Genre: YA dystopian
Rating: A
For: Book club and supporting local authors
From: ARC from the publisher (to be released Nov. 30)
It's been fun to see the buzz surrounding this book and it will be interesting to see what happens once it's finally released in just over a month. I feel very lucky to have somehow ended up with an ARC of this already popular book, though I know many of you have also had a chance to read it already.
With Matched we are introduced to ye another very intriguing dystopian world. The government in this world has figured out how to take away every negative bad thing that people normally deal with. In the process, they've also taken away every choice they normally make. For instance, they decide what people wear, what they eat, what they'll do for a career, when they'll die, what they can read or listen to and, of course, who they'll marry.
The book opens as Cassia is attending a special banquet where all 17 year olds go to find out who they'll be matched to for life. A surprise match happens for Cassia, but then something even more surprising happens when she is learning about her match on the computer later on at home. And now, she has no idea who she's really supposed to be matched to!
From there, we learn a bit more about how this society works, how they control everyone and that all is not as well as it may appear. Cassia begins to wonder about all the things she's been taught, who her family really is and how they fit in, and where her new friend Ky really comes from.
It's a great set up for what's to come I think! This book spends quite a bit of time on the build up and the setting and character development. There's not a whole lot of action and some may even say it's slow. But I found it to be paced just right and totally enjoyed these characters and this "brave new world". Yes, it did have elements that reminded me of several other famous dystopian novles... like Brave New World of course and 1984, a little bit of The Hunger Games and a lot of The Giver. It was fun to see some of those influences all come together in a new way in this book.
The best thing about this book is that it makes you think about how important our every day choices are, and how we should never never take that for granted.
Bottom line: I really liked it a lot!
Other reviews:
Fluttering Butterflies
At Home With Books
Books and Movies
Angieville
More from author Ally Condie here at her official website.
I think this one is very worth reading, though I missed the passion that would make it an "A" book for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to this.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this one yet but I hope to get to it soon. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI loved this book too and thought that your review was spot on! I think that the book is going to do very well, and I can't wait for the sequel.
ReplyDelete