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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
Reread from childhood, loved the black mirror type twists, truly ahead of its time
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Critical Score: B+
Personal Score: B
I’m a bit unsure of my scores, but this is what I’m putting down for now.
Matched surprised me in two main ways. The positive way is that it is much more literary than I expected. The writing—meaning just that, the writing, the quality of the prose—is rich with metaphor and the human experience. Her themes are a bit much sometimes, and it’s hard to say there’s anything super fresh about this take on dystopia, but the commentary is regardless quite endearing.
The negative way that this book surprised me was in its pacing. Wow, was this slow-paced. This might be the slowest YA dystopian novel I’ve ever read. At times I really felt myself straining to sit at ease in this world rather than grow impatient. I’m nervous about the two sequels holding my attention. Very nervous…especially because the reputation of the second book is quite poor.
The last third or so of Matched is surprisingly complex. It’s almost too hard to keep track of who knew what at which times and how it impacted a variety of their actions that intersected with other characters’ actions in tricky ways, and how there are a few lingering questions I’ll need to keep a hold of to inform current head-scratching moments, and what all these climactic intricate revelations say about free will, sacrifice, and safety.
This was not at all the page turner I wanted, but it is also not a disappointment, and I did read it quickly.
This is more mature than I think most people give it credit for. It’s more The Giver than The Hunger Games. There’s a strong life force in the narrative. Let’s see if Condie can sustain the quality of her examination of love and freedom in Crossed…
Critical Score: B+
Personal Score: B
I’m a bit unsure of my scores, but this is what I’m putting down for now.
Matched surprised me in two main ways. The positive way is that it is much more literary than I expected. The writing—meaning just that, the writing, the quality of the prose—is rich with metaphor and the human experience. Her themes are a bit much sometimes, and it’s hard to say there’s anything super fresh about this take on dystopia, but the commentary is regardless quite endearing.
The negative way that this book surprised me was in its pacing. Wow, was this slow-paced. This might be the slowest YA dystopian novel I’ve ever read. At times I really felt myself straining to sit at ease in this world rather than grow impatient. I’m nervous about the two sequels holding my attention. Very nervous…especially because the reputation of the second book is quite poor.
The last third or so of Matched is surprisingly complex. It’s almost too hard to keep track of who knew what at which times and how it impacted a variety of their actions that intersected with other characters’ actions in tricky ways, and how there are a few lingering questions I’ll need to keep a hold of to inform current head-scratching moments, and what all these climactic intricate revelations say about free will, sacrifice, and safety.
This was not at all the page turner I wanted, but it is also not a disappointment, and I did read it quickly.
This is more mature than I think most people give it credit for. It’s more The Giver than The Hunger Games. There’s a strong life force in the narrative. Let’s see if Condie can sustain the quality of her examination of love and freedom in Crossed…
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Soo... basic storyline being of a society where officials decide every aspect of a person's life from the big stuff as in who they'll marry (or be 'matched' with) and when they'll die to the little stuff like what they eat, how they dress and their daily routines. The story tells how Cassia is matched to a boy but falls for another and suddenly begins to question the rules of the society, heading as she does so straight into a world of secrets and danger. Great sounding plot, am I right? Too bad it turned out to be rather mediocre in practice.
Well, for me this book managed to redeem itself right near the very end and escape being the "it's ok" marker. One of the biggest problems was the hype about this book, I've been waiting to get my hands on this for ages, just dying to sink my teeth into it - after all, dystopian fiction is my one true literary love. So, because of this, the disappointment fell even heavier. I love the idea but there were just so many things about the story that made me feel it never really took off and reached it's full potential. To make my point, I'm going to review the novel as two parts: first as a dystopian novel, and then as a love story.
As I already mentioned, I love dystopian societies and I have done ever since I read Nineteen Eighty-Four when I was twelve. However, my love for dystopia is concentrated on the high action and/or shocking tragedy that define the genre. In my opinion, it's hard to feel a great sense of dystopia in Matched. Nothing majorly tragic or gripping happens until the last few chapters and by then you've lost touch with the story and the characters. It's slow-moving and, though I never thought I'd use this phrase in a review, it 'lacks drama'. If you compare it to 'The Handmaid's Tale' or 'Declaration' for example, there's none of that built up tension throughout. I read these books on the edge of my seat feeling every emotion with the protagonists and even beginning to panic at the peaks of the two novels. Matched just never got my blood pressure up, there was no sense of urgency or despair. For a long time the society didn't really seem that bad at all. Where's the dystopia? The action? The despair? Maybe I'm just a twisted individual but the society wasn't 'bad' enough for me.
And the love story. Because that's the other thing this novel is about. Well, the only time I felt any real connection or chemistry between Cassia and Ky was in the last few chapters, I could sense that the author was attempting to build it up slowly but I never latched on to it. In fact, for a good while all I did was feel sorry for poor Xander and wish she'd just except a life with him and let Ky get on with being mysterious and weird. But, it did pull back and the novel ended with me wanting Cassia to go find him. There may be hope for this love story yet.
The ending was the most commendable part of the novel. I'd started to think that there would be no point in me buying the second book in the series as the first one had done nothing for me. And then the ending left me interested, engrossed and eager to find out more. It opened up a wider mystery that would have been so much better if the author had built it up by slowly alluding to it throughout the novel, then I wouldn't have been so shocked to find that the book wasn't so terrible overall. I will say, though, I loved her Grandad from Cassia's first conversation with him, I found him cute and lovable - far more intriguing than any other character.
I might get the second book because of an unexpected need to find out where the author will take us next. I did enjoy parts of it, especially the ending, I'm just a strange individual who's more into dark dystopia, I have too high expectations of the genre. Also, with the girl in that stunning green dress, it will look way too pretty on your bookshelf.
fast-paced
One thing I found very exciting about this book was - wait for it - one of the characters has my first name. I've never met anyone with my name, and have only heard of four others, two real people, and two book characters (one of the latter was who I was named after, the other being from this book). It was very bounce-inducing.
Rereading for 1st time (2nd read): Started March 12, 2014, finished March 12, 2014
--
Bumping up from 2 stars to 3. This is a fun world, but I am looking forward to see how the love triangle is handled in the 2nd book (I never made it that far the first time I tried this series). Looking forward to starting the next one!
--
Bumping up from 2 stars to 3. This is a fun world, but I am looking forward to see how the love triangle is handled in the 2nd book (I never made it that far the first time I tried this series). Looking forward to starting the next one!
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No