Matched: Review

Title: Matched
Author: Ally Condie
Release Date: November 30, 2010
Published By: Dutton Juvenile
Goodreads Rating: 3.94 stars

Synopsis: 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.


Review: You're probably tired of reading all those raving reviews of Matched, and I went into this fully expecting it not to live up to its hype. However, this will be another review with so many exclamation points that you can only imagine me frothing at the mouth, eyes rolling in their sockets, as I tell you how amazing this book is.

If you're only going to read one dystopian novel of 2010, it has to be this one. This is like The Giver but with more love, more romance, more passion. Cassia has an easy voice to get into, and once you start reading, you'll be completely sucked into the story. Each character was fresh and unique, and I loved how strong and brave Cassia was. Xander and Ky both had distinct personalities as well, and I only wish Em (Cassia's best girl friend) had more of a developed personality. However, she was just a minor character so it's not a big deal.

And the romance! It was very well-written, and I found myself practically swooning over Ky, which is fairly rare for me. Ally Condie is so good at making what seem to be relatively ordinary scenes jam-packed with sexual tension without actually having sex or anything graphic. For example, the scenes where Ky was teaching Cassia how to write (in their age, people only type things and largely don't know how to write by hand) were definitely among my favorite.

All in all, I love-love-loved this book! If you haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for? You've got to get your hands on this as soon as possible. There's a reason why I haven't seen a single negative review for this book yet. From the characters to the romance to the world-building, this is something that will stay in my mind for a long time.

Grade: A