Book Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Publication date: November 2010
ISBN: 9780525423645
Source: ARC provided by publisher/publicist

Cassia has grown up longing for the day she will be Matched to her future husband.  When that day finally arrives, she is surprised and pleased with her Match, Xander, who is someone she's known all her life.  But, when a face that is definitely NOT Xander shows up on the screen for an instant, she is shocked and confused.  That sight sparks her curiosity and she finds herself falling in love with someone else entirely.

Things I Liked:
I love, love, love the writing.  Ally is one of my new favorites, almost just for the way she writes.  Her words seem simple and clean, but there is a poetic and complex depth to it.  I love the way the words flow on the pages.  I also happened to really enjoy the dystopian world she's created - a world where there are no choices, but everyone seems happy with what they have.  It does have lots of similarities to The Giver, which just makes me want to go reread that one.  The people might not have options, but they enjoy the small freedoms they do have.  It was interesting to watch how Cassia changes over the book, how she begins to see small things at first and larger ones later that make her dissatisfied with the Society.  The love triangle, which I am the first to admit is so overdone in literature, was actually quite good, I thought.  (*slight spoiler*) Not only was she unafraid to admit she loved both boys, but she straight up told the one she didn't choose that she chose the other.  They remained friends after. (*end spoiler*)  I wish there were more books whose triangles resolved that way.  I was pleased and satisfied and also ready for the next installment!  And really, there is so much to talk about with this book.  We were really fortunate that Ally, who is a local author, was doing a program at our local library.  We visited with her after reading the book.  I'm super glad we decided to use it as a book group read.

Things I Didn't Like:
Looking back at the reading experience, it seemed to move really slowly.  There isn't a lot of action and things that happen, it is more a steady flow of regular every day things mixed with minute irregular things.  So, while it isn't your typical action-packed dystopia, I think it still moves quickly and will keep the reader engaged through other means. 

Read-alikes:
Delirium by Lauren Oliver (I've got an awesome double feature review of this book coming)

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none
that I recall 

mrg-factor: none
some kissing

v-factor: ->
there are some scary moments and a little violence

Overall rating: *****

Intrigued by this book? Want to read an excerpt or two? Good, because I've got a Gratitude Giveaway coming up tomorrow for a signed ARC of Matched and I intend to put some of my favorite quotes in that post so you can get a taste for this excellent book. Come back tomorrow to enter for your chance to read this fabulous addition to dystopian lit.

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage