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Book Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Kidzworld reviews book one in the bestselling teen dystopian trilogy about a society free of choices. Check out Matched by Ally Condie.

Courtesy of Speak

A Predictable Life

Imagine living in a world where everything is decided for you: what you eat, where you live, when you die, who you love. The officials who run Cassia’s society leave nothing up to choice. It makes for a more equal and controlled world. A better world.

Everyone Makes Mistakes

When Cassia learns that her ideal Match - the person she’ll marry - is her best friend Xander, she’s overjoyed. Being Matched to someone you know is almost unheard of. But when she views the microchip given to her after the Match Banquet, another boy’s face appears on the screen - Ky Markham. The Officials never make mistakes, yet somehow, she’s been Matched with two boys.

Assured that it was, in fact, a mistake made by someone in the Matching Department, Cassia tries to move on. But she can’t deny the new feelings she has for Ky, which seem to grow stronger with each passing day.

Do Not Go Gentle

On the predetermined day of his death, Cassia’s grandfather left her a message in the form of an old, illegal poem. Do not go gentle, began the poem. Does he want her to oppose the Officials and fight the system? Now Cassia is torn between a life of probability and predicted outcomes and a life of true love and dangerous choices.

The Bottom Line

Ever since The Hunger Games was released in 2008, a new genre known as dystopian science fiction has spread like wildfire through the teen book industry. But just like vampire novels, finding quality dystopias among the masses can be a challenge. Fortuantely, Matched is one of the best! It has an engaging, riveting plot that puts a completely modern spin on Romeo & Juliet. Girls will love the forbidden romance; boys will love the ever-present danger. Definitely check out Matched by Ally Condie.