Matched Book Review

Matched (Matched #1)

By Ally Condie

Published November 30th, 2010 by Dutton Juvenile

369 pages

4 stars - Another great read!

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.

I have been wanting to read Matched for awhile and I was so excited when I was finally able to get my hands on it. I was just hoping that it wouldn't disappoint me and thankfully it didn't. Matched is another dystopian story but even though it made me think of Divergent or even Delirium, it was different and in a good way.

We get to see things from Cassia's point of view and naturally she has grown up in a society that is way different from our own. Actually the Society makes most of the people's decisions for them, right down to whom they marry or are matched to. I thought that the Matching ceremony and the whole process was definitely interesting because it's the whole idea of finding your perfect match right down to the T. But anyways Cassia and the rest of her friends are already at the age where this big decision has to be made and when she finds out that her match is Xander, her best friend, she couldn't be any more happier. Until the screen shows another picture of another guy. Ky Markham, Cassia knows him too but what she doesn't know is why his face flashed on the screen along with Xander's. Now Cassia is all confused because the more she learns about Ky the more she starts to fall for him. And now she has a choice to make, choose Xander and a normal life or choose Ky and a life that is hers alone with no one to control it.

I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to find out what happens to our beloved characters in the next one . Cassia definitely grew in this book from a person who just went with the society told her to thinking for herself. I think that this is what I really like about this book and a lot of the other ones, its the whole thinking for yourself idea. It always makes me wonder where we would be if none of us really thought for ourselves and just makes me feel grateful that we can make are own decisions. Anyways I really enjoyed Cassia and I loved Ky even more, he knew things that the Society didn't want him to and he's had a tough life or at least childhood. Ky is interesting and even though I liked Xander as well I can't help but find Ky a little more appealing. Of course that's not to say that Xander was a bad character because we find that he isn't quite who he seems either but he is a good friend for Cassia. The ending is really a cliffhanger and leaves us to wonder what the Society's true motives are and what that will leave for the characters. If you haven't checked this book out yet don't wait any longer.

Vanessa