Matched

When I went to the Book Expo last May, I received an advance copy of Ally Condie’s first novel, Matched. I also heard her speak on a YA author panel. It was one of the books that I was most excited about reading, but it didn’t come out until November 30, and we like to post reviews to coincide with the release date, so I held off and attended to my more urgent and pressing pile.

My daughter Amanda (12) read it and selected it as her Kid’s Pick in September, but I just finally got to it this month.

Matched takes place in a futuristic post-dystopian society which the government now controls in an effort to create the perfect world and perfect society. One of the ways in which the population is controlled is by using the data that is collected on each individual throughout their lives and selecting the match for them that will produce the best offspring.

The novel opens with Cassia Reyes’ match banquet, which all young people attend during their 17th year. Her match turns out to be unlikely in many ways. For one thing, she is matched with Xander, who is one of her best friends. It’s rare that two people from the same town are matched. But that’s only the beginning of the atypical process. When Cassia tries to access the data card with all the information about the matching process and about her match, it isn’t Xander’s face she sees, but another boy from her town.

This sets up the typical romantic love triangle as Cassia doubts and wonders who her match should be. As she ponders the seeds of doubt about her right match, she also ends up contemplating the regulations that her government has set up. Is this really the best way, or should they be given the right to choose?

It is supposed to be a part of a trilogy, but the first novel ends in a satisfying way on its own, which I appreciated. I loved this book. The questioning that Cassia has is a look at the adolescent process, with which adults, tweens, and teens will all relate.

Cassia is a smart, analytical, strong female character who is not a rebel just for rebellion’s sake, but who is truly questioning right and wrong.

As a parent, I love that this novel is exciting and deep, yet free of content that would rule it out for younger readers (and content which some teens and adults choose to avoid). As far as I remember, there was no cursing at all. There is no drug use or alcohol (because the society is so controlled it wouldn’t even be feasible, I don’t imagine). The romantic relationship is approached as much on the level of an intellectual match as a physical attraction. There are brief kisses, but no real yearning and burning.

Jennifer Donovan has been happily married to her match for 18 years. She blogs about everything from marriage to moving to movies at her blog Snapshot.