Matched by Allie Condie

Cassia Reyes is a seventeen year-old girl who lives in a world portrayed as the distant future. The lives of her and those around her are strictly controlled by an overpowering government-- who they love, where they work, and when they die are not within their power. When a citizen turns seventeen, they are required to take part in the “matching ceremony” that takes place as close to their birthday as the society allows. “Matching” is a process in which the authorities pair a boy and girl, and the pair must stay together for the rest of their lives. When it is Cassia’s turn, she is confident that she will be matched with her best friend, Xander Carrow, and when she finds her wish to be true, she is, at first, excited. However, when viewing her micro card, which is a card containing information about the cardholder’s match, a familiar face appears on the screen; Ky Markham, another friend of Cassia’s. She is confused because she was matched with Xander, and Ky is an aberration, someone who has done wrong or related to someone who has done wrong and cannot be matched with anyone. Cassia soon finds herself falling for Ky, although more for his story than the boy himself, as she wonders if “falling in love with someone's story is the same thing as falling in love with the person himself?” And she realizes that Ky may be falling for her as well, since when she asks him “What do you think your match would be like, if you were not an aberration,” and he replies “You, Cassia. You.” Cassia is forced with the impossible choice- to choose between Ky and Xander, between right and wrong, and between perfection and passion.

Like all good novels, author Ally Condie’s inspiration for Matched came from a couple of places. When she was asked about the origination of ideas for her novel she replied: “The real catalyst was a conversation I had with my husband about marriage in the fall of 2008. He posited the question: ‘What if someone wrote the perfect algorithm for lining people up, and the government used it to decide who you married, when you married, etc.?’” But she also claimed that her inspiration came from her own experiences with love and parenthood.

Follow Cassia as she prepares to make the decision of her life. Although she has encouragement from those around her, such has her grandpa who tells her that “It is one thing to make a choice and it is another thing to never have the chance,” she still feels uneasy about the choice ahead of her. Will she ever be able to choose between Ky and Xander, and if she is capable of making her choice, will it be the right one?

Author Ally Condie lives in Pleasant Grove, Utah, along with her husband, three sons, and one daughter. She has no pets. She is a very experienced young adult novelist, having written The Matched Trilogy (Matched, Crossed and and Reached), The Yearbook Trilogy (Yearbook, First Day, and Reunion) as well as Freshman for President and Being Sixteen. Ally Condie has won several awards throughout her career. She has received: the 2010 Whitney Award Winner for Best Youth Fiction, Speculative Amazon Best Books of the Month, December 2010 YALSA 2011 Quick Picks for the Reluctant Readers, YALSA 2011 Best Fiction for Young Readers, #1 Pick on the Winter 2010/2011 Kid's Indie, Next List Publishers Weekly's Best Children's Book of 2010 as well as being chosen as one of YALSA's 2011 Teen's Top Ten Authors.

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