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Matched (Matched, #1)
by Ally Condie (Goodreads Author)
by Ally Condie (Goodreads Author)
The Giver is all grown up. In this Society, free will is traded for perfection and health, but at least people have emotions. And how. Cassia, 17, introduces us into her world at the Matching banquet. See, this Society ensures longevity by pairing all citizens off based on genetic compatibility and perhaps personality characteristics. It's not "Blind Date"; it's Blind Spouse. Cassia is lucky; she's Matched with her best friend, Xander, a rare occurrence in the highly ordered world. Until the memory card with his file suddenly shows her another guy she knows, Ky, a guy with a dark secret. Suddenly, a world with no real choice but perfection seems to crumble as Cassia, Ky, and Xander, make choices that dare to defy "destiny."
This love triangle morphs among equilateral, isosceles, and acute forms. The emotions of each character are aching and sweet and pulsing and true. Throughout the narrative, you learn about small chinks in the Society's protective shield that ratchet up the suspense to be more than just "whom will Cassia choose?"
Ally Condie deftly builds a world that scarily mimics our own. With true capability in the speculative fiction genre, she is careful to avoid language we readers are familiar with ("pen") to fully construct the world we could become after "Warmings" or technology fails. She presents it at first as tantalizing: healthy life until 80, only 100 History Lessons to learn, attractive spouses, perfect music. But you're right along with Cassia as she digs up the imperfections that worm within the Society.
Thematically, Matched is incredible. The interplay of poetry, words, the color green, and even Cassia's name (see brittleighbooks.com 5/28/10) start at a basic level, then build on each other without being overt to give the universal story of teen-loves-best-friend-but-other-guy-too more depth and greater meaning. Green is Cassia's color. But it does not mean jealousy. Instead, I think it's indicative of the color of the apple Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge.
In Matched, Cassia steals words, ideals, and love from this tree. But will her actions mean the fall of Society? You will find out in this sinfully good read.
This love triangle morphs among equilateral, isosceles, and acute forms. The emotions of each character are aching and sweet and pulsing and true. Throughout the narrative, you learn about small chinks in the Society's protective shield that ratchet up the suspense to be more than just "whom will Cassia choose?"
Ally Condie deftly builds a world that scarily mimics our own. With true capability in the speculative fiction genre, she is careful to avoid language we readers are familiar with ("pen") to fully construct the world we could become after "Warmings" or technology fails. She presents it at first as tantalizing: healthy life until 80, only 100 History Lessons to learn, attractive spouses, perfect music. But you're right along with Cassia as she digs up the imperfections that worm within the Society.
Thematically, Matched is incredible. The interplay of poetry, words, the color green, and even Cassia's name (see brittleighbooks.com 5/28/10) start at a basic level, then build on each other without being overt to give the universal story of teen-loves-best-friend-but-other-guy-too more depth and greater meaning. Green is Cassia's color. But it does not mean jealousy. Instead, I think it's indicative of the color of the apple Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge.
In Matched, Cassia steals words, ideals, and love from this tree. But will her actions mean the fall of Society? You will find out in this sinfully good read.
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rated it 3 stars
Oct 24, 2011 01:22pm
Good review, but I do ah e to say, I think the Giver is actually a little more grown up even though the characters are children. It deals much more deeply with topics such as death and manipulation and entrapment, while Matched is a little more like a romance.
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