Matched [Kindle Edition]

Cassia lives in a future world where everything is controlled by Society. People where different colour uniforms depending on their status, meals - all nutritionally tailored for the individual - are supplied. Even death is controlled.

The story starts with Cassia about to attend the ceremony where she gets to find out who she is to be Matched with,.ie. who she'll marry when she's older. For most people this is usually someone they've never met before but Cassia's match ends up being her best friend, Xander. The matchees are given data cards with information about their match, obviously pointless to Xander and Cassia, they grew ip together after all but Cassia decides to take a look anyway, only to have a picture of another boy flash up on the screen briefly. Cassia wonders if there has been some mistake. Could it be that this boy is actually her match. It's strange because Society doesn't make mistakes and even stranger because she also knows the other boy, Ky.

In lots of ways, Matched is very typical of dystopian fiction. An 'ideal' world where everything is controlled to the extreme, supposedly for the good of the people and a protagonist who starts to doubt the rules. It's a very well written and interesting story. There's probably not enough depth to some of the characters but I think that will come with future books in the series. It would have been too overwhelming to go too much into this as well as setting up and explaining the storyworld. Saying that however, I adored both the relationship between Cassia and Xander and that which grew between Cassia and Ky.

Throughout, the book was really enjoyable and was one that I could have quite easily read through in one go if I'd had the time to be able to do that. The only part I was slightly disappointed in was the ending as there didn't really seem to be one. However, having now seen that it is the first of a planned trilogy, it wasn't such a bad way to finish up; especially as it's left me wanting the next book right now!

Matched is without a doubt one of my favourite books of 2010. I loved every single page, and could have quite easily read the sequel straight away. Unfortunately there's a bit of a wait for that so, as always, I'll have to be patient. I started Matched at about 1am in the morning, and read right through to 7am. I didn't sleep at all that day, and spent my day trip to London (to meet John Green) looking like a zombie out of one of Carrie Ryan's books. It was so worth it though, because there's no way I could have slept without knowing how the first part of Cassia's story ended.

The first thing that struck me about Matched was Ally Condie's writing. I know some people will probably disagree with me, but I thought it was brilliant. Certain passages were so beautifully written that they almost read like poetry, and I couldn't tear my eyes away. It's such a strong start to the series, and you wouldn't guess it was Condie's first dystopian novel. It's SO GOOD

Condie's world building was also fantastic. The society was mysterious and suffocating, and the idea that choice and free will no longer exists was a scary thought. I think I speak for everyone when I say that a world where you couldn't choose who to marry or how many children to have would be a nightmare. Not to mention the fact that, in Cassia's world, even your death is preordained. Nothing is left to chance, and to me that's the worst thing that could ever happen to individuals in a society. It would lead to mundane existences and a neverending routine filled with rules and regulations. No thanks. I have no idea how Cassia coped with it, though when it's all you've ever known, I guess it's easy to.

At first, I thought Cassia was quite a bland, nondescript character. She didn't seem to have any stand out qualities or memorable traits, though that was before she fell in love with a boy who wasn't her match. I was happy with Cassia's best friend Xander as her match -- they were compatible, they fit well and they knew each other inside out. It wasn't until Ky first appeared that I thought there could be any other person for Cassia. Wow, was I wrong! Matched uses a dangerous, epic love triangle to emphasise the society's role in Cassia's life, and it's beyond anything I was expecting. I couldn't have predicted some of the plot twists if I'd tried, and instead they hit me like a fork of lightning.

Cassia had some ridiculously hard choices to make in Matched; had I been in her shoes I would have crumbled under the pressure and emotional weight of it all. There's no way I could have lived like that and been afraid for my life at the same time. She deals with everything thrown at her, which shows incredible strength of character. By the end of the book I absolutely loved her, as well as the boys and her lovely family. I haven't read a book with such a well-rounded, diverse set of characters for a long time, but in Matched there was no-one I didn't like.

Well, I think that's just about enough gushing from me. Go and get yourself a copy of this as soon as possible if you haven't already. Hopefully you'll love it, and won't forfeit a night's sleep like I did. Until then, here's a tip for you: don't start Matched late at night. You'll thank me in the morning, I promise!

I enjoyed this book, it won't be making it's way into my favourites collection, but it will be staying on my shelf. Matched is almost dangerously good, you fall in love with the protagonist Cassia almost instantly: she's just so naïve and clueless. Cassia believes that anything that the Officials do is right. The Officials know best. Being a teenage reader I was immediately scornful of those officials. How could they possibly be that perfect? And the answer is they aren't. As the reader digs deeper into the novel, and as Cassia digs deeper into her life, Cassia's whole perspective on the society changes, and she ends up putting her familys life in danger. This is a really good teenage girls read, and if you've read Finding Sky by Joss Stirling, Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver then you'll love this.