*Review* : Matched - Ally Condie

Review of Matched by Ally Condie

Released : 30th November 2010

Finished : 4th March 2011

Source :  Library
Plot : 4/5
Cover : 4/5
Page Turner : 3.5/5
Characters : 4/5
Ending : 4/5

Overall Rating :

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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.

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As everyone knows this book has a lot of attention surrounding it, a big percentage of bloggers have read it and a lot loved it so when my library got this in l reserved it and went and got it as soon as l could, very excited to read it!

When l first started to read this, it was clear Ally is a great writer. She writes in a lovely way where the story flows really well and nothing in the book, e.g. emotions & actions, feel forced. What l did feel is lack of 'excitement' which l usually feel around books which keep me wanting to read the next page, l didn't think it was a great page turner and until the last 70 pages l felt l could easily put the book down and not care about how it ends. This is a big thing for me and can be because of different reasons. I felt this time l just didn't connect strongly with the main characters, although l liked them it felt like a circle of the same thing happening over and over and not a lot actually happened in the first 200ish pages when you compare it from the beginning of the book.

Matched has often been compared to other books like Delirium and while l think there is a comparison to be made l do feel Matched stands out on it's own and has lots to offer by itself. Ally has created a world which feels very real but l felt it gives you a lot of unanswered questions. For example (as it says in the blurb) the government chooses who they are matched with and will marry. While this is explained in some ways, for me it didn't explain it deep enough and l felt it could of made the book feel much more real if things were explained more. 

For me, the ending made this book go up from a 3 star rating to a 4. It really improves in the end l can see the second book will be much better now the characters are introduced. l just hope that more of the world around them is explained a bit better and why some rules are in place. 

Overall this is a good read, l did enjoy it but it won't be in my top reads like l thought and hoped it would be. 

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The Dark and Hollow Places - Carrie Ryan (Books with Bite)

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Tomorrow's Guardian - Richard Denning (The Slowest Bookworm)