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Matched Audiobook
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(3.00) - 166,804 listener ratings
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Plot Summary
Matched is an emotionally resonant book about a dystopian future in which everything that people do is controlled by the government. The society portrayed so vividly in Matched is a lot like the one in Orwell's 1984 where Big Brother is constantly watching you. In Matched, the government is not given a name like Big Brother but its representatives seem to be around every corner, watching people and making sure that they behave in the right way. Everything that people do is controlled, from what they eat and what they wear to who they marry.
The story centers around young Cassia who has been scheduled to marry a boy named Xander who is also her best friend, but Cassia starts developing feelings for Ky, someone who is not a respected member of society because of an infraction committed by his father. Ky is called an aberration and he's not allowed to marry. He can only take up very low level jobs whereas Cassia has been qualified to get a very high level job. Although the story is about Cassia deciding who she would rather be with—Xander or Ky—it's also a story about the restrictiveness of this dystopian society and a rebellion brewing in the background.
There are hints that in places referred to as the outer provinces, there is a war going on but this information has been kept from people who live civilized lives in the city. Although these civilized lives are safe, they're also very restrictive. Most of the books and artworks that exist now have been destroyed, with society decreeing that only 100 of each shall be saved. So there are only 100 poems, 100 movies etc. For entertainment, people must turn to one of these even though they've already read them or seen them before.
Cassia and Ky get caught up in a discovery of poems that are not part of the 100. They're committing a crime by not immediately handing these poems to the government officials but it's so exciting and moving to find something new that they can't help themselves. Plus, Ky starts teaching Cassia to write by hand, something that no one in the society knows how to do. Eventually, Cassia, who has a bright future ahead of her in this society, must make a choice between the safe future that has been chosen for her and disobeying society's laws by choosing Ky.
Ally Condie, author of Matched, has written a trilogy consisting of Matched, Crossed and Reached. The rights for Matched have been optioned to the Walt Disney Company, after a bidding war with Paramount. Allie Condie went to Brigham Young University and currently lives outside of Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband and four children. She used to be an English teacher and still maintains her license, just in case.
Download a copy of Matched today from Audio Bookstore and join Cassia in her journey of self-discovery in this restricted dystopian future.
"I thought Matched was an amazing Utopian type of book, plus the romances were just so amazing also. I think this is one of the best Utopian society type of book I have read so far. Can't wait to read the rest of the series."
— Marilyn (5 out of 5 stars)
Publisher Summary
“[A] superb dystopian romance.” – The Wall Street Journal “Strong feminist ideals and impressive writing that’s bound to captivate.” – The Los Angeles Times In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die. Cassia has always trusted the Society’s choices. And when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, she is certain he’s the one—until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now she is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s ever known and a path no has dared to follow . . . between perfection and the truth. Look for the sequel, CROSSED, and the epic series finale, REACHED!
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Quotes
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“This futuristic fable of love and free will asks: Can there be freedom without choice? The tale of Cassia’s journey from acceptance to rebellion will draw you in and leave you wanting more.”
— Cassandra Clare, New York Times bestselling author of the Mortal Instruments series -
“Matched is a page-turning, dystopian love story, written with the soul of a poet. Finally, a brave new world that readers from Twilight to The Hunger Games will claim as their own.”
— Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, New York Times bestselling authors of Beautiful Creatures -
“I can’t stop thinking about Matched. It’s impossible to put down this enthralling romance, set in a chilling world where every choice is predicted and even love is controlled. I need to know what happens next. More please!”
— Carrie Ryan, New York Times bestselling author -
“Condie’s enthralling and twisty dystopian plot is well served by her intriguing characters and fine writing.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Deftly explor[es] the individual cost of societal perfection and the sacrifices inherent in freedom of choice.”
— Booklist -
“Absolutely riveting! Matched is a must-read.”
— Melissa Marr, New York Times bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series -
“At once evocative of Lois Lowry’s The Giver, George Orwell’s 1984, and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World…Supporting characters like Cassia’s parents and her grandfather add depth to the story…Fans of The Giver will devour this book and impatiently demand the next installment.”
— School Library Journal
Awards
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An Amazon Best Book of the Month, December 2010
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A New York Times bestseller
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A 2010 Publishers Weekly Best Book: Children's Fiction
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A USA Today bestseller
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Selected for the Winter 2011 Kids' Indie Next List: Teens
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A 2013 Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee
Matched Listener Reviews
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" I read about 1/4 of this book. I just didn't like it. The story moves so slowly and didn't interest me much. Normally when I have a book I read as often as I can. With Matched it just say in my end table untouched for a few days. I realized I just didn't want to waste my time reading a book that I wasn't enjoying. The idea for the book was great but it just wasn't as good as I expected it to be. "
— Ashley, 2/18/2014 -
" Again, this was probably more a 3.5 than a 3. I have read quite a few novels/series in this genre and although this was well-written and well-paced and I largely enjoyed the characters it just didn't hit my "reading enjoyment" spot. I will definitely read more of the series but it wasn't in mu top ten for the year. "
— Marion, 2/12/2014 -
" this book was disappointing, the storyline was okay, and a little confusing. i thought there would be a lot more romance to it, nd the character development was okay. they seemed pretty distance and all. ehhhh idk, it was okay, it cld of been better. i wld say it didn't get intriguing and better until the very end when Ky left and when she decided to go look for him. ugh idk, ill read the 2nd book, but i doubt it wld b any better. "
— ♥Kelsi♫, 2/11/2014 -
" Like it. Got it into quickly! Fun read! "
— Kari, 2/1/2014 -
" It is so amazing I think it should be a movie , but I don't think I like Ky "
— Neeli, 1/15/2014 -
" this book would be a 5 star bookn If it was a little more fast pased "
— Shumaila, 1/12/2014 -
" I think the author is developing her writing skills, because the way this book was written was quite easy and not matured. "
— Dori, 12/22/2013 -
" This reminded me quite a bit of Uglies mixed with The Giver and 1984. It didn't have a whole lot of unique story line, but I have to say I liked it slightly more than Uglies. "
— Jen, 12/11/2013 -
" A little slow at first but a quick read nonetheless "
— Nicole, 12/10/2013 -
" It stared off alright.................... for like the first three pages then, I don't know what happened. "
— Anne, 12/5/2013 -
" Kind of boring, and enough with the love triangles already! I know dystopian books are all the rage right now, but I don't think I need to read them anymore. "
— Crystal, 12/1/2013 -
" Solid 3. I was really excited about this one before i started, but then it didnt really go anywhere. A bit disappointed. "
— Joanne, 11/17/2013 -
" fascinating premise, compelling story, fast read. not as much character development as I would have liked, but I enjoyed it. "
— Amy, 10/28/2013 -
" Engaging, a real page-turner, but i think there's too much beating around the bush "
— Christine, 10/21/2013 -
" The 1st one was the best and the 2nd was a complete bore. 3rd was ok. Interesting idea, could this really happen? Scary to think it could. "
— Shoonieb, 3/21/2013 -
" I really liked the book. I couldn't help but think of The Hunger Games while I read it (just because its the only other book I have read similar to this). I highly recommend it. Quick read, took me 2 days. "
— Jenna, 1/28/2013 -
" The book started out slowly, but you slowly got sucked in and more interested in the plot. Not as fast-paced as Hunger Games, but a similar story line. Can't wait to read the next in the series! "
— Kelsey, 1/5/2013 -
" This entire trilogy was so good! I especially loved the first one! Almost all trilogies have the best one first(but the other two were as amazing as the first!). "
— Maxx, 12/26/2012 -
" Couldn't do this one. I wanted to like it! Especially since I picked it up straight after finishing the 'Uglies' series and I was excited to get into another Dystopian world. This was just not at all what I was hoping for. It was so dull... And tried to care but I just didn't. "
— PaperHeart, 6/20/2012 -
" Annoyingly too like the hunger games for me. "
— Laura, 2/28/2012 -
" One of the best books I've read! :) "
— Crimson~Insanity~(CrescentMoon), 1/28/2012 -
" I loved this book! It was definitely a suspenseful book. The entire time I tried to picture myself in her position. "
— Alyse, 10/3/2011 -
" I was so intrigued and interested at the beginning but lost it quickly with the silly mushiness. I'll still read the rest of the series to find out what happens "
— Diana, 9/22/2011 -
" i loved this book. Great book. Exceptional word usage, you really feel like you are there and experiencing the emotions of the characters. "
— Hannah, 7/11/2011 -
" Stunning and just wonderful. Nothing to say but just buy it and read it. "
— Taylor, 7/1/2011 -
" Quick read, well written, interesting premise and good characters, but there is an awful lot of internal agonizing on the part of the narrator and the story really starts to drag about two-thirds of the way through. Wakes up again at the end, with an obvious hook for the next book. "
— Dana, 6/29/2011 -
" still waiting for the 2nd book.. :) "
— Anne, 6/29/2011 -
" This book is somewhere between AWESOME and FANTASTIC. fans of hunger games will devour this book! Set in a society where officials decide everything about your life, this book had me hooked completely!!! "
— Jamie, 6/29/2011 -
" It's a really cool idea for a book. I thought it was going to be a lot better. It spent the whole time building up for something that could have been awesome, but by the last chapter it was still building... and then it ended. What a disapointment "
— Jessica, 6/28/2011 -
" I really enjoyed this book. Add a young love triangle to 1984 and you get matched. <br/> "
— Lisa, 6/28/2011 -
" Very boring. Dull characters. It got somewhat interesting at the end. I might read the next one. "
— Raquel, 6/28/2011 -
" So far it's great! I love it so much! Who will you be matched with? "
— Mia, 6/28/2011 -
" A less bloody verse of The Hunger Games "
— Kylee, 6/28/2011 -
" The Giver meets 1984 meets "blah." Couldn't bring myself to finish it. "
— Jennifer, 6/28/2011 -
" a really good read. not as good as the hunger games but i still want to read the rest of the series. "
— Alyssa, 6/27/2011
About Ally Condie
Ally Condie is the author of the Matched trilogy, a #1 New York Times and international bestseller. Matched was chosen as one of YALSA’s 2011 Teens’ Top Ten as well as one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2010. She is a former high school English teacher who lives with her family outside of Salt Lake City, Utah.
About Kate Simses
Kate Simses is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and a film and television actresss best known for her roles in Confessions of a Shopaholic, Puccini for Beginners, and What’s Your Number?