Matched (#1 Matched), Ally Condie

I have to say that I loved this book!  Matched had some semi-familiar themes, but I thought that Condie delivered them flawlessly.  To me it had the same sort of essence as the Giver did, but for an older audience. I've read several negative reviews about Matched, comparing it to other dystopian romances and saying how boring and uninspired it was.  I have to disagree.  Sure if you read a lot of dystopian romances you are going to see some recurrent themes, but that doesn't mean it's not worth reading.  

I thought that Condie was a great writer--her timing was spot-on and her writing style was fluid.  It was definitely a page turner, including love, tension, and just the right amount of fear to keep you interested.  It was also a coming of age tale, as the heroine Cassia, begins to grow and mature as a young woman and begins to realize that the perfect society she was born into may not be as perfect as she'd always thought.  I also loved how she showed the different aspects of the governments control  in such detail.  I found that aspect of the book fascinating.

To the naysayers, I may have to assume that dystopian romances just aren't their thing.  But as for myself, I enjoy dystopian writing immensely, and despite reading many other dystopian novels I still greatly enjoyed this one.  I am still waiting for the next book to be available at the library, but I'm anxiously looking forward to finding out what happens next.