Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Wednesday Reads: Matched

Matched by Ally Condie is everything I love about dystopian fiction.

Synopsis: (from Amazon)
For Cassia, nothing is left to chance--not what she will eat, the job she will have, or the man she will marry. In Matched, the Society Officials have determined optimal outcomes for all aspects of daily life, thereby removing the "burden" of choice. When Cassia's best friend is identified as her ideal marriage Match it confirms her belief that Society knows best, until she plugs in her Match microchip and a different boy’s face flashes on the screen. This improbable mistake sets Cassia on a dangerous path to the unthinkable--rebelling against the predetermined life Society has in store for her.

First Sentence: "Now that I've found the way to fly, which direction should I go into the night?" This is Cassia's imagination at work. The first paragraph, of her making things up in her mind, isn't that telling. It's the whole first page that is though. Sample: "I smile at myself, at the foolishness of my imagination. People cannot fly, though before the Society, there were myths about those who could. I saw a painting of them once. White wings, blue sky, gold circles above their heads..."

Brownie Points: If you want a lesson in how to construct the perfect plot, character arch, opening, closing, surprise, world building, then this is definitely the book to do it with. It's almost flawlessly crafted.

Ending: Open ended enough for another book, but if you never read another one, you'd be satisfied enough.

Recommendation: Read it.

Would I represent it? Oh yes.

Happy Reading!

9 comments:

Stephanie Allen said...

I haven't read nearly enough dystopian, but what I have read I've loved and this sounds like another one I'll like. (My TBR list is so long already. Sigh.)

Heather said...

There are so many books on my to read list that I've been putting off getting this one. With a review like that though, I'm clicking over to B&N to get it right now!

Karen said...

I absolutely love this book. It was so beautifully written. And I hadn't been so swoony over a romance in a long time. A great read.

Gina Ciocca said...

This one is next on my list, right after Anna and the French Kiss. Now I'm super psyched to get to it!

Anonymous said...

I love succinct reviews like this. It is going on my to-buy list right now.

mshatch said...

completely agree. This is one book that won't be going to donations :)

Martha Ramirez said...

Ooh thanks for the recommendation. Another one to add to my TBR. Sounds awesome!

Karen Baldwin said...

Ever spot on.

HowLynnTime said...

Oh no. Not another one! Sigh - I had all my 'to buys' picked out for tomorrow and now you have me drooling - again! I am never going to be able to afford that root canal! Lol - just kidding....sort of.