Fiction for Teens

In a controlling dystopian society, the government dictates what your job will be, who you will marry and when you will die. For 17-year-old Cassia, it’s her chance to be ‘matched’ with her partner for life. He’s supposed to be the perfect match, but she begins to fall in love with someone else and begins to wonder whether her society would be better if people could decide for themselves…

I really like the dystopian setting of the story – it was very detailed and thought-provoking to think about what life would be like in a society with so much control. However, I struggled to really like the characters in the book – I didn’t understand why Cassia felt that she didn’t want to be with Xander, her ‘match’ and life-long best friend, but instead with someone else. That being said, as the book progresses, Cassia begins to think for herself more and rebel against the government ideas about how people should live their lives.

Matched sets the scene for the next book in the series, as the ending is left open for anything to happen. If you enjoyed books like Divergent , I think you will enjoy this book as it also has a female protagonist who is against the ideals of their oppressive dystopian society.