Review: Matched (Matched #1) by Ally Condie

Publisher: Penguin

Published: November 30, 2010

Pages: 366

Source: Won from Ally Condie (Thank you!)

Rating: 5 STARS

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.

In short: Matched by Ally Condie is a captivating dystopian read due to its impeccable writing and perfectly developed world building.

It seems like everyone was initially in love with Matched before it was released, hyping it up and raving about it, and then at some point people were let down from that high and started to find fault with it. They seemed to be legitimate problems, too, from what I read. However, after having read Matched myself (finally!), I have to say that these faults didn't bother me. The following are, to my eyes, the most common problems that people found with Matched and my reasoning behind why I didn't see them as weaknesses (please allow me this unusual review format):

The pacing is very slow. This is very true. Matched is a quiet novel, one without any intense action or earth-shaking events, that people more inclined towards fast paced novels may find boring. Fortunately for me, I seem to have a very high tolerance for slower paced novels as long as the writing is impeccably done (which is why I also adored Beautiful Creatures and Delirium). I was completely swept away in Ally Condie's writing, always held captivated and interested. The flawless incorporation of poetry and symbolism into the text was genius. Consequently, I wasn't bothered the least bit by the lack of action.

The world building wasn't original. The dystopian world in Matched was derivative of other dystopian novels, particularly The Giver. Lucky for me, I've never read The Giver (The shame! I know, I know. I will read it eventually.). I can't say with complete confidence that Matched had a never-before-seen literary world, but among the sea of dystopians I've read this year, it definitely stands out as being the best described and most intriguing (along with Divergent). I loved reading about Matched's perfect-on-the-surface dystopian world that was slowly revealed to be anything but as Cassia discovers disturbing truths about the Society that she has felt safe in her entire life.

So, there you have it: the reasoning why I loved Matched but can understand why other people didn't. I would love to know in the comments how you felt about Matched and if you had similar thoughts regarding the above common issues.

Other Reviews:
Books: A True Story
IceyBooks
She Known As Jess

Author Links:
Blog
Website
Twitter