This was an interesting counterpoint to the usual dystopia tales I've been reading in the Teen section lately. For one, the story itself is far more intellectual and less action-based - the heroine is faced with a lot of decision-based struggles, ethical quandaries, and the harsh reality that she is not living in a world that she thought she loved. The Society has come to a point where choice has mostly been removed, and as a result, people live to eighty (but no longer, having a 'final banquet' and passing thereafter), they are 'matched' with someone who is good for them mentally, emotionally, and genetically. Your job is decided upon your aptitude. Food is delivered perfectly tailored to your needs. Life is as it is predicted to be, and The Society is very good at prediction. So when the heroine is matched with a childhood friend, she is delighted. Until she reviews her portable record of the match, and sees a different face. A face she knows. And she begins to realize that everything about her perfect Society might not be right after all...

I found Matched a little boring. I liked the idea and the characters, but the events and plot could use some inprovement to make it less boring. I liked the way the author presented each character but she could tell you more about the character throughout the book. The plot was boring and could use something to spice it up.

The idea of being Matched seems really cool to me… Uhh… anyway, Cassia and Xander, who are best friends, go out to the Match Banquet on the same day. Unexpectedly [and probably expectedly for the readers], they’re Matched with each other. Yay! They’re both happy. Best friends becoming a couple. If they weren’t together, it probably would’ve made for a very different story, as in one involving jealousy and etc. but I’m straying away from this book haha. This story seemed really interesting the beginning. Cool futuristic ceremony which sets the background for the book and what happens when people get Matched. A seemingly very exciting process. So I enjoyed the first part. However, the story then began to slow down a lot. We would read about Cassia going back and forth between a limited number of places and it starts to become boring to read through. One would think that after being introduced to Ky, the boy whose face flashed in front of Cassia for an extremely quick moment, something more interesting would occur right? … Not really. Instead, all we get is Cassia doubting her Match every few pages and obsessing over him. “Is it Xander? So then why did Ky show up? … I’m going to forget about Ky because Xander is definitely my Match… oh, I wonder what Ky is doing…” Every time I wanted to pick up and finish it, I would stop after a chapter or less. I can’t connect with Cassia and how she’s feeling about the “mistake”. Maybe it’s just me .__. Or maybe because she can’t make up her mind about how to deal with everything. If you’re going to say you’re going to forget about someone, just do it! Otherwise, save your breath because I don’t think people enjoy going through such finicky and repetitive decisions. I guess it's okay for anyone interested in reading. If you want to read about a fictional future, there are better choices.

It's a little slower than something like the hunger games, but more relatable. The characters don't disappoint as the series continues.

This book is recommended for readers who enjoyed "The Hunger Games" or "The Divergent". The similarity of the novel is the controlled society. I enjoyed the book but didn't love it. I liked the characters and their personalities. The book is an easy read and for the most part a fast read. The book interested me enough to read the sequal "Crossed" I am almost finished reading it.

Matched was an amazing book!!!!!!!! If you liked The Hunger Games or Divergent, this book is totally for you!!!! When I got it, I wasn't so sure, but trust me everyone will love it!!!!!

I really enjoyed this book. Sure, the concept isn't the most original in the world with the government controlling everything from marriages to death to what they eat, and there is a love triangle like so many other YA novels these days, but little things like that don't matter to me. It's about the story and the characters, and this book had plenty of both to keep me turning the pages. Cassia isn't rebelling just to rebel, she's not ignoring that there will be consequences to both her and her family, she cares about people's feelings. I found her to be extremely relatable even though our lives couldn't be more different. More than once it felt like her thoughts were my own and she was doing what I hoped I'd be brave enough to do if I was in her situation.

I was drawn to this book by the gorgeous cover. The sheen of the dress and being trapped in a bubble creates a simple image, but because it’s placed in such a sparse background it really makes it pop. I read the synopsis and it was toted as a romance in a dystopian world and since I was still on my dystopian binge reading phase I decided to pick it up. The story really draws you in with the first few chapters that describes the Matching ceremony- which really acts like a rite of passage prom for these Society controlled teenagers. You get the extravagant dress, meal, and your date will be provided courtesy of match makers that will pair you with your perfect - for the purposes of breeding and lifetime pairing - match. That is unless you’re Cassia whose perfect match happens to be at the same Matching ceremony and happens to be her best friend Xander - so their courtship isn’t what would be considered normal from hereon. In the Society everything and everyone is carefully controlled and regulated. Honestly, they don’t eat, sleep or void their bowels, without the Society having a hand in it. They even require everyone to carry this nifty box of pills that are reminiscent of The Matrix’s red and blue pill, with an added green pill, which if you’ve seen The Matrix, you know these can’t be a good sign of what’s to come. The setting is pretty limited, and most of Cassia’s non working time is spent in a theatre or games hall in polite structured interactions with Xander. But it’s the forbidden moments in the forest with love interest number two: Ky, that really picks up the pace of the story. However, this supposed love triangle seemed to be pointed in a very specific direction. The romance is tepid at most, there’s nothing too intense or particularly passionate about it. It’s primarily about Cassia and Ky discovering each other’s interests (since Cassia and Xander know the other so well) which happens to involve a lot of forbidden poetry- so on the bright side it’s not insta-love. Cassia’s character is torn between doing what she’s been taught to do by society, and what she wants to do. She’s rigid in her performance in front of officials, but I really like her when she has a spark of rebellion in her eye. Xander is ultimately the good boy, the boy your parents would be proud to have you Matched to. He’ll care for you and provide for you, he’s polite in every which way but what I really love about him is that he’s fiercely loyal and will do anything to protect Cassia. Ky on the other hand is of course the bad boy, the seducer, the Society lets him live a marginal life, but he has a secret and this secret is what keeps him in line. He’s probably the most intriguing character because he’s shrouded in so much mystery and you keep reading because you want to know his story! The reveals involving Ky toward the end were perfect at bringing some closure to the big questions in the story but then it just fuels the question of, where do they go from here? As the story progresses the cracks in the Society are revealed until at the tip of the ice berg critical decisions are made that causes the Societies Officials to step in, which creates the most heart stopping parts of the story when Cassia’s entire world crumbles. Really for me what was worth the read was all the reveals and what was going on outside of the Society’s control that was far more interesting than the romances that we were supposed to be focusing on. All in all it was a quick read, and had some enjoyable moments if you don’t delve too deeply into thinking about it; there’s certain elements to how the society is run that really irks me for instance the whole they’re allowed to read but not write thing. It’s sequel Crossed is sitting on my to-be read pile, the ending of Matched really left the door wide open so I am curious as to how this will play out.

I read this in a matter of days. Could not put it down. Once I finished I ran out to our local Chapters and bought Crossed. Can't wait for the 3rd book to come out in the fall!

Three words: SO.FREAKING.AMAZING.! I have never read anything like this! At the start of the book it was hard to read after I got into it a bit, just because everyone is controlled by the Society and Officials and nobody really has an actual choice. Life is pretty much the same day to day, not a hair out of place. If it is, there is usually trouble to follow. When Cassia and Xander are Matched at the Match Banquet, I was so 'Team Xander', but by the time I finished the last page of the novel, HELLO, 'Team Ky' here! I love Xander but he's more like the child hood best friend, practically your brother, I think there's more sparks between Cassia and Ky than with Xander. I love how as the novel goes on, Cassia starts to come out of her shell more and more and starts to see things the way they really are. I got so emotionally into this book, especially in certain parts like when her grandpa dies and gives her that poem out of her compact that's not one of the 'hundred poems', or when Ky was being taken away from the neighborhood, omg, so heartbreaking! I HAVE to read Crossed book #2 ASAP! This novel does not disappoint...so go read it! :)