Review: Matched by Ally Condie

07 Oct, 2010 by in matched 16 comments

Hardcover, 384 pages
To Be Published November 30th 2010
by Dutton Juvenile
ISBN 0525423648
4.5 stars

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

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely 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.

Matched is a story for right now and storytelling with the resonance of a classic.

I first spotted an ARC of this book at the Writing for Charity event and I fell in love with the cover. It is magical. Shimmering. Perfect. Matched is a story that will stick with you long after you are done reading. And it’s one I could happily read over and over. Ally Condie is a master. She takes a dystopian concept and gives it a hopeful poetic tone. Her writing leaves an impact and a deep impression in your mind. This is a book that I see being taught in classrooms because of the ideas it presents and explores.

It starts out as Cassia is getting ready to attend her Matching ceremony, traveling along with her childhood friend Xander and their families. The whole event sounds like a girl’s dream. A new green silk dress, and the once in a lifetime chance to meet the man you may marry. The society hand picks them for you and statistics show all will be well.

Cassia’s path may be different than her peers, after her match goes wrong and she sees the faces of two boys instead of one. Both of them live in her borough, but one has a secret. Soon the perfect face of society will start to crumble as Cassia uncovers their methods. They control every facet of life: the food, the jobs, the history, and even the chances you will have in the future to succeed. Society officials watch your every move and limit your choices. As they once seemed protective and helpful they become Cassia’s source of confusion and entrapment. Will she be able to break free and choose love over loyalty?

Matched is slow moving but immersive. I found myself falling for both of Cassia’s men. They are incredible. The families are tight knit, each of the character’s pasts are intertwined and interconnected. The plot has layers which continue to unravel and the romance element is clean and perfect. I’m looking forward to the sequel, since in the end there are a lot of unanswered questions. Overall Matched is a beautiful, thought provoking book bound to become a classic.

Visit Ally’s website here and an author interview and excerpt from Matched on Amazon. Be sure to enter to win a vintage compact necklace inspired by Cassia’s matching ceremony artifact in the post below. Also our 600 follower contest contains a signed copy of Ally’s book Freshman for President!

16 Responses to “Review: Matched by Ally Condie”

  1. Cass (Words on Paper)

    Thanks for the review! I, too, am excited for this release, and have only heard wonderful things about it.

    Reply
  2. yllektra (force-oblique)

    It is totally among the books I need to write within the next couple of months!!
    It sounds amazing and original and like you say hopeful and poetic I am sure!!
    I love dystopian novels.. It gives you a grim sense of the future but you can learn a lot from it too!

    Reply
  3. Twilighter

    This book sounds amazing I Have never heard of it before reading your review and I think it sounds amazing totally the sort of book I would read. Cant wait to read it when it is released 🙂

    Megan 🙂

    Reply
  4. Juliana Lucca

    I cant wait to read Matched! The cover is perfect and the plot sounds AMAZING! Im sure I’ll freak out before its release date.
    I have to say: I really loved your review!

    Reply
  5. dimple091378

    Really love the review of the book, can’t wait for the book to come out… absolutely will have to add this one to my list of books have to get… I am always looking for stories that have something with love and having to choose what you want from life! Thank you for the review, look forward to more good ones!

    Reply
  6. April X

    Thanks for the review 😀 This book is actually sitting on my shelf, I just haven’t had the time to read it yet 🙁

    Reply
  7. Bere

    Fantastic review! I’ve heard such wonderful things on this one and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Your review makes me all the more excited to read it! I absolutely love the cover. Thank you for your excellent review! =)

    Reply
  8. Vivien

    I cannot wait for this book. I’ve been waiting for months now. So excited!! Great review. Now I am even more excited 😉

    Reply
  9. lulilut

    Thanks for the great review. This has been on my to-read list since I first heard about it and I love the cover.

    Reply
  10. Emiii8

    Great review! Can’t wait for the book to come out and I completely agree with you, the cover is magical and perfect!

    Reply
  11. Drenched

    Whoa, what a review! I’m dying to read this book already. I love to read stories which talk about a possible tussle between real path of passion and the usual “perfect” path that everyone follows. Can’t wait for the book to come out.

    Reply

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