Matched – Ally Condie
Razorbill, Penguin, 2010
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This book was one of THE hypes around the time that I started blogging. I was desperate to read it. I hadn’t read any dystopian books yet, and the premise sounded so interesting, and then everyone seemed to talk about it so I couldn’t help but be curious right? It was on my wish list for over 2 years, until I finally got it from the library. As reviews started to stream in, the hype dampened and most bloggers I know expressed disappointment. But I was pedantic: surely they were mistaken – how could something so promising disappoint as much as they said?
Matched paints a picture of a world where the society decides everything: who people love, who they marry, the work they are fitted for, the number of children they receive, the perfect amount of food for your body type, and the moment you die. When Cassia turns seventeen, she meets her match on the match-banquet. Her match is supposed to be her perfect partner, but when she opens the microchip with information on her match she finds out that the society might have made a mistake. And Cassia finds herself falling in love with another boy, which leads her to doubt the world view she grew up with..
There has been a lot of criticism of this series: a hastily painted dystopian world with little to no depth, a plot that moves along in an agonizingly slow pace, a not-so-believable path of having Cassie fall in love with someone else, a love triangle that feels a little forced, flowery writing that grates and is often superfluous..
And while I agree with all of that in hindsight, I rather enjoyed my experience of reading Matched. Light, comfort reading it was to be sure. Not so much depth – I admit. Slow, yes, but I rather liked that for a change; no rushed plot that I felt excited about but moved too fast for me to keep up with. And while in retrospect the world building did look thin, I liked how Condie took her time in showing the society’s world to the reader. And after finishing, I found myself returning to Cassia’s world from time to time, not desperate to know more perhaps, but at least a little curious.
Crossed – Ally Condie
Razorbill, Penguin, 2011
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And then my hold for the next installment in the series came in at the library: Crossed. And I just couldn’t find the motivation to read it. Until I finally gave in because I needed a fast read that enabled me to forget my painful sprained ankle for a while. And it worked. Despite my hesitance, I did quickly fall into the story again, and continued reading right until the end with almost no interruptions.
But that is about all the positive I can say about Crossed, because strangely all the criticism that I was willing to ignore in the first installment annoyed me to no end in this second book. Oh my, how flowery the writing is. And oh my, how little happens. And why oh why did we have the triangle thrust upon us again? And why is Cassie so quick to judge Ky’s ideas and world view, because you know he might actually have a point having more experience in the situation they find themselves in? And with regards to the latter, why are female protagonists in YA sometimes portrayed as quick to judge, knowing she will be proven wrong by a wiser male love interests? Hmmm. Really, the story, the world building, the character development, it all suddenly seemed so very thin to me. Perhaps it was my mood, or perhaps this really is the weaker book in the series.
I won’t say much of anything about the plot because I wouldn’t be able to describe it without giving away everything about the first two books in the series (because yes, the second book’s plot is as thin as that). I will only tell you that Cassia hopes to escape society and to find the forbidden-love-interest in the outer provinces, where he is meant to function as a decoy-free-to-be-killed in the war between the society and the resistance. Oh, and the other side of the triangle plays a role too.
And yet, Crossed was another example of a book that I finished in one day. And it again left me pondering the story and characters – even after deciding that I didn’t like it very much – in the following days. I guess I will simply need to cave and read the third and last book in the series once it becomes available at the library..
You were tougher than me. I failed out of Crossed after the first chapter.
I think the fact that I persevered might have been due to the utter boredom of spending several weeks in a chair with your leg up because you’re not allowed to do ANYTHING. I became a reading machine for a while
I loved Matched, but I read it before Delirium and I think if I’d read Delirium first I might have found the issues with it. But I’m incredibly reluctant to read Crossed for the reasons you’ve summed up here, lack of plot, silly reasonings, and so forth. Condie’s books are easy reads, and yet you wonder if they really ought to be considering the subject matter.
I read Delirium before I read this one. The premises are rather similar, aren’t they? And yet I felt that both books had failings in the sense that they might have been.. more somehow?
That’s an interesting thought, whether or not books can be easy reads if they have what is in itself very heavy subject matter. Will have to give that some more thought.
I think these will be ones I’ll avoid by the sound of it ,I do remember lots of reviews like you at the time because I thought the covers were very eye catching ,all the best stu
The covers do have something appealing about them, I agree. However, I do find the slogans printed on them a little bit cliché. I don’t think this would be a book for you, Stu
I am so tired of love triangles! Any book or movie that uses it as a major plot point really needs to be terrific, in other ways, to hold my interest. Thanks for the honest review! I started Matched, and while it was an interesting premise, it didn’t really hold my interest.
http://eclecticbooksandmovies.blogspot.com/
I felt exactly as you did about both books!
I was happy to see your reviews as you seemed to enjoy the books but find them flawed as well. Most posts either seemed to concentrate on the flaws or the exciting bits and I felt sort of divided about them.
I tried Matched on audio, and there was like zero suspense or tension with the narrator’s voice, so I didn’t continue onward. It felt too loose for me to really enjoy it, and I didn’t go any further, even though my daughter loved it and requested that I get the second book in the series for her.
I hope your daughter enjoys/enjoyed Crossed more than I did. I can see how this might be too slow to work on audio, yes.
I have very similar thoughts to you. I really enjoyed Matched and becoming immersed in the world but was bored out of my mind by Crossed. I only managed to finish by skimming and I’m really unsure of if I will pick up the third book (would only get it through the library-certainly not spending money on it).
I’ll probably only read book 3 if I come across it in the library. The series has very little of the immediate “I need to read the next one!” feelings about it.
*laughs* I think I’m at the point with dystopian YA as I am with paranormal romance YA — ordinarily I would find it enjoyable and forgive many of its flaws, but because now there’s SO MUCH of it out there, I’m a little more critical. Hence why I’ve resisted a lot of the heavily hyped books in both of those genres (including this one).
Oooh, evil laugh Jenny
(at least I imagine it to be). I agree – dystopian is becoming the next paranormal YA and it has resulted in some weaker books. The sad thing is that the genre will probably be judged and known by those books and not by the genius that is o, say, Chaos Walking.
How many people do you know who have been involved in real life love triangles, after high school say, and not counting married people having affairs. I’m not sure I really believe in them. They’re a bit like serial killers, you tend to find many more of them in literature than you do in real life.
I did read Matched and enjoyed it, though I found all the faults you mention. I won’t be going any further with the trilogy.