Recent Reads - Matched

Matched, Ally Condie

 5 of 5 Stars

Genre:   Young Adult, Sci-Fi Dystopian

Pages:   384

Published:   11/30/2010, Dutton Juvenile

Why I Chose It:   Um, look at the cover. Pretty. And shiny. Do I need to say more or are you guys starting to understand my addiction?

Synopsis (from Good Reads):    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.

My Review:  Oh. My. God. I cannot even begin to describe how much I loved this book. It was everything I could have ever wished for from a dystopian and more. I just want to squeeze it. Or sleep with it under my pillow until I'm clever enough to dream up something as brilliant.

It was tender and touching in a way that reminded me of my profound love of Lois Lowry's The Giver. The Giver is the book that changed my life. The one I read at a young age that made me want to be a writer. Made me want to affect people with words. So to find a book reminiscent of it has made me insanely happy.

Condie's writing is superb. Beautifully crafted. Every word has a point. A purpose. And was specifically chosen to create a society that is easy to understand, destined to be hated, and impossible to forget. From the very beginning, there were parts that made me tear up. Which is not something I do easily. My heart ached for Cassia and for Ky. For the choices that were seemingly beyond their control.

I do have to warn you that this is not a Hunger Games-style dystopian. The pace isn't slow, but it's steady. Gradually building until the final climax. There is no overt action, it's all done very subtly, but the story is intense nonetheless. It's haunting and thought provoking. It's an incredible love story set against the backdrop of a society that believes choice leads to failure. And in a way, they're right. The instant Cassia begins making choices her once "perfect" world begins to crumble. But it is the freedom to choose that makes us human.

I was always intrigued, wondering when the Society would exert their control and attempt to destroy the growing love between Cassia & Ky, but in the end, it all comes down to choice and the consequences of those choices.

It's just amazing. I can always gauge my love of a book by my willingness to lose sleep over it. This one I read in one sitting, staying up until about 3 am to finish despite the fact that I was ill. Recommended to everyone. I personally feel it should be read and adored by the world.

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