Matched

Allie Condie (author)

Razorbill, Penguin, UK: 2010

ISBN: 9780141333052

Genres: adventure, science fiction

Issues: choices, freedom, identity

On her 17th birthday Cassia's Match is selected for her by the Officials of her Society – the apparently benevolent government which makes all such choices, as well as how much and what people eat, wear, their careers, who they marry and how many children they have.

The Officials decide everything. Cassia has never questioned this. After all, she and those around her live safe, fulfilling lives uncomplicated by the mistakes of the previous society. She listens to the Hundred Songs that remain, studies the Hundred Artworks and reads the Hundred Poems. So when her Match turns out to be a boy she's known all her life, Cassia's delighted. Until she starts falling in love with someone else and discovers that she wants to make some choices of her own.

Matched explores the darker side of a dystopian future where people have submitted to a paternalistic government in the belief that 'father knows best'. While not an original idea, Condie brings a freshness to the theme. Condie's Society rose out of a need to conserve resources; there is the suggestion that the Officials originally meant well – and many still do – but that have become too convinced of their right to control the lives of others. They have too much faith in their observations, data and statistics. As Matched is the first in a trilogy, it seems likely that Condie intends to expose the many small steps away from principle that lead to corruption of power and the devaluing of human lives. 

While this may be her first published novel, Condie has been writing seriously for eight years and this polished, disquieting narrative shows that her apprenticeship was well served. Her characters are varied and complex – real people that attract reader loyalties; the context in which they move is strongly realised and disturbingly believable; the story arc is exciting as well as thought-provoking, making for an interesting read.

Books that explore similar ideas: The Giver; Gathering Blue; Messenger (Lois Lowry trilogy); 1984 (George Orwell); The Hunger Games trilogy (Suzanne Collins); Shades of Grey (Jasper Fforde)