Thursday, July 19, 2012

Matched by Ally Condie


Matched ~ Ally Condie

A young adult dystopian novel (Rated PG)

3.5 out of 5 stars

Book Summary

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.

My Review

This book came with a lot of warnings from others that it wasn’t good at all. So being forewarned and having low expectations, I found I wasn’t disappointed. Meaning, I didn’t find it a horrible read. Have I read better? Yes. Have I read worse? Yes.

I’m going to find it hard to give a review without spoilers. So be forewarned.

Spoilers

Cassia is a selfish sixteen year old girl. One who had been given the opportunity at a decent life with a guy she loved. But a carrot was dangled in front of her and she took the bait. I can’t blame her. She’s sixteen. Even in our society today, if a new cute boy walked into school, girls would be swooning even if he wasn’t the hottest guy in school. This is human nature. Something new is always interesting. Always better than something you’ve had. So I don’t blame Cassia. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it either.

She makes a ton of mistakes in this book. Too many to count. Most are because she is young, sheltered and doesn’t know any better. I think if I hadn’t been warned about this book, I would have done a lot of eye rolling and may not have finished.

End of Spoilers

Overall, it was an okay read. Similar and Different to Delirium. There is a lot more choice and the threat of death and punishment not as strong. Still, sometimes it is the quiet that will scare you more.

Audio Review
Kate Simses is perfect for the meek Cassia that leads this story.  Her voice quiet and sweet is perfect for the character we read about.  Although she doesn’t have a wide range of voices she uses in this project, I don’t have trouble following who is reading.
My book boyfriend was almost Xander. And through no fault of his own, I have to choose Ky. It’s hard to explain why without giving something away.

Ky...


View all my reviews

6 comments:

  1. Agreed! I was not a huge fan of this book! The next one is a lot of the same. I'll probably finish the series just cause I'm curious.

    Teresa @ Readers Live A Thousand Lives

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    1. I didn't love it nor did I hate it. And like you, I'm curious. I listening to the next one now.

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  2. I too found it hard to properly review this book. I didn't really like it, but I didn't dislike it either. I guess it was an OK read for me, enjoyable while I was reading it, but quickly forgotten afterwards. I'm still not sure if I want to read the sequel.

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    1. It was an okay read. I almost felt like I was been led like a horse to water to like Ky over Xander. I didn't feel that we really had an opportunity to know him. It was almost like Gale in the Hunger Games, there but not. But in the Hunger Games there was a reason why Gale wasn't there. Not so much for Xander in this book.

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  3. Forgot to say: hmmm, lovely Ky picture here.
    And that I’ve nominated you for the Lovely Blog Award: http://ylogs.com/archives/one-lovely-blog-award :)

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    1. Thanks so much for the nomination. And I agree, This guy here is super cute!

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