Matched (Matched, #1) in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Jul 31, 2012 Nadine in NY Jones rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, dystopian-and-post-apocalyptic, lily

from the NPR poll of great Young Adult fiction ...

The Cassandra Clare blurb on the book jacket is probably the most lovely and succinct comment possible.

This futuristic fable of love and free will asks: Can there be freedom without choice? The tale of Cassia's journey from acceptance to rebellion will draw you in and leave you wanting more.

I won't deny this book was slow going at first. I was only reading a chapter or two each night because I kept falling asleep! It was pretty dull stuff. Oo ...more

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Apr 01, 2011 stephanie rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, dystopian, 2011

i am beginning to think the name "xander" is cursed in popular media.

anyway. there was a LOT of hype over this book. i think it has a beautiful cover, i think the writing was lovely, but i didn't really *care* about any of the characters - except grandfather.

i think i found a lot of it predictable and sad, and never answered the question of, "what if you didn't know?" it does a good job of exploring what happens when you DO know, and i have to admit cassia's official kind of creeped me out, bu i am beginning to think the name "xander" is cursed in popular media.

anyway. there was a LOT of hype over this book. i think it has a beautiful cover, i think the writing was lovely, but i didn't really *care* about any of the characters - except grandfather.

i think i found a lot of it predictable and sad, and never answered the question of, "what if you didn't know?" it does a good job of exploring what happens when you DO know, and i have to admit cassia's official kind of creeped me out, but would things have been so miserable if the screen never flashed?

it also reminded me a bit of my issues with katniss, from Hunger Games, in that cassia (and katniss) are incredibly selfish when you really look at it. i could forgive katniss for it in the beginning, because it really was about survival, but i had a much harder time with cassia.

the Officials and the government were sufficiently creepy. the idea of programming everything, that it is actually our wealth of choice that brings about the end of our society is really intriguing. as a result, cassia's world has 100 poems, 100 history lessons, 100 songs, etc. (apparently 100 is the magic number.) to be honest, i wanted to hear more about what 100 history lessons were deemed okay.

i loved the inclusion of the dylan thomas poem. my heart broke thinking of all those books being sliced and fed to incinerators. at times, Matched felt like the love child of 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 - which, to be honest, i loved as books and ideas, but never really felt drawn to any of the characters either.

once again, i like this ending the way it does, but i have a feeling there's a sequel coming, and that makes me a little sad. just like xander makes me a little sad. and i have to wonder how much of cassia's attraction was due to the fact that what she was doing was something forbidden, and how much was real in that moment. after all, one of the reasons for the matching system is because history has shown teenagers in love can do stupid things - that love is dangerous. (though this is more "let's breed genetically beautiful babies" than "love is dangerous" like in Delirium.)

the cover is still beautiful. and it's worth a read, because of all the buzz, especially if you are working with teens.

...more

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Jul 14, 2010 Julie rated it liked it

Shelves: teen, dystopian

An intriguing and disturbing idea. What would our lives be like if the government made every decision for us? What we ate, where we worked, when we died and who we spent our life with. For Cassia, the Society rules her life and on the night of her Match Banquet, she's thrilled to see that she is contracted to her best friend Xander. That night though another boy's face is shown to her and soon everything she believed in is questioned.

I was so intrigued by the Society and how "scientific" their d ...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Ashley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Really enjoyed this story. I had been eagerly awaiting its publication and as soon as I finished it I couldn't wait to read Crossed.

As an ardent fan of The Giver, this book was an instant must read. I love the world and it seems so plausible in our future. Which is slightly daunting and brilliant at the same time. I can't wait to see where this series goes! ...more

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Dec 31, 2010 Rae rated it liked it

Shelves: ya-childrens

A decent teen romance set in a dystopian world not unlike the ones depicted in The Giver and The Hunger Games. I look forward to reading the other two books in the series when they are published.

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Jul 03, 2012 Rhosyn Goodfellow rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance

I was expecting this to be purely guilty pleasure reading, and it definitely hits my guilty pleasure reading buttons, but I was not expecting the depth of creepiness that Condie gives her dystopia.

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Aug 03, 2010 Melissa rated it liked it

Shelves: 2010, ya

This was ok. Definitely a set up for a sequel or another trilogy (that seems to be the way they do it with YA books these days). The book takes place in future where the government controls everything, from what you eat and wear to who you marry. The government has also decided which 100 works of art, poetry, etc. that people are allowed to know. It's a pretty interesting concept, with a teenage star-crossed romance tossed in. ...more

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May 03, 2012 Maggie rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, romance, series, dystopian, 2012-summer-challenge

This was an easy read! It definitely grew on me. It started off slow and got better and better! I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series! ...more

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Jan 03, 2014 Connie rated it really liked it

Again, I wish I could give half stars. It would really be a 4&1/2. I really liked this book. Writing was well done. Good love story. I was drawn in quickly and didn't want to put it down. ...more

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