I recently read this novel by Ally Condie as filler material between Gallagher Girl books. I LOVED IT! Here's Matched:
This story revolves around Cassia, who lives many years in the future, in the world now known as the Society. The government gives you everything: your home, your clothes, your jobs, deliver your food to your house, and even...your spouse. You are "Matched" (hence the title) once you turn seventeen, but aren't officially married until you turn twenty-one.
At Cassia's Match Banquet, where she will see and meet her Match for the first time, she is shocked to discover that her Match is her best friend, Xander. Most people are Matched with people outside of their province, someone they have never met, so this is very extraordinary. Cassia is very satisfied, happy, and excited on beginning her new life with him.
Each person Matched receives a silver box containing the equivalent of a flash drive with information about their Match on it. When Cassia views hers, just to see Courtship Regulations and a few tidbits she might not already knew, Xander's face disappears, replaced with another boy's- and Cassia knows him, too. An Official tells her it is just a rare glitch. A malfunction. But she's conflicted.
Cassia suddenly finds herself constantly encountering the other boy, Ky. She gradually falls in love with him, and vice versa. She now has to choose: Xander, and a life of safe predictability, or Ky, and a life of new experiences.
I thought this book was AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING! I love stories that take place in a dystopian future. They always make me wonder if that really would be us someday. This Society seems the most realistic of that in any other book I've read. I like it more, because the Society at least gives some choice in life. But of course, the government is worse than any I've seen. They base everything off of percentages and predictions. Every so often they purposely throw a curve ball into someone's life just to see the outcome.
The characters themselves, as seems the way in this genre, are all flat, except for the narrator, Cassia. Except maybe Ky. Sweet, mysterious Ky. Of course, I say that, when I sort of like Xander better. It's a toss up, really. Why does everything have to have a love triangle and make you pick sides?!? I find that more and more in YA fiction these days. It is becoming cliche.
I loved this book, and am currently reading its sequel, Crossed. It confuses me so far, because the narration switches off between Ky and Cassia. I am liking it OK, but it isn't as good as the first. But I AM starting to like Ky better. Mostly because Xander only appears in the second and fourth chapters.... And Ky is super sweet and REALLY loves Cassia. I will review the entire book once I finish, probably sometime over the long weekend. Oh yeah, happy labor day weekend! Bye!
Edited to add: Poems seemed to play a theme in this book, which I really don't understand.
