Matched

Title: Matched
Author: Ally Condie
Narrator: Kate Simses
Pub: 2010; Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 369
Audio Length: 9 hours 54 minutes
Genre: Audio, Young Adult, Dysfic

I absolutely dug this book and I was excruciatingly weary of listening to it because EVERYONE had strong opinions about it.

Also, it surprised me.  After reading the brief back paged summary I assumed the book would wholly be about a community that matches up individuals for families and it would take more of a romance road, disputing compatibility and identifying what love might be.

But that was just a superficial front.  There's so much more in this community.  The members are matched for EVERYTHING: partners, lifestyles, locations, jobs.  And that's if you're lucky enough to be a member of society.  You could be misfortune enough to live in society but be outcasted.  Those individuals lose the right to even partner up.  And they get the worst jobs ever.

Cassia is a member of society.  Her parents love her and she has a wonderful best friend, Xander.  Things only become more perfect when Xander is chosen as her mate.  Everything that Cassia could have ever wanted is coming true.

But then, the next day when she puts in the memory thingamajig that tells her all about Xander another boy's face shows up - Ky.  That can't be right and The Society quickly tries to correct its mistake.

Too late though.  Out of curiosity, Cassia begins to form a friendship with Ky that quickly turns to love.  The novelty of it opens doors to questions about The Society that she wasn't expecting.  Plus, her love for Xander hasn't changed either.

Matched might seem like another YA trilogy with a love triangle but it is so much more than that.  It's definitely a wonderful introduction into the dysfic genre.  It's action packed but not unavailable.

I also thought that the reasons why the Society was created made sense.  For example, there are 100 songs and 100 books and 100 pieces of art - much like how we create the 1001 books you must read before you die, the Society eliminated the excess because it was just TOO MUCH.  How easy is that to understand?  The question begins with, would you give up some freedoms to have a quieted mind.

As for the audio portion - REALLY FANTASTIC.  Immediately upon finishing this one, I downloaded the next in the series.