I was privileged enough to acquire an advanced copy of Matched by Ally Condie several months before the release date. I'm thrilled to say that the book lives up to it's premise.The Society has always provided for everyone's needs - food, clothing, shelter are merely a matter of course. They also provide Matches for everyone, genetically perfect pairs for breeding out the biggest imperfections a human being can develop. Cassia is 17 and has never questioned the Society, particularly not when they match her with her best friend in the world, Xander. Cassia is suddenly the object of jealousy and envy from many girls. Not only is Xander handsome and kind but there's a closeness that Cassia and he have that no one can hope to duplicate with the miles that lie between them and their Matches. Cassia is a very fortunate girl.Then one day she sees another face flash upon her viewing screen; a young man named Ky Markham who is from the same district as Cassia and Xander. It is only for an instant, but that instant will forever change Cassia; unsettling more questions that she only barely has the courage to ask herself... Is Ky supposed to be her Match?Matched is a gentle, yet disturbing, Dystopian romance worthy of some of the canons of the genre. But it's unique edge comes in the fact that it is, at heart, a love triangle for teens. It's all about the packaging though. It's been a long time since a YA novel has brought up so many questions to be pondered... of choice, of free will, of random vs. planned occurrences. Any decision that Cassia is free to make has been guessed at by the Society based on careful examinations of her personality, dreams, and many other factors that make her her. How can one choose freely when the Society counters with "We knew you would choose that within a certain percentage? You always pick things outside the majority." I'm paraphrasing, but you get the point. How can free will exist if it has been, more or less, bred, tamed, and calculated out of being by an all powerful government? Is it possible to completely eradicate choice?This is such a great read. I'm so glad I got an early crack at it. 5 of 5 stars seems like not enough...but yeah, it's pretty much perfect.- review courtesy of www.bibliopunkk.net