A Matched Review

When Kathy at the Book Loft handed me this ARC I squealed. So very dignified. But I'd already seen bits about this book around the blogosphere and it was something I definitely wanted to read.

That can be dangerous. Authors can't always live up to our expectations, and I've been disappointed before.

Not this time.

Ally Condie is now right up there with my favorite authors Suzanne Collins and Maggie Stiefvater. She has created a chilling, dystopian world where the Society keeps everything perfect for people...as long as they toe the line.

In case you haven't heard about the book at all, here's the blurb from Amazon:
Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

The blurb makes it sound like this is just a love triangle, but it's so much more. Using language that is nearly as spare as the sterile environment of this future world, Condie pulled me in from page one. This is not an action-packed thriller, yet there is tension on every page, building so subtly with every chapter that you can't stop reading.

This is the first book in a planned trilogy (trilogies seem to be popular right now, don't they?), but the ending still manages to be satisfying and jaw dropping. My only warning: Wait until you have the time to read this book all at once because once you start, you will NOT want to put it down!