>Matched by Ally Condie

Cassia Reyes lives in the a world of perfection. Everyone enjoys long lives, has the perfect job suited to them and the ideal mate, all of which is orchestrated by the Society.

Cassia is excited for her matching day which falls right on her 17th birthday. She is surprised, but happy when her childhood friend, Xander, is selected as her perfect match. She wants to do the right thing and fit into her place in the Society. She is later confused when she sees a second image flash on her screen, another acquaintance, Ky Markham, as being her match. This moment acts as the catalyst for her personal journey of discovering choice.

I was very pleased with Matched on several levels. The writing style and story development was subtle. I enjoyed how the details of the Society came out through the social interactions of the characters rather than as a catalog of facts. Only a few of the characters were developed substantially, but that helped me focus on the most important characters who moved the action forward. Also the emptiness of some characters emphasised how people become striped of their personality when they lack the free will to make their own choices. Matched is filled with feelings of anticipation which keep the reader interested rather than overt violence or sexuality.

Any new YA dystopian novel will be compared to The Hunger Games, and there are some superficial similarities, such as, a female protagonist and a love triangle. However, the differences in the structure of the government are very different. For this reason Matched stands on its own and is not a rip off of The Hunger Games. There are also some similarities to The Giver. Matched has a softer rhythm which makes it seem more plausible and in a sense more deeply threatening. Finally, there are also similarities to Brave New World. Modern novels generally are less descriptive and use shorter sentence structure and the voice is less passive. Because of these qualities most young readers will find Matched more gripping than an older piece like Brave New World. It is entirely possible that Matched will be considered a modern classic. There is definitely more room for dystopian novels because it is a genre that speaks to teens in their growing awareness of their own world.

- the Mother

I thought Matched was a very gripping book. I couldn’t stop reading. I loved how the characters changed as you got to known them more and more. I am waiting for the next book with high expectations. I loved how she related to the poems. I think this book is a wonderful book for girls mostly because it is so romantic. It would be good for boys too, maybe… I think it is a wonderful book, I give it five stars. Every teen should read this.

- the Daughter