought that the poem might inspire Cassia to rebel. No, she did not, she took things quietly, and hardly rebelled at all. If the author was trying to write a rebellious character, it did not work out well.

The love between Ky and Cassia as well, to me, was a bit to quick and weird. I think that when they said the 'I love you's' I thought that was pretty weird. As we saw it, they were only friends, then poof, they are in love. Not cool. It was a to easy relationship. And though the relationship bloomed over a few months, it was still pretty quick, as the book did not revolve around it, and really only followed the events, with these confusing glimpses added in.

I liked the Grandfather. He was awesome. He knew that the world was wrong, and knew that freedom is more important than safety. The restrictions and death sentences made me pretty upset, and the hundred things. There is no need to limit knowledge, but knowledge is power, so in a way I understand that.

This book was written in a simplistic style that was a bit boring. They could of added more detail, and traits to the characters. Like Ky, we hardly know anything about him, and it is weird falling for a person who you know nothing about. It should start as a friendship before going anywhere else.

This book was okay, not the best, and the simplistic manner that it was written in bored me out of my mind. I am not reading the next one as I do not think it is worth the money.

Love triangle. Yep - that's the premise for Cassia Reyes in Matched by Ally Condie. But, before you think "not another teen drama" give Matched a chance. I read the book in three days, could not put it down. A love triangle exists, because we all know that love is a fundamental emotion coursing through teenage veins (and ours, to be honest), but it's different for Cassia and for Xander and Ky - her double matches; there's more at stake than just a broken heart.


The Society, the world in which they live, has created perfection. Couples are genetically matched by genes, DNA, and the potential for perfect offspring (as a teacher in public education, I can say this does NOT sound like a bad system). This happens on or shortly thereafter their seventeenth birthday. In short, The Society plays Cupid. And while some parties are destined to be singles for the rest of their life, those that are the best are matched with the best. Your match most likely will come from another province outside the one you live in, but for Cassia, that's where the surprise begins.

***Side note: Now, if you're a word nerd like I am, the idea that the outlying areas are called provinces immediately sparked your musings of war. Province comes from the Latin word Provincia, meaning territory under domination (pro -before, vincere - to conquer). So, as I started reading more about Cassia's love matches, it didn't surprise me that one of them came from a war-torn province with plenty of sultry mystery.

Her match night goes as planned, with one little twist. Her perfect match is right in the room with her; her best friend Xander. While this is rare, most people meet their match on a screen before them, neither are upset by the match, in fact, Xander was hopeful all along. But, the mystery begins when Cassisa gets home to read her micro-card about Xander. This is a chip containing all information about your future betrothed. Cassia doesn't really see the point in reading hers because she's known Xander her entire life, but curiosity gets the better of her and she pops her card into the reader. Xander's face is there for only a moment and then it's somebody else - somebody she never thought would be a match for her, Ky Markham.

The Society doesn't make mistakes. This could not possibly be happening. Why hasn't she ever looked at Ky this way before? What are the odds that he's now a part of everything that she does? Is The Society playing tricks with her? Or is this who she's really supposed to love? Does she have a choice in a world where everything is chosen for her: who to be, who to love, where to work, and when to die? Choice...choice...choice - Do not go gentle into that good night, rage, rage, against the dying of the light...

Matched is a well-written novel at 400 pages, and I found it to be an easy read with excellent flow to the story. Condie's descriptive language is right on cue; not too much that you are drowning in it, and just enough to give you an adequate picture of the life inside The Society. Lucky for readers, Matched is part of a trilogy, and the second book Crossed is in bookstores now.

Ally Condie (www.allycondie.com) is a former high school English teacher who lives with her husband and three sons outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, running, eating, and listening to her husband play guitar. SERIOUSLY - CAN SHE SOUND ANYMORE LIKE ME??? (except I like watching my husband work on his car and listening to him play the drums)

For more information about Matched and the author, visit the book's website. In the YA world, I would give this book a definite "two thumbs up" - it's enough science fiction/fantasy to keep a reader turning the page, with just enough reality to make one wonder, "What would I do???"

If you love the Hunger Games then you love this book.I want to read the sequel Crossed.

Although this story was very interesting at some points it also got dull very fast and at random points in the story.