Review: Matched

Matched
by Ally Condie

My Rating: 4 peaches

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.  (description by goodreads)


FYI, I received Delirium and Matched around the same time, I am going to try my best to avoid comparisons...


Anywho, after Hunger Games and Divergent my appetite was slightly shifted towards dystopia novels. I love the idea of what our world could be like if certain things were different. In Matched, the government has almost complete control of lives. They tell you what you will eat during the day, what your job will be, who you will marry (if you marry), how many children you can have, where you will live and even when you will die. 


The Juicy


Watching Cassia go from excitement about her matching ceremony and future occupation to beginning to "wonder" and asking questions of her society drew me into her life quickly. The inclusions of songs and poetry and the importance of words and even art points to how integral creativity and expression is to our lives. I found it interesting how both Matched and Delirium's worlds had strict rules and regulations based around art, music and literature. To me this speaks of its power to change and inspire. Condie herself has a way with words and this book is full of delicious quotes that made my highlighter extremely happy! Also, I liked the inclusion of the artifacts and the three little pills...


The Pits


I know this is a major plot device of the story, so it's not like it surprised me, but I still passionately despise love triangles, sigh. I wish I felt more for both boys as Cassia does. At least they are described and given some room to grow and are not just "hot" but I still wish for a little more substance in the relationship, especially with Ky. Mayhaps in book 2...
Also, while I said above the words in this book are beautiful and moved a part of me, there is very little action. Things happen in the story to Cassia and around her but nothing is really done by her. I saw this book as sort of a waking up for Cassia and hope that, now that she is awake, there will be more action in the sequel. So this wasn't really a pit for me, but I can see that the lack of action may be a sticking point for some readers. 


Awkward Fuzz


~ planned deaths