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Review: Matched by Ally Condie

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.


Right off the bat I'll tell you that this was not my favourite book in the world. It wasn't the best display of fiction I have ever read, but it also wasn't torturous to read through it. :) The concept was interesting, (as most dystopian book's settings are) but I'm not totally sure the execution was as good as it could have been. Well, at least not totally was I was hoping it would be. 

I found the characterization in this book a bit lack-luster. Cassia is an okay character, but she is also a bit indecisive. Which can be a bit frustrating to read at times. I found Xander to be probably the best character. He had a consistent, strong and likeable personality. It's too bad there wasn't more of him in the story...Then there is Ky... Ky I didn't understand at all. He was pretty quiet at the beginning, so you think "Okay, mysterious dude. We'll probably find out more about him later in the book. Cool." but no. Even when he started talking to Cassia more and you found out more about him, I found it very confusing and hard to understand him. And other points brought up in the book by other characters make it even more difficult to puzzle him out. 

On a lighter note, I think the overall story arc has good potential for the future. I will probably read the sequel to find out how this slightly confusing debut continues. Don't get me wrong here, the story itself is an interesting one, it's just the characters I was not all that fond of. I guess I just didn't really connect with any of them on a personal level. Which is often part of what makes a book good in my opinion, that close-to-home, "I-know-exactly-how-you-are-feeling" connection you get from good characterization.  

If your family was made up of characters from Matched, who would you NOT want to be related to? 
Xander, because I would probably have a crush on him. ;) Hahaha... 

Who was your favourite character? 
Xander, because I would probably have a crush on him. 

What book did this book remind you of? 
Xander, because I would probably have a crush on him... AHAHA I guess I can't get away with the same answer for this one, can I? Okay, okay...hmmmm... I guess this book kind of reminded me of Across the Universe by Beth Revis. Both stories have a very controlling government, that even controls food intake and activities the people partake in. The settings felt very similar. (Even though one is on Earth, and the other in the middle of outer space!)  


The Good: Setting, description, overall story/idea
The Bad: Characterization. If you didn't get that from all my rambling up there^^
The Verdict: I give this book 3 out of a possible 5 Maltesers. Maltesers are good. 


keep readin' it write!
Megan 

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