Review of "Matched" by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After reading the description, I was like:




But, after reading the book, I was like:



Warning: May contain spoilers. You've been warned.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book. I expected a dystopian novel, with a girl desperately wanting to break free and make her own choices. A thrilling tale of sticking it to the man, while being clever about it. And finally, I expected a sweet romance, about how love is the one thing that can't be controlled.

But what I got, was a poorly executed excuse of a love triangle. The girl was torn between her childhood friend whom she swears she loves, but haven't dared think about in that way and the mysterious quiet kid she barely remembers, but he's so dark and silent--he gotta be exciting.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good love-triangle as much as the next person. But for me to enjoy it properly, I need to be invested in the feelings. And this book didn't really give me that personal attachment to the characters.

The book is about Cassia. She's going to her Matching, where she'll find out who the society wants her to spend the rest of her life with. When she finds out it's her best friend, Xander, she's overly thrilled. She's never thought of him like that, but she knows: she loves him.

She gets a micro-card with information about her Match, and happily, arrives home.

But when she comes home and wants to see what important information the society thinks she should know, something goes wrong. It's not just Xander's face on the screen anymore, now she also sees Ky, the silent, average boy from further down the street. At first, she believes the lies fed from the Officials, but as time goes on, she knows: she loves Ky too!

There was a number of things that bothered me about the book. I'm just going to take it from the top.

The Characters:

Cassia: In the start, I actually liked Cassia. I could relate to her excitement over the Match--I was excited, as well.

But then she started thinking. And by gods, she's annoying! She asks a question almost every other page. Which is good, if it did anything else than to remind the reader that she can't make up her mind between Xander and Ky.

Ky Markham: Again, with Ky, I liked him at first. He was a bit mysterious... But then he started talking, sending Cassia's hormones around the globe--but without actually saying anything. It's a touch that simply sends her over the clouds. I don't know if he just has magical hands, or whatever it is.

Her Parents: "Follow the rules. They work for us.", "Follow the rules unless grandpa asks for a favor." "Follow the rules because Society is Da Bomb!" Ugh. I get the deeper reasoning behind their mood-changes. But, I shouldn't have to be confused about it. Their explanations are so... empty. No feeling, no personal investments--nothing.

The Plot:

The Society: For the most part, I actually liked the way the Society was built up. Some of it, managed to even solicit a reaction from me. Like when Cassia watched the books being burned: It hurt me on a deep personal level, and I kinda just hated everything there.

But, some of the actions just seemed so random. For example: (view spoiler)[At the end of the book, Cassia's Official tries to pass the whole book off as an 'experiment', but it's apparently a lie. However, what then doesn't make any sense to me, is some of the events: like the relocation, or the removal of artifacts. If they're going to spend so much time explaining what horrible society it is, then they should also explain everything when it's time for the big reveal. (hide spoiler)]

The Love Triangle: There was NO chemistry between ANY of the characters. Even Xander and Ky could at any given moment, still have met just five minutes prior, and it would still have made sense. There was no proper descriptions of the past, but just a few memories told in a matter-of-fact way.

The Writing:

This one is something I normally don't comment on at all. I like to write myself, and I know how much hard work that goes into writing a whole book. However, when I pay 10 dollars for an e-book I expect it to be good. Especially, because Penguin has a track-record of being experts of tightening up books. However, some of the filler-thoughts, and awkward phrasings in this book is not what I would expect from Penguin.

I kid you not, at some point in the book, Xander and Cassia is having a simple, bittersweet moment. She leans her head on his shoulder, and then...

Xander bends his head to rest on her.

Let me take that one more time. He bends his head. Not, arches his neck, or leans down, or simply rest his head on top of her. No. He possess the power to bend his skull in order to rest on top of Cassia's head.




However, with all that said. I still enjoyed the premise and the Society. I'm not too keen on the book itself. I won't be reading the next book anyway, but others may enjoy it more than I did.

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