Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Title: Matched
Author: Ally Condie
Release Date: November 30, 2010
Publisher: Dutton Books
Pages: 366
Source: Library
Genre: YA Dystopian
Famous For ???: Nothing big yet......Disney bought the movie rights










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.
(Summary courtesy of Goodreads)


First off, let me just say Wow. As in wow with a capital W. I really wasn't expecting much from this book, it seemed like just another teen dystopian, with another heroine (ever notice that in most dystopians either the lead is female and leads a rebellion all by herself, of there's a seriously strong female character somewhere? Talk about the re-birth of girl power). But it was good! I had seen bloggers rant and rave about this book, but it never quite hit me that this is a really good book. 


As you can see, I loved this book. One of the great things that jumped out at me was the characters, and that's saying a lot, because often that's not one of the main reasons I say I love a book. Yes, I get severely attached to characters in quite a bit of the books I love, but I'm not one of the people that talks about character development a lot. 


For starters, Cassia is officially my favorite heroine. I loved how you could literally see her changing. It was believable rebellion, not one that was just suddenly there at the beginning of the book. Cassia started out with faith in the Society, but when she saw a "glitch", it was that growing into rebellion. And the best thing? I wasn't screaming at her in my head the whole book! She was not the whiny, clueless, love struck character, like Katniss in the Hunger Games. Finally, we get a strong lead who actually has a strong personality and is sure footed in her decisions. 


Next, (and I'm sure every teenage girl who read this book thought this was awesome as well) there's not just one hot amazing guy- there's TWO! And I know there was two in the Hunger Games, and a ton of other books, but these guys were ones who were a) likable, b) smart, and c) not mortal enemies. I could go on, but in short, both Ky and Xander were awesome, and all three of the main characters were ones I actually felt connected with.


This book really caught my attention. The cover's gorgeous, and I love that it ties into the book. Also, it's simple, yet elegant (I'm a sucker for simple book covers). And the story is great! The writing was fast-paced and was always moving, with great details sprinkled through the book on what living in the Society was like. And, quite a bit of the story deals with one of my favorite things- words! I don't want to spoil anything, but it's a great on how moving written word can be. Also, even though it is fiction, Matched deals with topics that we deal with today- things like book banning and censorship.


Overall (as my gushing review blatantly tells) Matched is a great book. The only problem? The sequel doesn't come out until November. 


So until then, what are some of your favorite dystopian novels, and what are your thought on the characters in Matched compared to other books? Tell me in the comments below!