Matched by Ally Condie

Another "fight against the establishment" teen dystopian novel..., January 15, 2011

3 stars

This was a fast read but a very predictable dystopian novel. Other reviewers have remarked upon the similarities between the premise in MATCHED and The Giver by Lois Lowry as well as Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (to name two). The societies in each are quite similar as the people are completely controlled and their lives dictated to include the clothes they wear, the jobs they are assigned, the food they eat, and the way their mates are assigned to them. Men, women and children are not allowed to make choices or to think for themselves for the good of the Society. They have no concerns or worries, no fear of illness or accidental death -- everything is taken care of. In return, they are to ask no questions and are to obey the Officials. They carry 3 pills to be taken exactly as directed, they work and they play according to the plan, and they don't look beyond their own lives to wonder if there is anything else out there.

The book starts out well -- Cassia is going to her Match Banquet and her world seems full of happy possibilities. During this enchanted evening she is matched to her childhood friend, Xander, which is unusual since it's rare that matches know each other. In some type of computer glitch the next day, another boy's face flashes on the screen and it's someone else she knows -- a boy named Ky, an Aberration and someone who is unsuitable for match. It's after this that the story slides into cliche -- a love triangle, secrets, festering rebellion, etc. Cassia is fascinated with the words illegal poems that were given to her by her grandfather before he dies, and since the society has eradicated everything from the past except for the 100 best of everything, she commits them to memory. The words of one poem, "Do not go gentle..." fuel her dissatisfaction and stir the seeds of restlessness that lead her to defy convention and take chances that result in calamity and big changes in her life and in the lives of those she loves.

This is the first of a planned trilogy with the next book, Crossed, due out in November, 2011. I will likely want to read the second novel to see if the author will come up with a unique approach in this dystopia or if she will continue to borrow heavily from other novels in this genre. I hope it will be refreshingly original.

Ms C.