Matched by Ally Condie – review

Today, I am reviewing the dystopian novel, Matched, by Ally Condie. It’s got a kind of similar plot to Divergent. In this novel, Cassia lives in a world that is totally controlled by the society. Every single aspect of Cassia’s life will be planned by the society, and, because it’s the only life she has ever known, this is perfectly okay with her. Cassie is absolutely looking forward to being Matched to her ideal mate and being selected for her ideal working position. The book begins with her heading off to her Matching Banquet, a party that is just for her and the few other people who are scheduled to be matched with the person they will marry. Most matches have never met each other and only get a quick glimpse during their banquets, via a television screen. It is usually a long courtship before they meet in person, so, in the meantime, the matches are given computer cards filled with info about the other person. Cassia is unusually lucky, because she has been paired with her best friend, Xander.

She knows everything about Xander, and though the excitement of getting to know her match is dimmed by the fact that she has known him her entire life, she is truly pleased to be paired with him. That is, until she takes her info card home and discovers the picture of another boy has been loaded onto her card. That’s when she starts to wonder….

I enjoyed this book. Maybe not as much as I enjoyed Divergent, but, in all fairness, it was a pretty different novel. But, Thisby, you just told us that it has a similar plot to Divergent. Now, you are telling us it’s different?!

Are you confused yet? It’s similar to Divergent because the government controls every aspect of their lives, and they are always being watched. I guess that would be what makes these novels truly dystopian. What makes these novels different isn’t just the story (this one is a love story and Divergent, though it had elements of it, was not focused around love), but the style in which it is written. Condie does an absolutely beautiful job of writing Cassia as an introspective, thoughtful, and imaginative girl. I’d say at least half of the sections/chapters in this book end with some beautifully written thought or realization about Cassia’s life. Cassia spends the novel slowly wondering what life would be like if everything wasn’t planned out for her. She has help from her grandfather, who plants the seed of dissension in her head before he dies. He tells her “It’s okay to wonder.” And wonder she does.

She gets to know the other boy called Xander, and he tells her a story about his life before he came to the society where she lives. The story is gruesome and sad. Slowly, she begins to realize that the life she had been looking forward to, the one where everything was planned out for her, isn’t the life she wants. With this realization comes the wish that she could change things and make those choices for herself.

This book is the opening to a series. It ends on a slight cliffhanger, but I definitely intend to read the next one. Matched wasn’t so engrossing that I couldn’t put it down, but the writing was so beautiful I wanted to keep reading. In an age where dystopian novels are becoming the latest rage, we are seeing a plethora of really strong female characters. We see that in Katniss and Tris especially. Cassia’s character isn’t as loud as these other girls. Hers is the quiet fighter. She is the one who slowly blossoms into a revolutionary without even knowing that’s what she has become. Matched is definitely a refreshing read.

Stay tuned next week for my review of Delirium, the last in the set of dystopians I’ve purchased–and the last one I plan on reading for a while.