Matched Trilogy Box Set: Matched/Crossed/Reached

Hearing great reviews about these books from friends I was highly encouraged to read this series. Loving the whole dystopian genre, I plunged straight into the idea of having your life controlled for you from birth. The Matched trilogy focuses on the main character of Cassia who lives in a "perfect" world where everything is decided by the Society. Even when she reaches the age to be matched, the many factorials are carefully sorted for optimal results. When a glitch in the seemingly perfect system appears, it leaves Cassia to wonder if the Society really is all it has been built up to be. She meets Ky, an outcast aberration, whom she has confusing and romantic feelings for, even though she has been matched with her childhood best friend, Xander. She soon decides she wants to make her own choices for what she can and can't do. Being a novel focused mainly on romance I was skeptical at first but I was assured by friends that there was the subtle undertone of the love triangle. I'm not afraid of romance type books but this one really pushed it a bit far for me. The character of Cassia seemed to really get on my nerves after a while and it seemed that every other thing she did in the story line was predictable after the first book. The ending of 'Reached' for me was not really adequate for me and I would have liked something a bit more substantial. HOWEVER, it may seem as if I'm slandering off this series but don't fret. I do have good things to say about this trilogy. The idea was played very well in these novels and the world building was spectacular and really reflects Ally Condie's writing style which is really good. Overall this serious was really good but definitely overplayed the romantic vibes, but perhaps that's just me being a guy.

Condie writes in a way that draws the reader in, her characters are relatable and the Society she has created is something that can be understood but not liked. Cassia, Ky and Xander are wonderful characters with a depth that develops throughout the trilogy.The Matched Trilogy is full of twists that keep you on your toes, you have to keep thinking and wondering what might happen next.She builds tension well and you can feel the strain Cassia feels at times. You can also feel the love she has for her friends and family and the disdain she begins to feel towards the Officials.I also love how Condie was able to tie in the beautiful poetry from Dylan Thomas and other wonderful poets.It was a story I just couldn't put down.Reading Matched I struggled to have any feelings for Xander but as his character develops through the books I was able to sympathise with how he felt. All of Condie's characters develop well through this trilogy. Some of this trilogy seemed somewhat slow paced but that was easily made up in the faster paced, tension fuelled scenes.Condie's writing flows well throughout the books, it has a very poetic feel to it, I found this series gripping and exciting.I love her design of this dystopian future. We don't know what happened to the world to create this Society but that doesn't matter. The people in the Society aren't outright oppressed or in danger, they honestly don't know any better, but as readers we know that it is not as perfect a world as the Society would have its citizens believe. We can see that Condie's Society is not one of progression it is stagnant and unmoving; as though the Officials are scared of development and change. Humanity cannot live this long without creativity or change. of this review at: bekahcat(dot)wordpress(dot)com Read more

DNF. Really didn't enjoy the series. The books just did not grip my attention as a reader.

A well-written, enjoyable read....but!I didn't buy into it. There was nothing likeable about the main characters and I certainly didn't invest in the love story. I was rooting for Xander until the end. Ky, the supposed hero to Cassia's heroine was useless and boring. I didn't care enough about the characters who died either.Crossed was my least favourite, there was a definite lagging. The decisions made by characters were silly and got annoying and boring.I've read all the usual suspects of YA dystopian fiction and have to say this was my least favourite. Had I not bought all 3 at once, I may never have bothered reading Crossed or Reached after finishing Matched.I stuck with it to the end, hoping there'd be a twist or something to engage me but the last few chapters of the final book were predictable and so "happily ever after..." that I skimmed over it. Leaving Ky 'still' would have made for a much more interesting read, and something for the reader to actually become emotionally involved in. In the end the dead-weight and burden on everyone's shoulders was cured thanks to the real hero of the story - Xander.

El box de los libros llegó un poco maltratada

If you liked Hunger Games, you'll probably like Matched! The trilogy is set in a futuristic world completely controlled by the Society; your life partner through the number of hours of exercises to do in a day, the meals you eat ........ EVERYTHING is controlled and planned to be as close as possible to a perfect society ... Until one day, an'' error'' occurs and change the live of Cassia, the heroine of the novel.So, questioning, rebellion, love triangle, choice and definitely a lot of actions create, in my opinion, this awesome trilogy. A must read!* * * * *Si vous avez aimé Hunger Games, vous aimerez probablement Matched! La trilogie se situe dans un monde futuriste entièrement contrôlé par la Société; de votre partenaire de vie en passant par le nombre d'heures d’exercices à faire dans une journée, au repas que vous mangez........ TOUT est contrôlé et planifié afin d'être le plus près possible d'une société parfaite...Jusqu'au jour où, une ''erreur'' se produit et change la vie de Cassia, l'héroïne du roman.Du coup, remises en question, rébellion, triangle amoureux, choix et définitivement beaucoup d'actions font, selon moi, une excellente trilogie. À lire!

Book 1:I would like to start by congratulating Ally Condie in doing such an amazing job with this book. I think that it was very well written and I can see why Disney has purchased the rights for the film adaptation. Even though at the moment, the majority of the books I am reading are in the YA category and these are indeed the ones I most enjoy reading, I have noticed that YA novels (especially from the dystopian genre as this one is) are not as poetically elaborated as books like "Warm Bodies" and this one were.I actually finished it in one sitting. The events in the story unfold at a very quick pace, which I love in a book because it keeps me entertained and fully engaged.Although many people have described this novel as being very original, I kind of found it to be very similar to "Farenheight 451"! I was actually very intrigued about the death process for the elderly in this society, which reminded me somewhat about the culture of the Eskimos. After you finish reading this novel, you can check a little reference of this and get a sense of what I am talking about: [...]..The story is set within a dystopian world in which your choice about everything has been taken away from you. Even in matters of the heart you must marry whom the society has chosen for you, hence the name of the novel, "Matched". The female protagonist (Cassia) is matched with two individuals though, and she must decide which path to take. The only thing I am going to say about this is that the love triangle in this story is complicated even for me as a reader. I think it is the first time I experience my soul being played tug of war with. I felt like my heart was being torn in two as I read about each of the male characters, because they were both so freaking awesome that by the end of the book I was just resigned to the two of them. So Cassia, do all of us a favor and just marry both please!I give it five stars and I would definitely recommend this book to all YA and dystopian novel lovers!Book 2:Well done Ally Condie! This second installment was even better than the first! There was a more profound description of the characters and of the world itself, with the introduction of new concepts like the "reclassification".I loved the new way in which the story was narrated, now not only by Cassia, but from Ky's perspective as well.And I must clarify that although I love Ky, I am Team Xander!Book 3:Oh my goodness! Reached was amazing! All I am going to say about the ending is that it is a happy one! Although I wish she would have ended with the boy I loved! Oh well, at least she was consistent.There was so much poetry in this novel, that I had a hard time choosing which phrase I loved the most, but in the end I am going to stay with: "Anna embraces them both, and for a moment they are a little family, three generations, connected not by blood but by journeys and farewells". The reason why I loved this phrase so much is because I completely agree with the fact that many times there will be people in our lives that are more dear, special and important in to us than our family simply because of all the experiences that we may share with them.One thing I did not like about this book though, were the kisses between the characters and others that were not their true loves. I felt that there was a lot of cheating and although in a sense this is a realistic portrayal of teenage love experiences since it is a time in which they are still adventuring and discovering themselves sexually and romantically, it was not realistic in the portrayal of the reactions of the characters that were cheated on. I mean puh-lease! Who can say that in their teenage years or in any other stage of their lives were cheated on and then reacted with understanding instead of anger or jealousy! Bull-#$%^!Either way, this was my favorite novel! Ally Condie made me fall in love with both male protagonists in such a way that every time I felt like I was leaning more toward any one of them, she would make the other one do or say something that would make me empathize with him! So yes, my heart was ripped in two by both Xander and Ky. In the end though, Xander won the battle! <3Also, there were many things that I was able to predict from the beginning of the Trilogy. Like for example, Matched at least to me, was very similar to the Hunger Games in the sense that both sides of the war seemed to be using the characters. I also seemed to have a feeling that her grandfather and her (Cassia), had more to do with the rising and the matching of her with two boys than they realized. But for this you will have to read the book because I will not give it away!Once again I must say that I truly cannot wait to see this trilogy on screen! I think it will play out beautifully!

Very interesting books. Kid loves them.

pour ceux qui aiment les films catastrophes parlant d'une contamination. J'ai été déçue par ce livre, car je m'attendais plus à une histoire d'amour, et en fait, bien que l'idée de départ soit séduisante - une société qi contrôle tout, vous évalue constamment, vous choisit votre travail et votre partenaire- cela tourne vite à une histoire de contamination. Le rythme est lent. Ca parle peu d'amour finalement - des ados qui s'aiment alors qu'ils se voient une fois tous les 6 mois, bof...J'ai trouvé ça très très longuet. J'ai regretté d'avoir acheté la trilogie. Ca pourrait tenir largement en 1 seul livre.