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Matched

Reading level: Ages 14 and up
• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; First Edition edition (November 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525423648
• ISBN-13: 978-0525423645

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one… until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow — between perfection and passion.

Belinda Says:

Cover

The stark white backdrop feels very clinical compared to the green bubble containing Cassia in her Match ceremony dress. She looks to be testing her boundaries within the bubble, and as that is essentially what the book is about, it fits perfectly.

Characters

We have a strong cast of rebellious characters; I think their strength is made more obvious by the way they conceal their inner thoughts from the Society.

Favourite

Xander. He’s got every right in the world to be sullen and pensive with all that Cassia is up to, but he’s not. I can’t go into it too much. *Spoilers*

Least Favourite

The Society; forever changing the rules to manipulate people is enough to make me bristle with irritation.

Beginning

Cassia is on her way to her Matching ceremony, to be told who the Society has matched her to.

Storyline

After Ky’s face comes up in place of Xander’s, Cassia wonder’s if the society really did make a mistake, and makes moves to get to know the mysterious and illusive Ky.

Ending

After getting to know Ky better the Society throws up one last obstacle and it is up to Cassia to break through it.

Thoughts

With the global governments implementing new laws, and expecting the laws be followed; the hijinks of the Society in Matched run a little too close to the possibility of reality for my liking. It unnerved me that we may, one day, be expected to follow without question and trust without thought.

I believe the purpose of the book was to inspire us to look within ourselves and find our own path, and question those who think they know what is best for us.

Favourite Quote

“Cassia,” he whispers. “I am giving you something you won’t understand, yet. But I think you will someday. You, more than the rest. And, remember. It’s alright to wonder.”

Krista Says:

Cover:
I love this cover! I found it really original and ties into the story concept well.

Characters

Favorite:

Favorite by far is Cassia’s parents. They are supportive of her in the best possible way that they can in this world that they live in.

Least Favorite:

My least favorite characters were the Society workers, especially the woman that discusses the mix up with her (Cassia’s) marriage chip that displayed two people instead of one. Her overall stance on her job and the “mix-up” just irked me so much. I hated how robot-like their behaviors are, they don’t seem to have any human feelings.

Beginning:

This story is focused on love. Cassia loves Xander but when the possibility comes up that the Society thinks Ky is her match as well. She becomes tortured on who she should be with.

Story Line: Cassia loves Xander but when the possibility comes up that the Society thinks Ky is her match as well, She begins to question who she should be with, who Ky really is and get to know him better. When I think that the choice is clear (Team Xander 😉 )
So you will find that 80% of the novel is just about Cassia (ka-sha) going back and forth between who she should be married to. When really she doesn’t get the choice, because the society decides everything. She almost becomes obsessed with Ky, who he is, where he comes from and how he seems to know things that are being kept from the people in her town. There is a something more sinister happening here and Ky seems to be the key to finding out what is happening in the world outside her own.

Ending: As this is the first book in a trilogy, we find no answers by the end of the story. We end it with a lot of questions and Cassia being separated from her family. We don’t know what is going to happen to her, her family or Ky and Xander. I finished the book with several questions and curiosities of what the next book will bring.

Overall Thoughts: The world that Ally has come up with here is very unique and interesting. In the least, it is worth the read just to imagine what it would be like to live in this kind of world. I found the characters smart and likable. The things that I did not like about the book was the monotone feel I get from it. BUT I think it was meant to be written this way. For example the people are not allowed to run, shout, be overexcited, it’s against the law. So whenever something happened that normally you’d see some acting out on, you do not get that from this story. You see the characters acting the way they always should and just say “ok I will not run.” even when you want them to really badly.

I am a reader that does not like a mushy love story. Cassia’s struggle between Xander and Ky was just obvious for me but I enjoyed the love triangle here. Cassia’s struggle made sense to me and I enjoyed my own thoughts going back and forth on who I thought Cassia should end up with.  My favorite parts of the book were the descriptions of The Society and how it was ran. The world she lived in was more interesting that the one going on in her head. But I want to learn more about her world, so I can see myself picking up the next book.

2 Favorite Quotes:

“Once you want something, everything changes.”

“They are giving us pieces of a real life instead of the whole thing. They have perfected the art of giving us just enough freedom; just enough that when we are ready to snap, a little bone is offered and we roll over, belly up, comfortable and placated like a dog… – Cassia”

Lisa Says:

Cover:

Love. Love. LOVE, the cover! I’m not exactly sure what the bubble is, or why it’s green, but I do have a pretty good guess. Cassia lives in this very controlling society, which is represented through the bubble, and her sitting inside of it. Why green? Well throughout the story, you get to learn that every citizen in this society gets three different pills, I don’t want to give away what they’re for, but I can say one is green (Matched cover), one is blue (Crossed cover), and the last one is red (my guess is, that the third cover is red)!

Characters

Yes, there are countless Young Adult books with love triangles! I know, but for some reason, I really like them. I can read twenty books, with them in it, and never get bored, I guess their just one of my favorite types of books! In Matched, there is a triangle between Cassia, Xander, and Ky. I love all three of them, and no matter which one Cassia chooses, I would be happy for her(:

Favorite:

I can’t decide if I like Ky or Xander better! I love both of them, and their both guys who I, myself would want to hangout and be friends with. While Ky is kind of the bad boy type (which is really hot!), Xander is the sweet guy. He’s always been around and he would never do anything to hurt Cassia. So I really enjoyed reading about both of them, and I can’t wait to see how things work out.

Least Favorite:

I don’t have a least favorite character, I think Ally Condie did a great job with each character, making them seem real, with real feelings and emotions. But on the other hand I don’t really like how the society works, I love how it makes the story work out. But it’s crazy, how the society controls everyone and everything. It amazes me that these people let things go this far! So even though I don’t like how the society runs things, but it makes the story intense!

Beginning:

Many reviews I’ve read, before I even purchased the book, said the beginning was extremely boring. But when I cracked it opened, and paged throughout, I thought it was brilliant! I loved it! Ally Condie, took so much time and care into creating this whole new world, with tons of rules, and details! It just blew my mind.

Story Line:

I loved it, even though many people said it started off slow, I felt like that was really necessary. Why? Because the readers need to know what’s going on, they need to know a little bit of the past, and the rules. The reader just needs some background knowledge, to be able to understand the Matched.

Ending:

I read Matched a long time ago, way before Crossed even came out. So when I finished, I just want Ally Condie to send me her drafts so i could keep reading. I had such a fun time reading, that I wanted to slowly read throughout, almost saving it until Crossed sat on the bookshelves at Barnes and Nobles. But I couldn’t get stop myself.

Overall Thoughts:

One of my top books for 2011!

Favorite Quotes:

I’ve read this book months ago, I don’t really remember any 🙂

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