Matched by Ally Condie - Review

May Contain Spoilers

I first bought this book way before I truly got into reading and since then I never got around to reading it. This was because I was reading so many trilogies/series at the time, that I thought I should finish them all before I started a new trilogy. What drew me in about this book was the whole trilogy's book cover. I thought they were smartly thought out and set a theme to the story even before you read the summary. 

Imagine if you lived in a world where everything is decided for you, like what you eat, where you live, when you die and even who you love. Well this is the world portrayed in Matched. The officials (Government) who run the society leave nothing for the citizens to decided and this is believed to be a more equal and controlled way of life. At the Match Banquet, an event where the people who choose to be matched find out their ideal match, Cassia discovered that her 'ideal' match is her best friend Xander, of course she is overjoyed. However when she views the microchip given to her after the Match Banquet, another boys face appears on the screen and its some she knows as well - Ky Markham. Cassia thought that the Officials never made mistakes, yet somehow she had been matched with two boys. After learning that it was intact a mistake and Xander was Cassia's only Match, Cassia tries to move on but she can't deny these new feelings she has for Ky and they only seem to be growing stronger each passing day. Now Cassia is torn between a life of planned and predicted outcomes or a life of true love and dangerous decisions. 

My favourite part of Matched would have to be the whole way of life in the society. In this future Earth, the Government have figured a way from cancelling out sickness and early deaths to even a way that every person in the society get their own right amount of food and nutrition to suit their body and lifestyle. I found the whole structure to be an interesting aspect to think about. I understood the necessity that made this way of life become something imaginable and in some ways I could see why the whole structure worked. But on the other hand I couldn't wrap my head around why the Government could destroy everything that has been created  that wasn't useful for them. Everything in this world was electronic so no one knew how to write with a pen or pencil. The Government also chose only 100 poems, songs, etc. to be kept and stored for this new world to enjoy. I found this entire concept to be changeling and very smart to think of, so I top off my hat to Ally Condie.

If you like dystopian stories without a sappy love story then I would recommend this story to you. Overall I give Matched by Ally Condie 3 out of 5 stars. 

★ ★ ★