Remember that time I was going to read a YA book and post a review every week or so? Good, neither do I.
But I am super thrilled to finally post another review. This time I read Matched by Ally Condie.
Cassia is a happy peon, living under the watchful eye of The Society. She works hard at her job as a "sorter," enjoys the same three free-rec activities when she gets a chance to hang with her friends, and anxiously awaits the big day when she’ll meet the one. Except, Cassia doesn’t get to choose who to love. The Society takes care of everything from what its members eat to who they marry.
Confession time: I am "streets behind" when it comes to dystopian YA lit (any other Community fans out there?). I may be the only person on the face of the planet who has not read The Hunger Games yet. So, I can’t comment on any similarities/differences, but what I can comment on is how much I enjoyed Matched.
The book has two plots running in parallel: one, a teen romance, and the other, a story of a girl learning to question the world she lives in. The romance is a typical boy next door-girl-boy from the wrong side of the tracks love triangle. It's not earth-shattering, but it's entertaining. In my opinion, the stronger arc focuses on Cassia's growing curiosity about why things are they way they are. There were times I wanted to grab her and smack her and other times when I pitied her. The writing is beautiful, and I am dying to find out what happens next (second in the series due in Nov 2011). The ending is a cliffhanger, and those usually annoy me, but it works for Matched. It reminded me a lot of the end of the Golden Compass (book, not the movie).
Hardcover, 366 pages
Published November 30, 2010
You're not the only one who hasn't read The Hunger Games. I haven't, either, mostly because I read the book of Revelations about six years ago and that was about as much dystopian as I could stomach. I know, I know, that makes me a bad person. But until someone offers to foot my xanax tab, that's how it'll be.
ReplyDeleteI have heard good things about Matched, though, particularly that it's not the doom and gloom kind of dystopian like most are.
By the way, 95,482 words on Power Trio? Srsly?
ReplyDeleteI read Matched too and also loved it. Thank god, because it supposedly got a 7 figure advance! That's a lot of hype to live up too.
ReplyDeleteAnd nice Golden Compass comparison!
Liz, Matched might be the dystopian novel to introduce you back to the genre without massively upping the need for anti-anxieties. I felt like it introduces great concepts without being terrifying- great for making you appreciate the freedoms we have now.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it too, Emily. Wow, 7 figures! Holy guacamole! I didn't know that. I wanted to take the Golden Compass thing a little further, but I got tired. :) But, truly, they are the only cliffhangers I like: ones were you get the sense that the adventure is just beginning.
Oh yeah, Power Trio is at almost 100,000 words. But it has been for almsot two years. And the last 20,000 words are such a hot mess that I don't even know what to do with it. It needs a major overhaul, and I haven't had the heart. I also got a teeeeeeny bit distracted by my amnesia girl story!
ReplyDeleteI looked Matched over in WalMart today thanks to your review, but didn't buy it because it looks like a Nook-worthy book. (Something I'd like to read at school but not carry around in my backpack.)
ReplyDeleteI still want to read Power Trio, hot mess or not. :P
I enjoyed this book too, although I'm sad I have to wait so long for the next one.
ReplyDelete