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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
Okay, word of warning, this is definitely a CHARACTER driven book, not plot driven. Which means you are in the head of the character the entire time while they interact and react to the story. There is no exciting plot motivators to push the story along AT ALL. That being said, I still liked it. The author kept me reading, it was only half way through I realized, yeah, nothing has really happened, yet I still enjoyed it. Who knew. I'm actually heading out right now to get the second book to see where Ms Condie takes it from here :)
Hmmmm. I'm really debating how many stars to give this. On the one hand, I do indeed love a good futuristic dystopia. And there's some pretty good world-building here (even if she did indeed borrow a lot from Lowry's The Giver). But this book - plot-wise - is DULL. Not much happens, except for Cassia's mooning around about 2 boys (who are not very well differentiated), and lots of idle speculation about the Society and its form. So - okay: points for the cool idea(s), demerits for the draggy execution. I am curious to see where this trilogy will go next - so I got pulled in that far, at least. I think that all equals a middle-of-the-road 3 stars, then (not great, not awful).
I love teen books and dystopian settings. However, this one was a little boring for me.
I ended up not finishing the series because I was just wanting it to be over and not enjoying it.
The first book is the best in the series, I feel it goes downhill from there.
I ended up not finishing the series because I was just wanting it to be over and not enjoying it.
The first book is the best in the series, I feel it goes downhill from there.
Another Young Adult book trilogy that captured my imagination. Matched is about a utopian wolrd where Society controls everything but at a cost. Young people are "matched" with their future spouses--although they can opt to remain single and not put their name in the matched database. In this perfectly contorlled world members have no say in anything they do in thier lives including the amout of calories they eat in a day.
The book begins with Cassia (the female protagonist) heading ot her Matching banquet. She is still a believer at this point but her world perseption quickly unravels. I won't tell you much more than that but I was immediately drawn into the world.
I thought Condie did a great job describing the Society and the feeling members had with the tight control on their lives but the fear of even discussing. Cassia begins to question the world around her and at the heart of the book is a love story. Cassia eyes are open as she falls in love with a boy with whom she was not matched.
I recommend this book. I'm planning on reading the second book.
The book begins with Cassia (the female protagonist) heading ot her Matching banquet. She is still a believer at this point but her world perseption quickly unravels. I won't tell you much more than that but I was immediately drawn into the world.
I thought Condie did a great job describing the Society and the feeling members had with the tight control on their lives but the fear of even discussing. Cassia begins to question the world around her and at the heart of the book is a love story. Cassia eyes are open as she falls in love with a boy with whom she was not matched.
I recommend this book. I'm planning on reading the second book.
um to be honest I couldnt even finish this novel. I found myself becoming increasingly annoyed at Cassia and all I wanted to do was punch her in the face. I felt like the story dragged on and wasnt getting to a definded plot point. plus her interactions with Ky were very stalkery and teenaged with this whole what is going on with us bull. to be even more honest it was excatly like twilight but with more of a plot. even half way through the book I knew the ending and was not going to force myself to read a very predictable ending for a very boring novel.
p.s. its very rare that I dont finish a book. I have a weird ocd thing where if I start a book I must finish it. this was a very rare case where all I wanted to do was throw my book across the room and I felt like that would be a bad idea.
p.s. its very rare that I dont finish a book. I have a weird ocd thing where if I start a book I must finish it. this was a very rare case where all I wanted to do was throw my book across the room and I felt like that would be a bad idea.
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Great future utopian society YA book about finding your own voice
Ok, so I don't think this book is as good as all the rave reviews it got. It was definitely an interesting concept of a Society where everything is matched and controlled by logic and statistics and data, but this book seemed like one big introduction to the next book. I wish this one had a better plot line to it. It is detailed and I can easily picture the scenes in the book. The end of the book was kind of weak. I wish that had been given a little more attention. Perhaps it will get better in the next book.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was a fun, quick read. There were things I liked and things I didn't.
Here's what I liked. I liked the story. I've read other distopias, and the romance factor was fun. I liked the way the Society was portrayed—it seemed much more feasible than other societies in other distopia novels, which made it simultaneously more fun to read and more creepy to think about. I liked the story. I liked that a lot of the themes were familiar to me and rang true in my mind. It gave me a lot to think about. My favorite thing was how much I enjoyed it in general.
I didn't like the main character as much as I wanted to. Cassia is smart and brave, but she is heavily reliant on the men in her life to make her feel that way. It felt like her motivations were generally emotional and dramatic, but she is seventeen, so that's probably to be expected. I didn't like the way the narrator put so much weight on Cassia's perceptions. She read a lot into every glance and every change in tone. Maybe that was the author's way of expressing underlying communications, but I found myself wondering if I was listening to an unreliable narrator.
Overall, it was fun to read. I looked forward to reading it.
Here's what I liked. I liked the story. I've read other distopias, and the romance factor was fun. I liked the way the Society was portrayed—it seemed much more feasible than other societies in other distopia novels, which made it simultaneously more fun to read and more creepy to think about. I liked the story. I liked that a lot of the themes were familiar to me and rang true in my mind. It gave me a lot to think about. My favorite thing was how much I enjoyed it in general.
I didn't like the main character as much as I wanted to. Cassia is smart and brave, but she is heavily reliant on the men in her life to make her feel that way. It felt like her motivations were generally emotional and dramatic, but she is seventeen, so that's probably to be expected. I didn't like the way the narrator put so much weight on Cassia's perceptions. She read a lot into every glance and every change in tone. Maybe that was the author's way of expressing underlying communications, but I found myself wondering if I was listening to an unreliable narrator.
Overall, it was fun to read. I looked forward to reading it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated