Matched

Title: Matched
Author: Ally Condie
Publisher: Penguin Group
Pages: 366
Source of Book: My local public library

Summary: (courtesy of http://www.thematcheddepartment.com/?page_id=11)

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.


My Rating: 8.5 out of a possible 10


Explanation: The futuristic dystopic air of this novel completely reminded me of one of my favorite books ever read in an English class in high school, Brave New World.
 
At first, I thought this novel was cute. The matching ceremony seemed strange, but the immediate results promised a cute romance story. When things began to get complicated, I was rooting for one guy, and as the story evolved, rooting for the other. This story is a difficult one for the reader to choose what they wish the outcome would be, and one can only imagine the dilemma from the character's point of view.
 
I was also glad to find that the family was relatable and well developed. It's rare that parents' decisions play such a role in the protagonists' thoughts, and I was glad to see they had in this novel.
 
Overall, I got to the end and was disappointed that was where it ends...until I went to Ally Condie's website and discovered this was the first in a trilogy! I am so anxious to read the next two books, and cannot imagine where the plot is going to go, although I have a hunch about the end of the third book, currently untitled.
 
In some reviews on the website, it has been compared to The Hunger Games trilogy. I can see slight connections, but those were more about survival and this novel is more about free thinking and rebellion. It's almost a younger and more updated version of George Orwell's 1984.
 
I genuinely enjoyed this book and look forward to it's sequel. The main character and I never really connected, but I got to see things from her point of view and could relate as I didn't know who to root for. I want to know what happens next to these characters, who I feel like I know personally.