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- Series: It's a trilogy, followed by Crossed and Reached
- Pub date: November 30th 2010
- Disclosure: Checked out a copy from the library. Thanks!
Judged by its cover: I really like this cover. It's simple, sci-fi-esque, and it fits the story well. The font is cool, too.
The Long...
Cassia has spent her whole life dreaming of her Match Banquet: the ceremony on her seventeenth birthday that will determine who she spends the rest of her life with. When her best friend Xander appears on the screen, she knows she couldn't be luckier--until a malfunction in the system shows her the face of Society Aberration and friend Ky Markham instead. As she finds herself falling for Ky, she must question everything she's ever known: herrole in the Society, her family, and her future.
I must admit, it took awhile for Matched to win me over. I found Cassia irritating, immature, and shallow, and every metaphor and thought that passed through her head felt forced. The writing in the beginning of the book is juvenile (though impeccably edited), and the dystopia felt like a total cliche: Big Brother Controls Every Aspect of Your Life, And Unsurprisingly, Uses That Power for Evil. I almost put this book down halfway through. Almost.
But at that magical halfway point, I was surprised to find that I just couldn't let this story go. Cassia's character began to mature and deepen, and the love triangle between her, Xander, and Ky turned out to be hardly a love triangle at all--there's no constant indecision or manipulation, only one relationship with a best friend and another relationship that's deeper.
In the end, I thought Matched was an entertaining and intriguing dystopia (if, in my opinion, not quite worthy of all the hype). I'd like to read the sequels, even if they're not gotta-haves for me, and I'd recommend it to those hungry for a dystopia that's more thought-provoking and less action-packed.
...and the Short:
A flawed but intriguing dystopia that features a sweet love triangle and a heroine that we get to watch grow up over the course of the story. A good gateway drug into the world of YA and dystopia.
The Final Word: Liked it.
2 comments:
I still have to read the other two books, but I adored the book - and the writing makes sense. They restricted the allowed literature and wordage, so of course the character is going to talk in a much more limited vocabulary and understanding. Media affects our speech and observations to the point that Condie took to heart - of course, I loved the entire thing, so I may be a bit biased in that observation.
Let me just say - I am SO GLAD you enjoyed the read. This book got hyped for the wrong things, IMO, and I'm glad you noticed the good ones.
I liked this book but really hated the second-I found it so dull with very little happening.
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