Matched

Summary:
Matched, is a science fiction novel that follows the life of a sixteen year old girl named Cassia who lives in an over managed society. This society controls everything, your calorie intake, recreational hours, job, social status, and most important, your match. Cassia is at her Match Ceremony when she finds out she has been matched with her best friend, Xander. What more could she ask for? However, later that night, when she tries to look on her micro card to learn about Xander, his picture goes blank and is replaced by another face. Cassia is freaked out, but soon is calmed by an official who assures her it's a mistake. By and by she finds herself slowly getting attracted to the other person who appeared on her screen, another teenager named Ky. Cassia and Ky find each other growing to love each other, but their romance is forbidden in the society, for Ky is an out cast. How far will Cassia go to be with Ky? The plot line goes through the conflict of love versus the rules of The Society.

Review:
The plot of Matched was exhilarating and fresh. There were new ideas introduced along with new conflicts. What if everyone had a match? What would it be like to be in a forbidden romance? This book brings Cassia and The Society alive. Exploring the life of Cassia in an overpowering society keeps the plot from being monotonous. Comparing the culture in the book to the United States is one of the most interesting thoughts stimulated by after reading this futuristic novel. It offers a three book series (Crossed and Reached) on romance, adventure, and new ideas of societies after the United States.

Although Matched offers many themes of many genres to appeal to many readers, it is often is reported that it has the same theme as The Giver. Unlike The Giver because it has intertwined romance into an over controlling society and has a different outcome. The whole series of Matched follows Cassia and Ky, what they will do to reunite themselves, and the slow overturn of the society. The Giver clearly does not follow a romance as much as Matched and has no definite ending compared to Matched.

Works Cited:
Provided: Matched Front Cover
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Provided: Matched Bubble Image
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Provided: Back Cover of Matched
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