Matched

by Ally Condie

Reviewed by Zixin Lu

Fall 2016

REVIEW: Matched by Ally Condie

ISBN#: 9780142419779

THE STORY:

Cassia Maria Reyes starts out as an ordinary 17- year old girl living amidst the complex world of a future Society. She has lived her whole life trusting all the decisions that the Society and its Officials make for her. When her Match Banquet arrives and she is Matched with her best friend, Xander, she is not only overjoyed, but also feels her faith in the Society start to grow. This all comes crashing down when a twist of fate turns Cassia’s life upside down, and suddenly her life isn’t so normal anymore.

What was supposed to be a content life with her designated Match turns completely chaotic when the face of another boy, Ky Markham, appears on the screen right after Xander’s. At first, Cassia decides to ignore this suspicious occurrence, but curiosity gets the best of her and she starts to talk to Ky more and more. Ky, being from the Outer provinces, knows a lot more about life outside of the Society, and he teaches Cassia countless skills that she never would’ve imagined were possible. With her newfound awareness of a whole different world beyond the boundaries of their tight-knit Society, Cassia has to try harder and harder to keep this knowledge from the Officials, who will not hesitate to eliminate any disturbance to the Society’s uniform rules. Following this, events unfold, and Cassia starts to uncover more and more secrets that the Society has hidden from its people. She learns more about being an independant being, rather than relying on the choices of Society to lead her life. As Cassia dives deeper into this situation, she knows that she must choose between the safe restraints of Society and the dangerous freedom of an unfamiliar world. (289)

MY OPINION:

When I started to read Matched, I was drawn in by the story, and was intrigued by the complicated components of the Society that Cassia lived in. I loved how Ally Condie was able to fit words together like pieces of a puzzle, and craft beautifully meaningful sentences that have never failed to make me want to dig deeper into the story. The author used figurative language throughout the book as well, which helped me illustrate a better scenario Cassia’s life. Though the story may have been set in the future, it also targeted some of the issues that any person could face in their lifetime. I can certainly relate with struggling to choose between what is right, and what I really want to do, just like Cassia. The theme of the story may be a little common for dystopian novels, but I like how the author had personified the two sides of the conflict, and crafted them into two people that Cassia must choose between. The complexity of some parts of the story would probably make the book more appealing to students in middle school than children who might be too young to understand anything. Based on my opinion, I would give this book nine out of ten stars, and if I had the chance, I would definitely read it again. (222)

STUDY QUESTIONS AND VOCABULARY:

FIRST SECTION

1. What is the Match Banquet?

1a. The Match Banquet is a banquet where selected girls are able to see the face and hear the name of the boy she will spend the rest of her life with. (pg 4)

2. What happens when Cassia tries to read her given microcard?

2a. When Cassia originally opens up the file for her microcard, her Match’s face, Xander, appears, but the image flickers away and is quickly replaced by the face of another boy. (pg 35)

3. In the society, what happens on your eightieth birthday?

3a. Everyone has their Final Banquet on the day of their eightieth birthday, when they leave for their designated death.  (pg 69)

4. What does Grandfather give Cassia on the day of his Final Banquet?

4a. On the day of his Final Banquet, Grandfather gives Cassia two old poems that were never supposed to be in the hands of any of the people in the first place, as the society had only kept a few select poems and songs for the citizens. (pg 97)

5. Why were officials searching Cassia’s house?

5a. Officials immediately arrived to search Cassia’s house when they found out that her father had managed to lose Grandfather’s tissue sample, which was going to be used to bring him back to life in the future. (pg 108)

Reproach (pg 6)

Archaic (pg 18)

Dismal (pg 62)

Ludicrous (pg 90)

Eradicated (pg 114)

MIDDLE SECTION

6. What set Cassia “on edge” when she saw her father wearing his work clothes: the clothes of an Official?

6a. She thought that it was strange seeing people in different ways, especially her own father as an Official. She knows how important and demanding Officials are, and it is strange to think of her father like that. (pg 126)

7. What does Cassia’s dad confess when asked about the tissue sample?

7a. He said that he didn’t lose it, but had destroyed it instead. He insisted that he had done this because Grandfather had wanted to die “on his own terms” and didn’t want there to be a possibility of coming back from death. (pg 137)

8. What does Cassia realize, that makes her feel insecure about her own Match?

8a. Cassia overhears her parents’ conversation and finds out that her father had kept a secret from her mother, the truth about the tissue sample. Hearing this, she realizes that her parents’ seemingly perfect relationship, isn’t as perfect as she had thought, which causes her to question the success of her own Match. (pg 162)

9. What do the Officials do with everyone’s artifacts, and why?

9a. The Officials travel from house to house, collecting the artifacts from all the people because they thought that the possession of artifacts created inequality among the people. (pg 206)

10. What causes Cassia to want to fight against society and its system?

10a. As Cassia starts to fall in love with Ky, who is not her match, her senses are awoken and she begins to care less about the norms and rules of the Society. (pg 241)

Implement (pg 126)

Impulsively  (pg 142)

Inclement (pg 162)

Insubordination (pg 216)

Primitive (pg 228)

LAST SECTION

11. When does Cassia slowly start to realize the true colors of the Society?

11a. When Cassia starts becoming closer to Ky and an Official decides to confront her about it, she finally starts to see just how manipulative the Society is, as she notices the little tricks and cover-ups that began to seem more and more obvious. (pg 247-249)

12. What could the sawing of the maple trees symbolize?

12a. The sawing of the maple trees that weren't growing uniformly could possibly symbolize how easy it would be for the Society to knock someone down if they tried to revolt against their expectations. When Cassia says, “Tearing up the roots will be the hard part” though, it could symbolize the determination of people like Cassia, and that they will not back down without a fight. (pg 253)

13. While she is at the Department of Nutrition, what does Cassia learn about the Society’s rules and actions?

13a. As Cassia is being tested on her sorting and being fed information about the Department, Cassia starts to connect all the dots and realizes that this society, one that prides itself on removing intentional death, has been poisoning the food of all the elderly people during their Final Banquet when they are expected to pass away. (pg 285)

14. What has Cassia’s want for Ky grown and developed into?

14a. Wanting to be with Ky, a life against all of the Society’s rules, made Cassia want a whole new life of freedom, where she can eat what she wants, do what she wants, and be with who she wants. (pg 300)

15. When the Officials are taking Ky away, why does Cassia gesture to the sky?

15a. In circumstances before, Ky and Cassia have discussed the sky and its limitless boundaries, and when she points at the sky, it is to tell him that she will always “fly his name” no matter what, and she will soar like the angels and eventually find him. (pg 320)

Placated (pg 249)

Altruistic (pg 268)

Reverent (pg 273)

Lethargic (pg 329)

Distills (pg 344)