I’m posting this in-between exams so I hope it’s coherent…I fell in love with MATCHED, the dystopian 1984-esque world, and the two boys who fall for Cassia. I’m going to warn you now; huge complaints from people have been that the book was too slow, boring, and action was nilch. This reminded a bit of what I said about PEGASUS by Robin McKinley; the book was more like an introduction to the characters, the world, and the action to come. Except in this case, the action does not come until the last 30 pages or so.
Cassia lives in a world where everything is decided for her; her meal portions, uniformed outfits, and who she will marry. After her Matching ceremony a glitch on her viewscreen reveals another boys face for a moment, the boy she is not meant to be with. Or is she? And following the death of her grandfather, Cassia begins to question all of the rules and laws that govern her life.
When I first started reading I was able to put this book down several times and come back to it… until Ky entered the story. He is mysterious, intelligent, and he quietly rebels against the Society. Their chemistry is palpable and sometimes I wanted to yell at Cassia to DO something even though I know she can’t. It wasn’t until the end that I felt Cassia woke up and the story really began. I also fell in love with Xander, her Match, who seems to be more free-thinking than he lets on. The only complaint I have, which really isn’t a complaint, is that I wanted to know more about the Outer Provinces. There is so much information there and I know Condie will go into it more in the next book but the waiting is torture. I really fell in the love with the characters and the huge story that I know is coming, don’t let the comments on the pacing put you off! You can get MATCHED on Amazon today! (Or your local bookstore)
I loved Xander as well! Also, just wanted to congratulate you on The Versatile Blogger award that we awarded you over at Diary of a Book Lover! So drop by to accept it :D http://lis-diaryofabooklover.blogspot.com/2010/11/we-won-award.html
ReplyDelete@Lisanna - Thank you so much! ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time, but I finally read and finished Matched. I loved it! It is a slower-paced book, but that didn't bother me because I think it fit the setting and the natural change in Cassia.
ReplyDeleteThank you again for the copy! I don't know how long it would've taken me to pick this book up if I hadn't gotten it from you! :)
@Krispy - I agree, it is slow paced but I don't think it would have been as believable if everything had happened so quickly. I'm so glad you enjoyed it! ;)
ReplyDeleteI love dystopian fiction and this one was great. I agree that the pacing was off in spots, but it wasn't so bad that you didn't want to finish it--I definitely had to find out what happened. In a weird way it reminded me of Lois Lowry's book The Giver--at least the society she created. Wonderful review!
ReplyDelete@Melissa - I've been hearing from a lot of reviewers that it was very similar to The Giver, at the least the world she created. So I went out and bought a copy of The Giver. I feel like I'm the only who hasn't read it yet. But since I've started I definitely see the similarities! I did put the book down several times but I always went back to it! I NEEDED to know what happened as well. ;)
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