Matched by Ally Condie is getting a reputation for being either one of those books you either love or love to hate. Which is why I found it weird that I only ended up "in like" with the book.
According to the book's blurb:
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.
Maybe it's my post-Twilight caution distancing me. After all, Matched was a really, really good read. There was emotion. There was tension. There was a love story that was actually believable. But there was also the fact that I wanted MORE to happen. More physical action, that is. I also wanted MORE of a revelation on Cassia's part because when she realizes (SPOILER ALERT) that the Society has been using her in an experiment, she still fails to wonder (at least enough to satisfy me) why she was more interested in Ky than Xander. Which left me a bit disappointed. Not enough to jerk me away from the story or completely ruin the Ky-Cassia love story, but enough to make me take a step back.
Ms. Condie, however, can write. Her prose is fresh, unadorned, and direct, and puts me eerily in mind of the Society she is depicting. She crafted a page-turner, making this book a hard one to put down...but (maybe it's my busy lifestyle) I didn't find it too difficult to leave down once it got there. I don't think this is Ms. Condie's fault. It's probably mine because I'm just a little fed-up with the love triangle thing in YA. Maybe I'm putting too much judgement on something that A) obviously works and B) is every teenage girl's fantasy (okay, every FEMALE's fantasy to some extent), but I would like a different wrench for the plot if you know what I'm talking about. It's not that I HATE them, it's just that they are so abundant nowadays that they all read the same. (So, whoever can direct me to a love triangle-free story...I will love you to the ends of the earth.)
Despite the love-triangle dilemma, I liked all the characters. Xander was well-rounded and interesting in spite of just being "the match." Ky reminded me a little too much of a guy I knew in high school, which is pretty cool because rarely do characters remind me of actual PEOPLE, and even Cassia surpassed the pretty-girl-caught-in-the-middle stereotype by a long mile.
I loved Ms. Condie's incorporation of poetry ("Do Not Go Gentle" by Dylan Thomas is one of my favorite poems) and the arc of the story. But it still just felt like the first act. It ended with me wanting more. And, bloodthirsty wench that I am, I wanted a physical fight.
I'll hold my breath for Crossed, which I hope gives me a battle.
Rating (out of five stars): 4.5 stars
Recommended: Yep!
Great review, Brandi. Looks like an interesting read that will bore me silly. All the love triangles are annoying me too. But I love the whole society experiment thing.
ReplyDeleteJai
Thanks for the review, Brandi. Since I just finished the book AN HOUR AGO, it's very timely.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the upper-like category, but I see what you mean about her feelings about her relationship with Xander not being explored enough. And I wish her parents had shared more near the end.
But I'm really becoming a dystopian girl. I could feel the fear of the people and the control of the society.