Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Synopsis: 

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.

From Goodreads.

My Review:

Matched is a hard book for me to review, because I really, really loved it. At first, I picked it up to get over another book I read (which shall remain nameless) that truly upset me, and I was delighted by how quickly I got into it.

Cassia lives in a world that is perfectly organized by the data that been collected about people their entire lives. In this world, disease has been prevented and people know exactly how long they will live. Even their mates are chosen for them, and behavior is predicted based on probability. Everything is sorted and accounted for, leaving nothing to chance. In the Society's world, creativity is not an option.

As the synopsis suggests, Cassia, the main character is presented with not one, but two possible matches: one sanctioned by the state, and the other an 'error in the system'. The idea that a perfectly structured world could have errors opens Cassia's eyes to new possibilities and the idea that the world she lives in is not in everyone's best interest after all.

Condie creates a remarkable world, one whose presence I felt through the characters. The dilemmas she brings up are universal: how much can data predict behavior? are we being watched? is it wrong to question authority? and what is the essence of creativity?

To some, this story is evenly paced. However, with this pacing, Condie gives us time to feel the experiences and breathe the air of Cassie's world, while I fell in love with the characters. As a writer, I greatly admire Condie's writing style. Her pacing gave me time to stop and admire the scenery, without bogging me down in the slightest. I found the story, its characters and the adversarial world they live in, strong and compelling enough to draw me in. It kept me engrossed from start to finish. 

My rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by: Lisa