Review: Matched & Audiobook

Matched

by Ally Condie (Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter)

Series: Matched, #1

Published: November 30th, 2010 by Dutton Juvenille

Pages: 369 (Hardcover)

Genre: Dystopian

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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.

Have you ever started a book thinking it would be all that and a bag of chips? And then it was?! Well that’s how I felt about Matched… my second time around anyways. My first try was disastrous. I was bored, I couldn’t figure out how to pronounce Cassia’s name, and Xander with an “X” was irritating me. I actually gave it another go because of my mom. She asked me if the series was worth the time AND YES, Maja, it's SO WORTH IT! I was curious about the world, fell in love with the characters, was sucked into the love story… I just thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Let’s start with the negative – Matched has a ridiculously slow beginning, as in you would’ve got 5 stars but I almost stopped reading you twice so now you get 4. During the first couple of chapters we get some very basic information on The Society and about Cassia. It’s informative but also super dry. I hoped the novel would quickly pick up speed because I was hesitant of its premise - I wanted to know if this book would be about more than Cassia and a forbidden romance (more on this later!). Unfortunately, the first third or so was excruciatingly slow and I was seriously considering calling it quits again when I decided to check out the audiobook. Well, I ended up loving the story!

Condie really knows how to create a world full of intrigue and secrecy. At first I thought Matched was just a love story. But oh how I was wrong! It took a while to figure out where she was actually taking the novel, but I am so thrilled about how she used Cassia and Ky’s relationship to set up rebellion and conspiracy, as well as a means of uncovering the dark details of The Society. I was so excited (I’m still excited) about how much deeper Matched gets! Safe to say, I am now sufficiently addicted to the series and invested in what happens to everyone.

The character development in Matched is flawless. Cassia buys into everything The Society tells her and she honestly believes it has improved the way people now live. Her devotion to her family and to The Society’s rules is believable since it’s all she has ever known, but it takes falling in love with Ky for her to stop blindly following orders. I liked this; it showed Cassia growing out of her ignorance and naivety in a totally believable way.

There is a love triangle in Matched but I actually liked this one. It added to the character development and (obviously) got the plot moving. Xander is Cassia’s best friend and her match. He’s sweet and loving, fiercely loyal, and all around a great guy. But he just didn’t have that umph for me. Out of the three major characters, Xander fell a bit flat. Not like Ky. Ky, why must you be so mysterious and intelligent and sexy? Oh… to make me fall for you? Okay, I’m good with that. ;)

Matched is one of those books that takes a long time to finally get going, but once it starts, it flies by. The world Cassia lives in is ruled by statistics and probabilities. Everything is calculated and decided for you. You have no free will. Watching these characters break out from underneath that mindset in their own ways was a rewarding experience, and I can’t wait to finally start Crossed.

Rating: 4/5 stars
I would have liked to have been sucked into this book sooner, but the payoff was great. Buy a copy pronto (or better yet listen to the audiobook!) and don’t give up on it!

Matched

Narrated by Kate Simses

9 hours and 54 minutes | Unabridged 

Kate Simses does a spectacular job with this book! She really is an amazing storyteller. I got lost in her narration so easily, particularly because of her spot on voices. Cassia’s voice was cool and calculating, void of most emotion and matter-of-factual. But as the story unfolded, Cassia’s character changed into a more emotional and spirited girl, and so did Simses’ voice. :D She also added depth and dimension to the other characters as well: Bram sounded like a scared little boy; Cassia’s mother was strong but hesitant; Ky – restrained and measured; Em – emotional and full of life… it goes on! She gave Matched the life it needed to really suck me in, and I found myself digging around for my old CD player so I wasn't limited to listening in my car.

I absolutely loved the dramatic piece of background music that would play during a heartfelt or intense scene. I thought it added an extra bit of emotion and urgency to the situations in which it played. Honestly though, I didn’t listen to the last disk… I couldn’t stand having the last 40 pages be drawn out to a little less than hour, so I went to Barns and Nobles and sped through it. So if the last disk was AWESOME and had lots of sound effects, I have no idea.

Rating: 5/5 stars
I would highly recommend giving the audiobook a listen though, whether you’re reading Matched for the first time and especially if you’re re-reading it, you won’t be disappointed!

Have you read Matched and/or the rest of the series? If you have, did you enjoy it? If not, what’s keeping you from checking out a copy? I’d love to discuss! :)

- Alysson

Review: The Kill Order

The Kill Order

by James Dashner (Website | Facebook | Twitter)

Series: Maze Runner, #0.5 (Prequel)

Published: August 14th, 2012 by Delacorte BFYR

Pages: 327 (Hardcover)

Genre: Dystopian

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Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease.

Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next. Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there’s something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet, it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its knees.

Mark and Trina are convinced there’s a way to save those left living from descending into madness. And they’re determined to find it—if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some, you’re worth more dead than alive.

I really really liked the Maze Runner series so if you haven’t read it yet, you should. That being said I was understandably excited for The Kill Order. I did really like this book, but in a really different way than the other books in the series, which wasn’t something I expected. I’ll try to leave out as many spoilers from the Maze Runner trilogy as possible in this review, but there might be a couple.

First off this is a prequel to The Maze Runner so I feel like reading the trilogy first would make The Kill Order more enjoyable since there are some things in it that spoil parts of the trilogy. I might have just noticed them 'cause I was looking for them though. Although, I think Allie said she was going to read this one first and then the Maze Runner series and see how that is, so keep an eye out for that in the future!

The characters in The Kill Order did have depth and I did care about them, but only to a point. It might be that I’m really attached to the characters from the Trilogy, but the characters in this were a little flat. Also, I felt that the point of this book wasn't necessarily to tell its characters' story but rather to flush out the world of Maze Runner. I was about halfway through The Kill Order when I realized it seemed like I hardly knew any of the characters, I got over it by the end of the novel but it definitely took me a while to feel connected to the characters. I did like the way that the group dynamics worked because it felt real. Like I hate it when the interpersonal relations of a novel are like this: there are 7 characters and they're all "oh we're best friends every single one of us!" There's no depth in that.

The Kill Order is set 13 years before the events of The Maze Runner, right as the world goes crazy. I thought the world-building was awesome, and I love how a major portion of this book was about building on to the world that the characters from both The Kill Order and The Maze Runner live in. I really did feel like by the end of the novel I had learned a lot more about the fascinating world Dashner created, and how people adapted to it. Also, it gives a lot of background on some of the major players from the main trilogy - which I really appreciated because when I was reading them, I wanted to know more about why things were the way they were and how the world got to the way it was.

Overall I think that The Kill Order is better seen as a sort of companion novel to the Maze Runner trilogy since it provides a lot of details on the world and its politics. I still really enjoyed it and I think that if you've read The Maze Runner and need something to read for a rainy weekend that this is a great choice. On a side note: the back of this book is awesome, it’s just the words “ EXPOSURE INFECTION TRANSMISSION PANDEMIC EXTINCTION”  in bold font, which would definitely make me intrigued if I saw it in a store or library.

I'm giving this one two ratings: 
    - For a standalone novel - 3/5 stars: It was good but not breathtaking
    - As an extension of the main series - 4/5 stars: I loved world building and it provided lots of answers.

Review: Ruined

Ruined

By Paula Morris (Website | Blog | Twitter)
Series: Ruined, #1
Published: August 1st, 2009 by Point
Pages: 304 (Paperback)
Genre: Paranormal
Source: Purchased
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Rebecca couldn't feel more out of place in New Orleans. She's staying in a creepy house with her aunt, who reads tarot cards. And at the snooty prep school, a pack of filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she's invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey gives Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he's got a hidden agenda. Then one night, among the oak trees in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to show Rebecca the nooks and crannies of New Orleans.

There's just one catch - Lisette is a ghost. A ghost with a deep, dark secret, and a serious score to settle.

As Rebecca is drawn deeper into a web of old curses and cryptic customs, she also uncovers startling truths about her own history. Will Rebecca be able to right the wrongs of the past, or has everything been ruined beyond repair?

Morris has an enviable ability to produce a novel so rich in history and details and culture without making the reader overwhelmed. Usually paragraphs and paragraphs of descriptions are daunting for me. I just want to get back to the plot. But with Ruined that was not the case at all. Everything Paula Morris wrote was relevant to the story and to Rebecca's growth as a character. I got lost with the ornate descriptions of historic mansions, debutante gowns and Mardi Gras festivities transforming into vivid scenes in my head many many times while I was reading.

Review: Ashes

Ashes
by Ilsa J. Black (Website | Facebook | Twitter)

Series: Ashes Trilogy, #1
Published: September 6th, 2011 by Egmont
Pages: 465 (Hardcover)
Genre: Post Apocalyptic & Horror
Contains: Gore, zombie-ish creatures

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An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions. 

Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom—a young soldier—and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP.

For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.

I thought Ashes was really intriguing. It had a really interesting premise and I had high hopes going into it. However, I found that it was a little slow to start and spent a lot of time building up to the main story. It especially spends a surprisingly large chunk talking about Alex’s “monster,” which was a bit frustrating because once the book really starts moving there is very little mentioned about it except at a few points. The best way to describe Ashes is a rollercoaster - there’s a long buildup in the beginning but once you reach a certain point it starts moving faster and really pulls you in.