Being in the Know. . .

I love being part of the book world. I like knowing about great books that are coming out or getting to read an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) of one of the next big break through books before the book gets released.

Tangent: You should have seen KK, AMM, and me at the American Library Association Midwinter Conference in Boston last January. All the big publisher houses are there and they give out loads of ARCs. You wouldn't believe how many pre-published books we picked up. We shipped home 3 humongous boxes. I better stop here before I go into raptures.

So back to what I wanted to talk about. Matched by Allie Condie is one of these books that if you are in the know, then you will have heard that it is going to be one of the next big things. Apparently the film rights were snatched up well before the publication of the book. That's pretty surprising for a newish author who hasn't proven anything yet.


I finished reading Matched while my computer was out of commission. Summary below from School Library Journal.

Cassia Reyes is a model student, daughter, and citizen. How could she not be when the Society has everything planned and functioning perfectly? All of her needs are met: food, shelter, education, career training, and even her future husband are selected by officials who know what is best for each individual by studying statistical data and probable odds. She even knows when she will die, on her 80th birthday, just as the Society dictates. At her Match Banquet she is paired with Xander, her best friend and certainly her soul mate. But when a computer error shows her the face of Ky, an Aberration, instead of Xander, cracks begin to appear in the Society's facade of perfection. A series of events also shakes her dedication to Xander and puts her future in jeopardy.


Overall I liked the book and I do agree that teens (and adults) are going to eat it up. That being said I did feel the book was a little slow. In general, I don't like books that are not complete within themselves. Matched was very much a build-up to the sequel (due out next fall). However, in the last quarter of the book things really started to take off and Cassia's journey really began to get interesting to me. So my opinion of the book improved immensely.

Also, Cassia isn't as annoying or stupidly stubborn as some of the recent teen female character leads in certain books that shall remain nameless.