Recently Read: Matched by Ally Condie

I was pretty excited when Blogher offered Matched by Ally Condie as a Blogher Book Club book. I’m a huge fan of distopian futuristic fiction and YA fiction, so this one has been on my list since it’s launch. 

The novel follows Cassia Reyes, a member of “The Society” in the future. It reminded me a lot of the setting of the Giver, which is, unsurprisingly, one of my favorite childhood books. It’s a scrubbed-clean society where everyone carries anti-anxiety medication; people are cited for things like running in the street; and everyone is assigned to their spouse and job at age 17. It’s with Cassia’s Matching that throws everything else off in Cassia’s world. When she’s shown her match, she also sees another boy, and things spiral from there. 

Although most of the book centers on the love triangle and feelings, toward the end it does take a more interesting political turn. The book clearly draws inspiration from the latest YA bestsellers (The Hunger Games and Twilight), and Condie is following suit with two sequels. 

In fact, in reviewing this book, it’s hard not to draw comparisons between Matched and those two. While not being as well-crafted as The Hunger Games, Condie has written a promising first book. Cassia Reyes seems to be an accurately portrayed 17-year-old: she’s sweet, kind, frustrated and doesn’t know what she wants. Overall it’s fluffy, fun and enjoyable for a SciFi geek like me, and I hope the  other two books continue to explore the corners of “The Society,” while further developing Cassia’s character. 

This review is compensated as part of Blogher Book Reviews, but all opinions expressed are my own.