REVIEW: Matched (Matched #1) by Ally Condie

Author: Ally Condie

Series: Matched

Genre: Young Adult / Dystopian

Pages: 366

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Amazon: Matched

Synopsis (Goodreads)

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.

MY REVIEW: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I was initially drawn to Matched by the beautiful, simplistic cover; that dress is gorgeous!

Cassia Maria Reyes life has more or less been planned for her, she lives in a society that is run by strict rules and regulations where everything from what she eats and wears to who she marries is selected carefully for her. On her 17^th Birthday she attends a banquet to find out who she will be ‘matched’ with – her future husband, it is a night which allows a change from her regulated life, they can dress up and eat fancy meals; it is an exciting and important event for all those waiting to be matched within the society, It is a moment Cassia has been anticipating so she is shocked when her best friend Xander appears on the screen as her match; it is something that is extremely rare and uncommon but she is also happy about the outcome.

When the matched return home, they are sent with a profile of their intended wife/husband and when another face shows up on the port screen Cassia is shocked – she knows the boy whose face briefly appears and wonders why. The Society tell her it’s a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander but she finds Ky Markham intriguing and his background and past has certainly left her curious.

Ky will never be matched (I wont reveal why this is), he was such an interesting and intense character, I absolutely adored him and wanted to know so much more about him and his tortured and mysterious past. I loved the shared moments and secrets between him & Cassia but felt the chemistry between them was lacking, I don’t feel it was explored enough – it appeared to me that Cassia was mainly interested in him because he was off-limits.

The romantic aspect is very similar to most young adult love triangles, you would always know who she would choose and why so the mystery was lost for me.

As the story progresses, Cassia finds herself questioning the Society and how perfect they actually are, it is a society restricted by a limitation of freedom and choice, it was written in a way that was realistic and believable. I was really curious about how the society came to be and what its sole purpose was but unfortunately the description of the society itself is sparse, I am hoping more will be explained in the sequel.

I liked each of the main characters and found the secondary to be quite interesting as well. I especially liked Cassia’s family unit, I found the support they had for each other to be quite endearing, they stuck together – Xander included despite Cassia’s attraction to someone else.

I found the pacing of Matched to be slow in parts, it lacked oomph and this could be due to the lack of events and action. I found Ms Condies writing to be wonderful and the world she has created is certainly creative and unique. I am curious to see what is in store for Cassie, Ky and Xander.

All in all, an enjoyable thought provoking Dystopian. I am looking forward to reading Crossed.

 

Obtained: Amazon for kindle