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My Rating: 4 stars

In Cassia’s world, Society rules all. Society tells you where you live, what job you will have, what food you will eat, what you will wear, who you love, and even when you die. One has no opinion and no choices. Society does that for you.
For teenagers, the Matching ceremony is a big deal, because they get to discover whom they will be spending the rest of their lives with. Cassia always trusted Society’s choices. Why would they make mistakes? They were always right. Why would Society hurt her? She always obeyed the rules. When her best friend’s face appears on the Matching screen, she is certain he is the one…until she sees another face flash on the screen just before it goes black. Now, she must choose: Xander or Ky, between the path she’s familiar with or journey into the unknown.
Matched reminded me a lot of Delirium by Lauren Oliver, which was a fantastic book. Matched was fabulous too, in its own way. I love books about futuristic societies, especially dystopian ones, where “Society” rules all. I love how all of these societies created in books seem so similar but are so unique and really different from another. Like Delirium, Matched focused a lot on what it is like to live without freedom, without the ability to say what we want, wear what we want, and make out own choices. Could you even imagine? It is really difficult for me to imagine not being able to choose who I would marry or what job I would want to have for the rest of my life. I thought Cassia was an interesting character. She was bold, and stood out from everyone else when they all blended together, just like Society wanted them to. Although she always followed Society’s rules, she seemed to question why everything was how it was, unlike her peers who just went along with it. I hoped throughout the novel that she would rebel, which she did, to my satisfaction. And societies like the one in Matched always have a dark and ominous side. They’re always keeping secrets from their people, and I can’t wait to see what else Cassia uncovers in the next book.