Questions



So reading this book I have a lot of questions that don't get answered and it kinda of annoys me, I like answers. First what happened to naming your country, the "Society" is not the best name. Second I assume the society in the book used to be like ours, modern day. Now everything is scheduled, organized, and basically there is a very thin line between right and wrong. So the question is why does everything have to be controlled? What form of government do they have? Also what is the purpose of the one hundreds list? The one hundreds list is a list of one hundred songs, or books, or films basically anything. They thought there world was too cluttered so they destroyed everything except for the "one hundred best" of each movie, songs, paintings, etc.

Characters



Cassia never breaks the rules. She is always on time to work, free time, the air train, dinner, and curfew. Cassia is polite, nice, and positive to other characters. Even though she is very shy, she is reasonable and intelligent. The maturity level for Cassia in my opinion is very high for her age however she does not try to act "too cool" for everything. Whenever the reader hears about other characters they all sound the same, intelligent, logical, reasonable, almost lacking a personality, except for one. Ky (which is a character i can't reveal too much) about has a unique way of think and eventually teaches Cassia how to write and other simple skills that are forbidden in the society. Everything is fine and dandy in the "society" until Cassia's Grandfather gives her a poem at the final banquet. The poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas in my opinion gives Cassia the rebellious spark. She start questioning everything in her society and wondering if it's right or not. Her new attitude toward everything propels the book in an interesting way creating conflict that didn't use to exist, rebellion.

Recommendations 

I dont like romantic books and when I started reading Matched thats what i thought it would be. However it is more like a book about a girl that is learning how messed up her society is and trying to change it. There are so many stupid rules and I just want to tell the characters that there life is controlled so much that it is creepy, but they don't realize it. I would recommend this book to people that like suspense because there is a cliff hanger at like the end of every chapter! Yes there is a little bit of romance but not so much that it makes you gag. Most of all I'm only on the fifth chapter and I'm already sucked into it. The plot is so interesting, entertaining and it isn't like any other book that I have read. I would rate this book so far about a 9 out of 10 because it is a little frustrating that you don't know what happened that made the society so controlled.

Reading Skills: Matched

When Cassia sees the face of another boy on the screen of her port it surprised me. I predict though that this boy is suppose to be her match because there was such a long delay for her at the banquet, the government must have made a mistake. There are some questions i have about the book though. Like why does the government fell the need to control everything? Or what occurred in the first place that led to all the drastic changes in society? What if the government puts you in a job that you don't like? Why do they decide when you die? These are all questions that i hope get answered in the book soon. I found a text to world connection as Cassia is on her way to second school. "Weed trees, my mother says. Still, she harbors a particular affinity for them because of the seeds, which are small and brown but cloaked in beauty, in these thin white tendrils of cotton" (Condie 28). The excerpt reminds me of Dandelions because they are weeds too and the seeds are brown with little white puffs of fluff around them. All of the government control reminds me of the Hunger Games, because in both societies the government is the deciding factor for everything and it is hard to overthrow it. A text to self connection I have is with Cassia. When ever i get home from a big social event my little siblings and my parents always want to know; did you have fun? Were there lots of people you knew there? Meet any knew friends? Oh did you talk to so and so? basically Im am kind of annoyed and overwhelmed by questions like Cassia.

I finished chapter two in Matched. The chapter begins with the reveal of Cassia's match. He turns out to be Xander which is very fortunate for both families. The rest of the chapter is uneventful and a little boring. As Xander and Cassia ride the air train home Cassia, contemplates how different her relationship. While i am reading her thoughts I notice how intelligent, understanding, and thoughtful she is but is almost lacking a personality beyond that. Her character almost reminds me of a robot, maybe from always strictly abiding by the rules. However Xander is the complete opposite. He has a sarcastic sense of humor and teases his friends a lot. I predict that Cassia wont want to marry her best friend and that will somehow be the root of the conflict. Or the conflict is a couple days after the Match Banquet, the government wont let the two marry because they've known each other all their lives and they cant get married because it goes against the rules? The video I have selected kind of summarizes the first three chapters if you are confused or interested.

I have started reading Matched by Ally Condie. It is about a seventeen year old girl who lives in a futuristic society where the government makes all most all of your decisions for you. They decide who you will marry, where you will work, what you will wear, and when you will die. The main character in my book, Cassia, does not see any problem with the way society is, just like all the other characters in the book. The day of her seventeenth birthday she attends her matching ceremony, a banquet everyone attends after they turned seventeen to see who the will marry. She rides with her best friend Xander who she has known since childhood. The match banquet is a huge event so everyone participating get dressed up for it. ''It is easy to identify those of us being Matched; not only are we younger than all of the others, but we also float along in beautiful dresses and tailored suits while our parents and older siblings walk around in plainclothes, a background against which we bloom" (Condie 9). When it is Cassia's turn to get matched no ones face appears on the screen. The chapter ends as a cliff hanger with the screen staying black.

"Catcher Gone Awry." Catcher Gone Awry. N.p., 6 July 2010. Web. 08 Sept. 2013.