Matched (Matched, #1) in Nothing But Reading Challenges

Dec 30, 2010 Bonnie rated it really liked it

Shelves: apocalypse-dystopia, young-adult, 2010-books

The plot of this was much less head-bashingly stupid than Delirium, the other book I read recently where the entire point is how Society Is Designed To Keep Young Lovers Apart. Because family bloodfeuds and race/class issues just aren’t compelling enough anymore, I guess.

So, dystopian YA. There’s the Haves, whose lives are controlled, down to their food, death and spouses, but live long, healthy lives. Then there’s the Have Nots, who do the dirty jobs and live short, miserable lives and are use The plot of this was much less head-bashingly stupid than Delirium, the other book I read recently where the entire point is how Society Is Designed To Keep Young Lovers Apart. Because family bloodfeuds and race/class issues just aren’t compelling enough anymore, I guess.

So, dystopian YA. There’s the Haves, whose lives are controlled, down to their food, death and spouses, but live long, healthy lives. Then there’s the Have Nots, who do the dirty jobs and live short, miserable lives and are used as cannon fodder (this last bit is not spread around, of course). Cassia, who starts out the book happily swallowing all the propaganda and being a good little citizen, slowly realizes the rottenness that reaches throughout her apparent utopia.

But the REAL point of the story is, of course, who is Cassia going to be with? Her “match”: brave, clever, handsome, caring, childhood friend Xander? Or the guy who was possibly a disqualified alternate match: brooding, smart, tragic, rebel Ky? If you haven’t guessed yet, you haven’t read enough YA. Maybe Condie will surprise me and go the non-“bad boy” route and actually let the childhood best friend win a round. But I’m going to say now, my money is on Ky. My heart’s with Xander, though. This guy is perfect: he’s sweet but strong. He might not be as subversive as Ky, but he’s willing to do what’s right and won’t stand back while others get hurt. I hate it when I disagree with the heroine on who the right guy is, because then I spend the entire book with a low-level of annoyance. Shut it already with your mooning around about Ky! YOU HAVE XANDER! STOP BEING GREEDY!

Besides the requisite love triangle, which I find annoying, this book’s not bad at all. I might not like Cassia’s choice (not that she’s technically chosen yet—that’s going to be milked until the end of the trilogy—but we all know where this is heading). But I do like Cassia in general. The dystopian world was not overly original, but it fit. There’s nothing that leaps out as dumb or illogical: it’s a perfectly plausible dystopian world. And the writing keeps the book ticking along at a fast clip. Besides a tiny bit of Cassia’s mooning, it didn’t slow down.

One random thought: why do the elderly get killed off so regularly in dystopias? Too many people these days grew up with The Giver? It wouldn’t be so annoying if it didn’t happen All The Damn Time. Besides the rumor about Eskimos sending their elderly off on ice floes, how many societies have EVER killed off their elders in human history? Hell, in many societies they are the most respected group. And can you really imagine whoever is ruling a society going “whoops, hit the age limit! Guess I’m going to go get euthanized!” Hell no! They will live until their heart gives out! It just seems like lazy shorthand for Evil Dystopian Society these days, is what I’m saying.
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Mar 27, 2011 Lisi rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-english, 2011-reads, i-m-in-english

“So in the middle of all the noise, I point to the sky. I hope he understands what I mean, because I mean so many things: My heart will always fly his name. I won’t go gentle. I’ll find a way to soar like the angels in the stories and I will find him. And I know he understands as he looks straight at me, deep into my eyes. His lips move silently, and I know what he says: the words of a poem that only two people in the world know. Tears well up but I blink them away. Because if there is one momen ...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Morgan rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, audiobook, young-adult, romance, post-apocalyptic-dystopic-utopia, sci-fi

2-2.5
If I could rate *just* the narration it would be more like 1.5. I really didn't like the sound of her voice, or the way she changed it for male characters. The only one of those I thought sounded ok was the little brother. Just a very "girlie" voice. Probably similar to how I sound. lol. I don't like listening to myself speak either.

The story was a little predictable, and at the early stages it was kind of dull. It wasn't until she started to break out of the mold a bit that things held my ...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Marcy rated it liked it

I really wanted to give this a 3.5, 3.75 rating. The ending was better than the beginning and middle of the book were, though I felt like Cassia's transition was a bit rushed. Some of her changed attitudes seemed a bit sudden. Still, I expect I'll read the remainder of the series.

Bits I liked:

Every minute you spend with someone gives them a part of your life and takes a part of theirs.

Is falling in love with someone's story the same thing as falling in love with the person himself?

"Even if he di ...more

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