The decision between Matched by Allie Condi and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie was a difficult task. The writing style of the second book by Alexie was fresh, entertaining, poignant and humorous. We laughed through our tears. It’s a must read for mature readers. However, for the broader range of readers we have in our school, we chose Matched to continue to the next round. Matched is set in the future, a dystopian society whose romantic life is predetermined by the government. All aspects of life are, in fact, decided by the government. While few of the science fictional ideas are fresh in Matched (mind numbing drugs are found in Huxley’s A Brave New World, written in 1931), we found ourselves wanting to read about the trials of a strong female protagonist. There is also a love triangle pulling us in enjoyable directions. We look forward to reading Crossed, its sequel to be released in November of 2011.
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