Matched (Matched, #1) in Shut Up & Read

Aug 23, 2011 Rose rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, romance, dystopia, coming-of-age, dystoromance

When I started reading Ally Condie's "Matched," I definitely had a hard time getting into it. Considering the story's setup is entirely based on a matching system, and sets up an obvious love triangle that is the crux of the entire story - it felt a bit predictable in the scheme of some of the more recent YA works blending the dystopic/romantic angle. But somehow, considering the collective whole of the work and the way it ends, it ended up being an interesting story. I wasn't particularly inves ...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Sally rated it liked it

Shelves: coolest-covers, books-read-in-2012, dystopian

Well I was surprised by this one. Normally I don't enjoy dystopian, post-apocalytic novels, and when I saw this one was compared to the giver I really thought I was going to hate it. Considering that I hate the giver so much. But suprisingly I was quite fascinated with Cassia's world the minute I stepped into it. Of course it was your average dystopian society. Officials run everything and maintain order. Your meals are monitored, your activities are monitored, your entire life is monitored. Eve Well I was surprised by this one. Normally I don't enjoy dystopian, post-apocalytic novels, and when I saw this one was compared to the giver I really thought I was going to hate it. Considering that I hate the giver so much. But suprisingly I was quite fascinated with Cassia's world the minute I stepped into it. Of course it was your average dystopian society. Officials run everything and maintain order. Your meals are monitored, your activities are monitored, your entire life is monitored. Everyone dresses the same, everyone is equal, for the most part. There are those,like Ky, who are aberrations, they are below the normal members of society. They or someone they know, in Ky's case it was his father, who committed a crime and was put into a lower classification. The story starts off during the night of Cassia's Match banquet. A Match banquet is an event where girls are given their future mates based on their genes and personalities. Everyone gathers round and when your name is called you stand up and your perfect Match is displayed on the screen in front of you. Normally your perfect match is someone from a different providence in the Society. For Cassia this is different. When her name is called the screen is blank, which can only mean one thing. Her match is someone from her own providence, her own neighborhood even. Her match is her best friend, Xander. At first Cassia is thrilled at this thought. She knows everything about Xander and couldn't think of anyone better. At your match you are given a micro card that has information about your match on it. You can not view it until you go home. Cassia, having known Xander her whole life, doesn't feel the need to view the micro card. But one day she views it and Xander's face appears on the screen, then it disappears and another face pops up, Ky Markham's face. Cassia knows Ky as well he is form her neighborhood. Cassia is very close with her grandfather and wants to tell him all about her match banquet and about Ky. When she goes to visit her grandfather for the last time before his death she tells him everything. Cassia's grandfather gives something to Cassia. Two poems that were hidden in the compact that he had given her earlier. The poem sticks with Cassia for a long time after her grandfather's death. When an official comes to the door to talk with Cassia she thinks she is in trouble. The official tells Cassia that Ky's face popping up on the screen was a mistake because Ky was not entered into the matching pool because he has chosen to be a single, because he is an aberration. When Cassia learns of Ky's status she is intrigued to find out more about him. Soon they are in the same hiking group and become closer. Ky teaches Cassia to write and tells her stories of his life in forbidden ways. She tells him about the poems her grandfather gave her and he promises to keep her secrets. Slowly Cassia starts to fall in love with Ky. Cassia knows they can never be together because of her match to Xander and Ky's status as an abberation. Cassia has always trusted the Society and their decisions but now she begins to question them and everything they do. When Cassia is made to sort the workers in the nutritional center she is forced to make a difficult decision. In order to save Ky from a hard and short life in the factory she sorts him into the group that is to be sent to a different place. With only the information that the better the worker the better the job they get Cassia puts Ky in the group. But when Officials come in the early morning and take Ky away in handcuffs Cassia thinks it is because of their secret love. She later finds out that Ky was taken to the Outer Providences to be a soldier and as Ky's adoptive parents say going to the Outer Providences is a death sentence. When Cassia's family is sent away to live in the Farmland because of her mother Cassia is sent, by her parents, to work on a hard labor farm, because of rebellious thoughts and actions. Really they want to get her as close as possible to Ky. ...more

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Apr 26, 2011 Shellby rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, young-adult, romance, kindle, horrible-book, wouldn-t-recommend, heroes-never-catch-a-break, main-girls-sucks-ass

Matched is another one of those situations where Shellby goes; "Oooo pretty cover!" Unfortunately, for Shellby pretty cover does not always work out in the end. Don't get me wrong I did read a few synopsis on this book before I snatched it up, but I will admit that the cover was the real reason for the purchase. Sadly I regret that impulse now.

I will start by saying I have never read a novel set in a dystopian society, and after this I probably will never read another one. I was under the impre Matched is another one of those situations where Shellby goes; "Oooo pretty cover!" Unfortunately, for Shellby pretty cover does not always work out in the end. Don't get me wrong I did read a few synopsis on this book before I snatched it up, but I will admit that the cover was the real reason for the purchase. Sadly I regret that impulse now.

I will start by saying I have never read a novel set in a dystopian society, and after this I probably will never read another one. I was under the impression that this would be some type of cutesy love story, about a girl whose destined for one guy, but finds out that there might be another one for her. Instead I get this boring, drawn out, snooze fest of a story about a girl who just needs to be smacked.

Ally Condie failed to make me give one rats behind about Cassia. I didn't care about Cassia's inability to choose between two guys until the answer was literally handed to her, I didn't care that Cassia was trapped in a society where they had no freedoms outside of what the "Society" gave to them. Actually I just didn't give a damn about Cassia. As a heroine and main character who will one day (I'm guessing because I am NOT reading the next two books in this series.) start some sort of revolution in her world, she failed at get me interested at all in her plight.

In fact she spent less time questioning why so many things in her "perfect world" seemed flawed, and more time broading over whether or not she loved Xander or if the colors in Ky's eyes changed. It was just one long drawn out book of nothing.

Also, yet another book that is highly praised for no flipping reason. I mean I get it teens these days are more interested in silly, vapid, lead characters whose only real issues is whether or not she will sleep with date A or date B.

I'm just going to end my rant now because I could go on all day with how disappointing young adult novels are these days, but I have something else better to do.

To end this Matched sucked, the premises of the book was stolen, Cassia is boring, and none of the lead males are even worth a mention. Have fun with that. ...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Chrissy (The Every Free Chance Reader) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, reviewed-on-blog

Did I enjoy this book? I really did. I wasn’t sure if I would like it, but I really, really did. It kept me entertained, and it was one that I read every free chance I had.

The Society was believable. It didn’t seem too far-fetched. It was kind of scary, though, to think that a government could control so much and that the people just go along with it. Believable, but scary.

Although the protagonist is only 17 years old, she grows up rather quickly throughout the course of this book. She learns to ...more

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