Book Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Title: Matched
Author: Ally Condie
Series: Matched #1
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Release Date: November 30 2010
My Source: Borrowed

My Rating: 4/5

Goodreads Summary:
In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.

Matched is a story for right now and storytelling with the resonance of a classic.

My Review:

Matched! When I got this book I literally screamed for joy- that was how much excitement I built up about this book. The premise sounded absolutely amazing, and I'd read plenty of positive reviews already. There was so much hype about this book. I'm glad to say it didn't disappoint.

Matched is a dystopian love story with a great premise. Cassia is Matched with her best friend Xander, but then she finds she starts to fall in love with Ky, who is an abberation, aka, he's not in the matching pool, he's not allowed to be Matched because of something in his past. The whole book is simply Cassie discovering that she wants to rebel against the Officials by falling in love with Ky.

There weren't a lot of negatives, but the few that were brought this book down. Matched has no sense of urgency. I felt like it was just a mental and emotional journey for Cassia without a lot of action or events. In some books this works just fine, but I thought this one could've benefited from some urgency in Cassia's actions.

The love triangle was so good- I didn't know who I wanted Cassia to end up with! I really liked Ky simply because he was different than the Society's expectations for Cassia. He had a past and secrets, and knew things Cassia didn't know. But at the same time, I didn't like him because he seemed a little plain. He was quiet, but not in a mysterious way, and it just felt a little awkward. That's the best word I can use, because I'm not exactly sure how to describe how his mannerisms felt. Xander on the other hand was a character I loved! I connected with him instantly and felt like I knew him- he was the boy next door. But I didn't want Cassia to end up with him, it didn't feel right for her, I could tell she didn't really love him. So that's why I'm still stuck between the two boys. It's frustrating when I come to the end of a book and still can't decide between the two, but I also know that makes it a good book because I was involved enough that I care.

Cassia was a great character who I could identify with. She cared for her family, but was also torn between two great guys, and torn between following the Society or her own choices. She was strong and made good decisions, but she certainly not perfect. She was independent, and though she was choosing between two guys she didn't rely on them to make decisions for her.

I'm so glad there's going to be a sequel! (Two actually-it's going to be a trilogy) There's definitely a lot of potential for a great continuation of the story. I can't wait until it comes out. I would recommend this to fans of clean romance, or YA dystopian stories.

Note: This was an ARC I borrowed from a fellow blogger friend. This book is not out yet- it releases on Nov. 30th.

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