#78- Matched By Ally Condie

 

 #78- Matched

Rating- 8/10

Cassia lives in a society where everything is determined for you, the amount of food you eat, the type of job you work, and at age 17 you are paired with someone who is your perfect match.

Without having to make decisions, everyone lives in a world where there are rarely arguments, hardly ever illness or obesity, but also no choices.

Cassia has never found this to be a problem, living with her mother, father, and brother. She lives what considers to be a very normal and nice life. When the upcoming matching ceremony approaches she is more than excited to see who her match will be and is excited for the possibility of the rest of her life.

At the matching ceremony, she is paired with her best friend from childhood, Xander. It seems too good to be true, they already know each-other better than they know themselves, but regardless they still get the video of their match explaining their past and helping to get to know them in the future.

Cassia goes home to watch her video and is shocked when the boy on the screen isnt Xander, its Ky. After days of confusion and turmoil over the entire thing, an official comes and lets her know that it was a mistake, since Ky is an Abberation (someone on the outcast black list of their society) he cant be matched. 

She should feel relieved right? Well she doesnt. Once she realizes that someone else may be her perfect match she starts questioning not only her love life, but everything that she has come to know in society. A book that makes you question whether any society can really be "perfect" and the inner turmoil between doing whats right and doing whats in your heart. 

I personally enjoyed this book, I'm someone who would enjoy living in the society thats explained in the book. Having my entire life planned for me, considering that they know everything about you, picking your perfect match, picking your perfect job, etc. It takes all of the guess work out of life. Which may or may not sound like a good thing to you, but personally it seems that it would take a lot of the stress out of it. Who knows though, maybe, like Cassia, I would find that once my life was actually decided for me I didnt want it for myself anymore.

Overall the book was an enjoyable read, that didn't involve too much intense thinking or logical thoughts, an easy read that kept me turning the pages from beginning to end. 

“Our time together feels like a storm, like a wild wind and rain, like something too big to handle but too powerful to escape.”