Matched

Matched by Allie Condie

My rating:  5/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  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 with complete certainty that 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.


My review:

I wanted to do a review about Matched as soon as I finished it, but I didn't have time because I needed to go to karate right after I finished it.  But here it is now!

I felt like I was reading a poem as I flipped each page.  The way the letters flow into words that flow into sentences was absolutely amazing.  They were intricately designed, made to sound like lyrics you could sing out, high and strong.

I never once wanted to take my eyes of the book, and I never let it out of my reach, even when I wasn't reading it.  It all went together so easily.  It was breathtaking, really.

Matched really made me think.  What if i didn't have the choices that I have now?  What if the person I loved was chosen for me?  What if I couldn't decide where I wanted to work?  What if I couldn't decide when I wanted to die, where I wanted to die?  What if I couldn't choose what I ate, how much, and when?  My life would feel closed off, like there was something that I should be doing, but I wasn't doing it.

The characters really called out to me.  Cassia and Ky were my favourites.  I didn't like Xander very much.  It reminded me of The Hunger Games in a way, Cassia being Katniss, Ky being Peeta, and Xander being Gale.  I was definitely on Team Ky.

I really understand what Cassia must be feeling.  She must feel as though she's waking from a dream, realizing that she maybe does have choices.  Maybe she can defy the Society.  She would feel confused but, well, if I were her, determined to do what she thinks is right.

Ky drew me in from the very start.  I love people who are mysterious about their past, like him.  He was interesting to read about; I always wanted to find out more about him, but at the same time, I didn't, because he seemed so lifelike to me that I would feel like I'm intruding on his ground.

That's another thing about Matched.  I felt everything.  Everything that the characters were feeling, everything that they wanted.  And I could see all the last little details because of all the description.  I could see in my mind the City, the dress that she wore to the Matching ceremony.  I could see every little thing that the characters did.

Really, I could go on and on about all the detail, the characters, the lyrically beautiful words, the depth of the writing, but I won't.  I may have to write another post on Matched when I re-read it, but let me just say that I absolutely adored it.