Book #23 - Matched

Matched
Ally Condie

Blurb:  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. (From Goodreads)

Opening Sentence: "Now that I’ve found the way to fly, which direction should I go into the night?"

Length: Medium - 366 pages

Notes:  This is one of those books that has been getting a lot of hype.  In fact, I had to wait quite awhile to get it from the library.  And I was super excited to dig into it.  I read a few reviews before hand, and a lot of people compared it to The Hunger Games, so I was really excited.  Well, I wouldn't exactly say that I was disappointed, because I did really like the book, but I don't really understand why it was compared to The Hunger Games.  The only thing that it has in common is that it is a dystopian novel, and that there is a love triangle.  But, this book didn't have near the action that The Hunger Games did.  In fact, I kept waiting for it to pick up, but I didn't even feel like there was really a climax there.  I know I'm making it sound like I didn't really like it, which I did like it.  It just wasn't the page turner that I was hoping for.  I will definitely be reading the next book in the series, though, and look forward to seeing what happens!

Random quote:  "They have perfected the art of giving us just enough freedom; just enough that when we are ready to snap, a little bone is offered and we roll over, belly up, comfortable and placated like a dog I saw once when we visited my grandparents in the Farmlands.  They've had decades to perfect this; why am I surprised when it works again and again?"

"Lying in bed, my body and soul bruised and tired, I realize that the Officials are right.  Once you want something everything changes.  Now I want everything.  More and more and more.  I want to pick my work position.  Marry who I choose.  Eat pie for breakfast and run down a real street instead of on a tracker.  Go fast when I want and slow when I want. Decide which poems I want to read and what words I want to write.  There is so much that I want.  I feel it so much that I am water, a river of want, pooled in the shape of a girl named Cassia."

Recommend: yes

Have you read this book? Share your feelings!