Matched, by Ally Condie
Cassia lives in a society where everything is planned by the government – where you live, where you work, who you marry, and even when you die. When Cassia is matched with her long-time friend Xander, she is relieved and happy. But another face flashes on her screen when viewing her match’s information at home, and she knows his face too. Her other match is Ky, an orphaned boy from the Outer Provinces who always works to appear average and invisible. Cassia’s grandfather is turning 80, and is scheduled to die. But before his passing, he gives Cassia a precious but illegal gift – a paper containing two unregistered poems. The phrase from a poem “Do not go gentle into that good night” begins to register meaning within Cassia as she confronts her feelings about her structured society and lack of freedom.
Cassia is a sympathetic girl who begins to question her way of life when faced with a series life changing circumstances and decisions that are made for her. And love is her driving force. Condie’s futuristic pseudo-utopian society is incredibly vivid and imaginative. And her characters are dimensional and complex.
Geared towards young adults, the subject matter and content is refreshingly age appropriate for even a younger crowd. Though, the Society structure and decisions that people make are thought-provoking enough for adults to enjoy as well. In the end, Cassia has to make the choice between the love of Xander and a life of comfort, predictability, and safety and the love of Ky which is passionate, dangerous, and the path of freedom. While it has a reminiscent feel of the Hunger Games, the story is very different and the main characters have little in common. It’s an extremely moving tale of family, love, friendship, courage, and the cost of freedom. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel from beginning to end, and couldn’t put it down. First in a planned trilogy, it’s an entirely fantastic tale.
—
Matched releases from Dutton Books on November 30th.
Comments are closed.