Matched by Ally Condie

First Things First: Cover Art!

I like this cover art, I like how Cassia is in a bubble probably in the dress that she wore to her banquet. I like how she is pressing her hands against the glass, possibly yearning for something that she can't have? Or maybe she wants out? Now after reading this book I feel that the cover is symbolic. The bubble represents the society, its clear because Cassia can see right through the perfection around her, and she wants out. 

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Summary:

"Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow-between perfection and passion." 

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My Review: 

I got the entire Matched series from the Book Garden in Bountiful forever ago but didn't really have the opportunity to read it until this week. I wasn't sure about this series considering there are so many series that involve dystopian love stories. This one though was amazing!! Condie's writing style is amazing! I was under the impression that this was her debut novel, but her writing style had a maturity to it that I recognized. Matched is actually Condie's sixth novel, and the fact shows in her writing. The characters are so complex, but simple enough that you can understand their motives and feelings at any given moment. I also enjoy just how clean this romance is! Usually the charterers are pretty much throwing themselves at each other however in this book this is not the case. Cassia lives in a society where pretty much everything is perfect. They even match people for relationships based on genetics so that the future generation of society will be healthy and again, perfect. However as the summary explains Cassia is the victim of a mistake in this society and the repercussions are big as forbidden love ensues. I think that's why I like this book so much! I sympathized with all the characters in this book for various reasons. However the character I sympathized with the most would have to be Xander.  Poor Xander... I feel like Condie ignored him a bit to much in this book and we needed to hear more from him to understand where he was coming from. I'm hoping we hear more about him the second book! 

Now lets talk about the relationship between Cassia and Ky. Oh. My. Gosh. Condie is an amazing author and her pure talent shows through these two characters in my opinion. As I said earlier in my review of this the love story in this is amazing because it's really driven by two characters who shouldn't even be together in the first place and thus forbidden love ensues. Which makes it amazing because their relationship must consist of glances, unspoken thoughts, and stolen moments where they just talk. I think we can learn a lot about love through them. Love isn't all about kissing, it's about finding someone who makes you happy. Someone that you can be with forever, and someone that loves you for being you without being asked or told to. I love these characters so much, and I seriously can not wait to read the next book. Condie is an amazing, amazing writer. Read this series! 

Now lets turn to Cassia as a character. Her ideals on what is going on around her is something I enjoyed. In most books you have the person who wants to break free of what is going on around them and is very adamant against all of it. However Cassia must choose between perfection and passion as the summary says. However she is so indecisive about what she wants until the very end. I like it when characters are indecisive. It lets you learn more about them and how they think and I honestly think that it makes it so I can relate to them more. 

Rating: 10 out of 10! I love love love this book! The characters are amazing, and I finished it in two hours because I just couldn't put it down. 

Content Rating: 2 (12-18). One instance of a kiss, and some intense moments. But other than that this book is rather clean!