Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.
from Goodreads.com
I’ve heard so much about this book you can imagine my surprise when I received an email saying I get a copy. Ally is a new author to me and I honestly didn’t know what to expect. My first thought when I opened my mail was, “Such a pretty cover!” A good start in my opinion. Now, be warned, this may get a bit spoiler-y. So here we go!
I try not to make judgments on a book until I am completely finished with it, but with Matched that didn’t happen. I knew I loved this story from the beginning. Ally writes a beautiful story about a society that seems like it works. There are no problems, no big issues that show us that maybe this is not the way things are suppose to be. The main character, Cassia, is a beautiful strong girl who tells her story in first person. She is matched with her best friend, Xander, and yet another, Ky, comes up on that screen for only a moment. Now, she is torn between two people and two choices. The beautiful dystopian love story pulls you in and wont let you go. I loved the poetry in this book. I loved the struggle these characters had to go through to find their own words. I mean, how many of us have had that problem? Being true to oneself, speaking out and fighting for our right to be ourselves.
Now, for a bit of honesty. This book does remind me a little of 1984. For those of you who read it, you will understand the comparison and yet Matched is a much softer side of a society that is trying to control the world. It is definitely a new slant on a story, and Ally does an outstanding job in portraying her ideas within. The other thought that came to my mind when I was reading Matched is that I would’ve liked to have seen more of Xander and Cassia relationship. We know they’re best friends but sometimes that gets lost in Cassia’s thoughts. Basically, I would’ve liked to have seen both relationships, Xander and Cassia, and Ky and Cassia a little more spotlighted. But then again, I am a greedy reader when it comes to my love stories. I feel in love with each character in a way that made me want to know them better. High praise for Ally on that one!
Overall, Matched is an outstanding story of choices and love; of finding out who you are versus whom people tell you to be. Ally did a tremendous job with this book, and I cannot wait to see what is in store for these characters. I was hooked from page one and I would recommend this book to any book lover, young or not so young.
Happy readings!
Valia
PS. Your thoughts???
Honestly, I liked the book whenever the two guys were in the picture. I found it really slow :0(
ReplyDeleteBut I like your review! lol
First, I appreciate the thought and creativity necessary to creating a world, or in this case the Society, that differs from our own. However, I did not like the Society! From the very beginning I was annoyed by the pride and arrogance in thinking they can control every aspect of a person's life. I also found myself wondering how the people could allow their government to take such total control, but that is besides the point.
ReplyDeleteI like Cassia. She has a strong personality, and wants to do what's right. She's just trying to figure out what that is. I like how developed the other characters are as well. I like each member of her family, especially Bram. I just felt like I wanted to hug and protect him. Xander and Ky are both interesting guys, although at first I didn't see why Cassia was drawn to Ky. I wish that Xander had one character flaw, because I was so hurt for him. He did nothing wrong, but his best friend and Match does not choose him, even though he is handsome, kind, loving, smart, and fun. I wouldn't have felt so bad if he had one flaw to pin it on, but I suppose that is part of the story - making difficult decisions. I loved Ky's depth and their interactions, but I would like to have seen more of Xander.
I did not like how the story was written in present tense and used short, choppy sentences. I found it a little too intense, and it gave me a headache. I did find the story a little slow to develop, and I almost wanted to give up on it. Curiosity won, however, and the end of the book is filled with enough twists and drama that I do want to find out what happens next! Come on, sequel!