"Matched" by Ally Condie

I feel like I may be one of the only people on the planet who had not started the Matched trilogy by Ally Condie yet.  Boy was I missing out!  I powered through the first book this weekend and I will be starting Crossed shortly after finishing this blog.

I like seeing what trends appear to be popular in books and am happy to see that the vampire trend tends to be dying down.  I am also suprised to see that dystopian themed books might be the next big thing.

Cassia (love the name) lives in a seemingly perfect world.  There are no choices, everything is decided for you;  where you will work, when you will die, and who you will marry.  The book starts with Cassia finding out that she is to be matched with her childhood best friend, Xander.  Everything appears to be perfect until she takes a look at the microchip with with Xander's information on it- only to see the face of another boy, Ky.  The Society rarely makes mistakes but they tell Cassia that's what this is; a mistake.  So why does she suddenly find herself wanting to spend time with Ky?  The more time she spends with Ky the more she begins to question the Society she has always known.



This book has a little bit of everything; romance, adventure, action, suspense, and a bit of a cliffhanger.  While I think it will appeal more to girls, it's not overly mushy so I think guys can enjoy it too.  Like many others I'm sure, I found Matched to be quite similar to The Giver by Lois Lowry and Delrium by Lauren Oliver.  If you like Matched and Crossed, I recommend reading the other two while you wait for the trilogy's conclusion.