"Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow." - Goodreads
Title: Matched
Series: Matched Trilogy
Author: Ally Condie
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Release Date: November 30th, 2010
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 366
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopian
Sub-Genre(s): Sci-Fi
Rating: ❤❤❤❤
Where to Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Matched is about a young girl named Cassia who is just 17 years old. Her world is set in a distant future, hundreds of years after the collapse of our own current world (a lot of natural destruction causes with man-made problems) where everything is based on statistics and probabilities with everyone in society. She has lived in the same place all her life and has lived next door to her best friend Xander since they were babies.

Cassia is super excited to be Matched, to have her partner for life picked out by what society believes is the best choice for her based on the data they have of her. But something goes wrong on the microcard she receives: it shows another face, a boy she knows; Ky. As time goes on, she starts to question the whole system and slowly begins to rebel. Her official notices this and things start to get complicated for her and her family. The question remains, what is Cassia willing to do for love?

I didn't fall in love with the book, but I did adore it to the point of thinking it's better than some books I've had to read. I think my issue was how the first few chapters started out. Once you get past the fifth chapter things start sailing a little more smooth. I do remember seeing this book on Amazon back in Early 2010 and thinking: "I love the synopses and I LOVE that book cover! I will have to own this book at some point..."

There is something compelling once I got to the very last 10 chapters of the story. Ally Condie did such an amazing job that I now want to read 'Crossed'. I do love how dedicated Cassia is and how she has that same passio as her father. It really felt good seeing such a connection of a father-daughter have. My favorite character of all was: the grandfather. He had such wit and spunk for being an 80 year old man! He was also very wise and caring too. You could see that in Cassia throughout the novel.

I would most certainly recommend this book to people who like a character that isn't afraid to take risks, even for love. Most likely a good read for those that need something different. I don't think anyone would like this if they compare it to other books of the same dystrophia genre, because there are things in it that I haven't seen in other books.

In conclusion, Matched was a great book. It left me wanting more once I got to those last few chapters and I want to know what happens to Cassia, Ky, Xander, and her entire family in the sequel.