Review: Matched
My rating: [rating=3]
To be honest, I’m not sure how to rate this book, so I gave it an average mark. Let’s say, 2.5 to 3 stars.
I kept on putting it down, then taking it again to go on reading. Regularly, I felt like I was getting bored with the story, yet I still felt like I wanted to see it unwind. I think this was due to the characters, with whom I didn’t really feel a connection. I liked discovering what happened to them (even though it was predictable enough, in a way), and they had their good sides, but they just felt a little too dull to me. Neither good nor bad, neither very interesting nor utterly boring. Some of their reactions were a little ill-timed—among other things, Cassia paying attention to Ky just because of that one glitch seemed just a little too convenient to keep my suspension of disbelief totally intact; it would’ve been different had we been introduced to Ky a little earlier on, perhaps, and had we seen the heroine already paying some attention to him as a friend (as it is, he appeared as an almost complete stranger at first, when he was actually someone she had had contact with more than just once, if only at school or games).
Other sides of the novel also left me with mixed feelings. The Society depicted in it was both detailed and not detailed enough, with certain of its aspects coming in as unexpected—unexpected as in “wait, where did that come from?”. For instance, we are told about a war, and all of sudden it’s like some people seemed to knew all along and aren’t surprised at all; only after a while, it’s also like they don’t care anymore, or have forgotten about it. Was Cassia surprised by such news, or not? I couldn’t determine. I sure would’ve liked this element to be introduced sooner for the reader’s benefit.
And yet, I kept coming back to the book, wanting to read more. So I can’t say I disliked it. I just don’t know where to stand regarding it.
Maybe I’ll read the second installment. Maybe not. Even this I don’t know yet. It’s quite weird.
FILED UNDER : Books
TAG : ally condie, dystopia, matched, romance, young adult
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Comments
Fred Charles
Yzabel! I saw your comment at my blog. How have you been? It’s been a very long time. I don’t blog much anymore, but I am very busy writing. I just completed a novel and I’m working on another. I plan to start blogging again soon, once my book is edited and ready to go. I’ll have to add you to my blog roll.
How have you been?
Yzabel
Hello Fred! 🙂 It’s been a very long, time indeed. I came back to my own blog a few weeks ago only, so many things had kept me busy as well before that (and probably will again in the future). I go on writing, too, only at a slow pace, between my job and studying on the side.
What’s your novel about? Have you submitted it to a publishing house, or are you going the self-publishing road? (I’ve been in contact with a few self-published authors lately, it does seem an interesting road too.)
Fred Charles
The book that I wrote is a satire about technology and the media. It’s slightly into the future, but I wouldn’t call it a science fiction. I finished that in February and I started a sequel the other day.
I’m really thinking hard about going the self-publishing route. I’m probably going to give it away for free though as a way of generating interest. Things have changed so much with self-publishing and ebooks, that the idea of having full control of my work is very appealing.
So what have you been writing about?
I found a fan page on Facebook with you name. Is that you? Are you an artist? You can friend me on Facebook if you have an account.
Yzabel
I’ll definitely have to keep an eye on this, then. 🙂
I agree, the idea of having such control over your own work sounds appealing. Also, maybe it’s more widely accepted in some countries? In France, we still have such an elitist culture that ‘self-publishing’ tends to destroy one’s chances at finding a traditional publisher later on… 🙁 On the other hand, since I do write stories in English, I’m not sure if I should worry so much about that?)
I’ve been working on a few stories, but only on and off. I’ve spent the past few years going back to college, then taking a national competitive exam to become a secondary school teacher. Then I had to settle down in my new career. Then I came back for more by taking yet another competitive exam this year (still waiting on the results) to be allowed to teach closer to college level. I haven’t given up on writing, I still take part in NaNoWriMo, but let’s be honest, I haven’t completed much more than a couple of short stories so far. I do have two stories about 2/3 completed: “Was” (in English) and “Our Darker Purpose” (in French, I’m just keeping the English title because I clearly snagged it from Shakespeare’s “King Lear”). “Was” is the one for which I’m slowly considering the self-publishing road.
And yep, that FB page is mine. It’s only a page, though, I’m not using my real account/name to post on it. (Yzabel Ginsberg is my pen name for fiction stories. I’m keeping my real name for official research papers, in case I decide to attempt on a Ph. D in a few years.)
Fred Charles
Sounds like you’ve been keeping busy! I saw the post that you just put up about the stuff that you’ve been working on.
I actually took a break from writing for about 2 years. I totally lost my passion for it. It happened as soon as I finished my first book and realized that it was an unpublishable mess.
I started up again and managed to write a whole book in 6 months as opposed to the first book,which took over 4 years, lol.
Fred Charles is my pen name. Here is my page…
https://www.facebook.com/TheFredCharles
Yzabel
Ah, I know the feeling. Years ago, I was struck with a smiliar loss of passion for writing (and drawing as well). It’s gone better since then, mostly, I think, because I took a deep breath and decided that I would only write for pleasure, not with imposing to myself the pressure of “must be published must must must be published aaaargh”. (So yes, I haven’t completed much since then, but at least I find pleasre in the little I write, which satisfies me. :))
I’ll have to add your FB page to mine. When I find how to Like a Page with another Page. (At the worst, I’ll do that with my RL name, but for now I’m still trying to keep both names separated… I don’t want my pupils to stumble upon my writing page just like that. :|)
Fred Charles
I had the same exact experience! I was very caught up with being published and I finally just got sick of the whole idea of writing and publishing that I just had to distance myself from it.
I only came back to writing because I kept having that nagging feeling that I had to start writing. I have to say, I enjoy it much more now.
Yzabel
That’s the really important thing with writing, in my opinion: enjoying it. If it ends up feeling like a chore, it’s no better than a desktop job… and then it’s sad.