Matched

If you’ve ever read the classic book called The Giver then you pretty much have a general idea about the storyline of Matched. They are both very similar. They each have a totalitarian government, but Matched has much more romance. Matched is the modernized version of The Giver.

Matched is a story about a seventeen year-old girl named Cassia. In her Society every seventeen year-old is thrown into a matching pool. It’s a system that decides who you’ll spend the rest of your life with. In my opinion I thought that sounded nice. A system that finds you the perfect partner within your Society, who wouldn’t love that? But as I continued reading my opinion changed.  

At the matching ceremony Cassia receives the results that her best friend Xander is her match. She is thrilled at first. However things take a turn for the worse when Cassia, by mistake, also receives another matched result. And this result does not say Xander is her match. Cassia is overwhelmed by this, because the Society does not make mistakes. Or at least they didn’t. And now she has a choice, which isn’t something Cassia or anyone else in the Society is faced with often. And this is only the beginning of her journey.

Cassia realizes that being in a “perfect” Society isn’t so perfect. They decide everything. Who you love, where you work and when you die. Cassie can never love someone the Society doesn’t approve of regardless of her feelings. Cassie becomes angry and rebellious towards her Society, so she keeps her choice a secret.

So, if you want to know the answer whether her choice stays a secret or the society gets involved, then I would suggest you read this book. If you liked The Giver then you will definitely love this book.  And if you enjoy Matched the author Ally Condle has a sequel called Crossed which is currently out in bookstores.