Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie

My rating: 2 of 5 teacups


Soo... basic storyline being of a society where officials decide every aspect of a person's life from the big stuff as in who they'll marry (or be 'matched' with) and when they'll die to the little stuff like what they eat, how they dress and their daily routines. The story tells how Cassia is matched to a boy but falls for another and suddenly begins to question the rules of the society, heading as she does so straight into a world of secrets and danger. Great sounding plot, am I right? Too bad it turned out to be rather mediocre in practice.
Well, for me this book managed to redeem itself right near the very end and escape being the "it's ok" marker. One of the biggest problems was the hype about this book, I've been waiting to get my hands on this for ages, just dying to sink my teeth into it - after all, dystopian fiction is my one true literary love. So, because of this, the disappointment fell even heavier. I love the idea but there were just so many things about the story that made me feel it never really took off and reached it's full potential. To make my point, I'm going to review the novel as two parts: first as a dystopian novel, and then as a love story.
As I already mentioned, I love dystopian societies and I have done ever since I read Nineteen Eighty-Four when I was twelve. However, my love for dystopia is concentrated on the high action and/or shocking tragedy that define the genre. In my opinion, it's hard to feel a great sense of dystopia in Matched. Nothing majorly tragic or gripping happens until the last few chapters and by then you've lost touch with the story and the characters. It's slow-moving and, though I never thought I'd use this phrase in a review, it 'lacks drama'. If you compare it to 'The Handmaid's Tale' or 'Declaration' for example, there's none of that built up tension throughout. I read these books on the edge of my seat feeling every emotion with the protagonists and even beginning to panic at the peaks of the two novels. Matched just never got my blood pressure up, there was no sense of urgency or despair. For a long time the society didn't really seem that bad at all. Where's the dystopia? The action? The despair? Maybe I'm just a twisted individual but the society wasn't 'bad' enough for me.
And the love story. Because that's the other thing this novel is about. Well, the only time I felt any real connection or chemistry between Cassia and Ky was in the last few chapters, I could sense that the author was attempting to build it up slowly but I never latched on to it. In fact, for a good while all I did was feel sorry for poor Xander and wish she'd just except a life with him and let Ky get on with being mysterious and weird. But, it did pull back and the novel ended with me wanting Cassia to go find him. There may be hope for this love story yet.
The ending was the most commendable part of the novel. I'd started to think that there would be no point in me buying the second book in the series as the first one had done nothing for me. And then the ending left me interested, engrossed and eager to find out more. It opened up a wider mystery that would have been so much better if the author had built it up by slowly alluding to it throughout the novel, then I wouldn't have been so shocked to find that the book wasn't so terrible overall. I will say, though, I loved her Grandad from Cassia's first conversation with him, I found him cute and lovable - far more intriguing than any other character.
So, yes, I will be getting the second book because of an unexpected need to find out where the author will take us next. Would I recommend you read this? Yes. I did enjoy it, especially the ending, I'm just a strange individual who's more into dark dystopia, I have too high expectations of the genre. Also, with the girl in that stunning green dress, it will look way too pretty on your bookshelf.