Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Matched ( Matched #1)

Ally Condie
Publication Date: September 20, 2011
Publisher: Speak
Paperback 369 pgs

Summary:

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 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.(Goodreads)

Review:

The main character, Cassia is a 16 year old girl who is looking forward to her future. But after an incident with her Matching ceremony her life starts to change. The glitch causes Cassia to question all that goes on around her. How much of her life is hers and how much of what she does is because of the Society? I liked Cassia. She just doesn't one day start rebelling against the Society. The change in her is gradual as she begins to realize how much her life is controlled by the Society. Which of courser made her believable to me. Her world is slowly shifting and it takes her time to adjust to what she is beginning to understand about her life. There is a bit of a love triangle but it seems as though she has chooses which boy she truly wants to be with early on in the book.

The other characters Xander and Ky are Cassia's love interests. Both seem to be great guys. Each boy plays a part in her life and she doesn't want to have to give either of them up. We learn about Ky and why Cassia is drawn to him. But I don't think that we learned too much about Xander. We see him through Cassia's eyes so we only find out what she knows about him. Not what he does or thinks when they aren't together.

The world Ally Condie created in Matched is nearly perfect. But there are cracks and they are starting to show especially to the people who know to look. People live long, happy healthy lives. It's a life that is without complications. But it's also a life without true freedom. For the choices they make are small compared to the choices that are made for them.

I've had Matched for awhile but I was waiting until Reached came out to start the trilogy. I liked this book but there were some things I felt like I read before. Citizens being controlled by the new government  A main character realizing things aren't as idyllic as they once thought. Trying to find out how to fix things when everything is controlled by the leaders in society. There were also a ton of things that I liked. I liked that Cassia had a strong family that was there for her. Her grandfather was a huge part of her life and he gave her ways to fight even though she may not have realized at the time.Though I liked Matched, I'm hoping that the next books are a little more intense.

Cover:
I really like the paperback cover for Matched. It's simplistic yet definitely eye catching. It's shimmery and very pretty. It shows Cassia in the dress when her life first began to change. Plus the bubble shows how she feels, trapped by the world she lives in.