Review- Matched

Title: Matched

Author: Allie Condie

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 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:

So… to be honest, I was not expecting to like this book very much. I recent read Delirium and heard this book was very similar, but that it wasn’t as good as Delirium. So, my expectations were very low. I don’t know if that’s why I enjoyed the book so much, or not.

To be fair, there are a LOT of similarities between the Delirium series and this one… Main Character is a female, young and naïve. Thinks that her perfect society is perfect and spotless only to slowly uncover the truths behind the twisted government. Love interest that then tears down the walls of the world the main character has believed in her whole life.

But really that’s it. I really liked the way the author put together this world. It seemed real to me. There are a lot of dystopian novels out there, and so often the world is unclear or not explained well enough, but that isn’t the case here. I don’t know how the world got to the point it is in the story, but I still believed it when I was reading it.

I have also heard that this story mirrors another called The Giver, but I never read that one, so I don’t know. Either way, I will stop comparing this book to other books and just review This one.

I loved the writing. It was fluid and even almost poetic at times. I loved that the author actually found some perfect poems to fit into the story, whether she worked the story around those poems or found the poems later, I don’t know… and either way, it doesn’t matter. It just worked. And I loved it.

I loved the world she created- and the way she showed that every person truly believed in this society that controlled everything in their lives, from what they ate (they couldn’t even buy their own food and were never allowed to grow their own food) to what they wore, who they were Matched with, how many kids they could have and even when they would die. It seemed more like an ACTUAL dystopian novel, than most out there right now.

The characters were great. Though I never felt like I could feel Cassia’s emotions. I felt like she was so subdued, and I should have been able to feel more. Though, I loved Xander and felt so bad for him. I loved Ky and felt we truly got to understand him, and his broken past.

I really don’t like love triangles, and Im really tired of them. This is my biggest issue with this story. Xander is the logical choice. She has known and cared for him ( and he for her) for their whole lives… and just all of a sudden she loves Ky??

I like Ky… but I don’t get the decision, and as I already mentioned, I never really felt any of Cassia’s emotions, so Its not like I felt her love for Ky…

Overall, I really liked the book. WAY more than I expected to. I liked Delirium better… but… I don’t know. Im about to start Crossed, book 2, so maybe ill end up liking this series better.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (But I did round up to 4 Stars for Goodreads and Amazon...)