Matched, by Ally Condie (BOOK REVIEW)

“Every minute you spend with someone gives them a part of your life and takes part of theirs.”

Cassia has always trusted the Society’s choices. And when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, she is certain he’s the one—until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now she is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s ever known and a path no has dared to follow . . . between perfection and the truth.

“Ky can play this game. He can play all of their games, including the one in front of him that he just lost. He knows exactly how to play, and that's why he loses every time.”

I'm really struggling to wrap my head around how I feel about this book. This is the first book in a trilogy, so I may have to read the rest of the series to formulate my full thoughts. My friend recommended this to me and I finished it in three days. At first I was really into it. I couldn't stop reading. I was really intrigued with this girl in a bubble, on the cover. 

The plot was quite interesting. This book is super fast-paced but also kind of boring at the same time. I feel like the author didn't really connect the plot with the characters very well. But the way the author tied in small elements to make the big plot was really cool. The way that the author tied in the love triangle with the plot was intriguing. I feel like the author didn't explain and detail the plot twists very well. I found myself very confused even though the author tried explaining what was happening over and over. 

The author's writing style was lacking in originality. I feel like the author kind of copied and pasted a bunch of other dystopian books into this one. A lot of elements in this book weren't described very well. I need details!

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was a side character, Xander. He was really sweet and I enjoyed reading about him. 

Now we get to the romance. I feel like it was really rushed. It wasn't even that present to the story. I feel like it was kind of pushed to the side and very forced. The main character, Cassie, was very blunt with the love-interests. It seemed very unrealistic. 

Back to the main character, Cassie. I didn't like how self-centered she was. Though, I did feel some sympathy for her when she started to realize that she was lied to all her life.

This book actually really helped me out of a reading slump so I'm glad about that! In closing, I will say even though there were a  lot of things I didn't like, it wasn't entirely terrible and I did enjoy a lot of it. 

My rating → 9/10

Age recommendation → 12+

Link to purchase this book → PRESS HERE 

"Farewell, my brave Hobbits. My work is now finished."

-Audrey