City News

Matched, a novel by Ally Condie, is the first book of the Matched series, followed by Crossed and Reached. This story takes place in a land known as the ‘Society’, where everything is operated by Officials who have predetermined life plans for every citizen to optimize the lives of everyone. When each person turns 17-years-old, they are either matched with a partner in a different province, or are chosen to remain single at the Match Banquet. Whenever a character turns 80-years-old, they have a Final Banquet to celebrate their lives on the last day they are to live. In this story, Cassia, the main character, is matched unusually, with two people and both are not supposed to be eligible for her. She is matched with Xander, her childhood friend who lives in the same province as her, and Ky, an Aberration. An Aberration is someone who has received an infraction and does not have as many privileges as regular citizens in the Society. Throughout this novel, Cassia discovers secrets about the Society and what they do to keep the community controlled. She learns from both Ky and Xander who are aware of the true secrets within the Society. 

What I liked:

This novel by Ally Condie was very detailed in describing a mix of a utopian and dystopian society using many allusions. In the story, the Society blocks people from being unhappy, unhealthy, and disappointed. The author alluded to many stories that relate to what life would be for people if they had freedom to express negative emotions and experience negative occurrences. For instance, the author alludes to poems written by people, describing detailed imagery that is prohibited in the Society. Her allusions also emphasize how Matched takes place in the future and our current society was the past. 

Furthermore, the entire series was related to Ray Bradbury’s novel on a futuristic and dystopian society, Fahrenheit 451. In Fahrenheit 451, the main character is a fireman and the job of firemen is to go to houses and search for any form of written works. Books, poetry, music, are all burned along with the house they were found in and the owners of the property. Technology is what controls the entire society, which is the same as Matched; technology and officials ensure that everybody is living similarly. Additionally, none of the citizens in Matched or Fahrenheit 451 were aware of the government controlling and brainwashing their daily actions and throughout their entire lives. As one reads through the Matched series, they will notice the similarities between the series, and a dystopian life-style exemplified in Fahrenheit 451. 

In addition, every allusion and piece of imagery used throughout this novel was conducive to the storyline. The author used pieces of art and forms of writing that showed the significance of the chapter or scene. To illustrate the relationship between humans and nature, the author used poems that described the scenery and the energy of the character and the setting. 

What I disliked: 

This novel by Ally Condie glorifies the main character, Cassia, and illustrates her discovering more about the tragic aspects of the Society. In my opinion, the author gave Cassia too much glory rather than other characters who were more significant to the development of the story. The extensive focus on Cassia’s progress caused a deflection of other characters and their activities. For example, both Xander and Ky were chosen to be members of the Rising. The Rising is a secret organization infiltrating the Society in order to overthrow it and restore the opinions of the people, including democracy, works of art, music, and more. Countless other characters made more remarkable contributions to the plot than Cassia, but the author focused on Cassia the most. In conclusion, other important characters need more acknowledgement. 

Recommended to people who:

Matched, a novel by Ally Condie, would be most appreciated by readers who enjoy analyzing minute details that are notable to pay attention to in order to understand the text to its fullest extent. Readers who can notice, and enjoy, allusions and miniscule features would be able to comprehend this book to its utmost capacity. 

If readers are not as appreciative of small details and analytical thoughts, Matched is also an enjoyable read for people who appreciate developing relationships between friends, family, loved ones, and nature. 

Check out Matched from NBPL!