What's in Your Library Bag Wednesday?...

     What a wonderful Wednesday!!! It was nice enough out this morning that I wore my new Spring jacket!! Fun! What a great day to be reading too! But, then again, isn't every day a great day to read? Most Definitely!! So, what is in your library bag this Wednesday?
     I am reading a Young Adult selection called Matched by Ally Condie. It's similar to the Hunger Games and Divergent. There must be a trend in young adult literature right now because there seems to be lots of titles like this, where the government is in control of everything and how people start to realize it and rebel. Each one has a little different take on the situation and some are good reads and some are not. This one that I am reading right now is intriguing me. The author has created a "perfect" society. They have developed the perfect nutrition and needs for each individual; the perfect vocation according to your strengths; through statistics, they have developed the perfect day to die, the perfect age to get married, the perfect time to have children (never after 35), etc. They have computers that tell them all of these things about individuals and the "officials" of the government use them to "match" people up with their perfect mates. Everything is perfect. And no one questions any of it, except perhaps some of the older ones who have lived through all of the changes and moved into this "perfection."One of these older ones is Cassia's grandfather. He talks about some of the freedoms that are no more and tells Cassia that it is okay to wonder....
     The main character, Cassia, turns 17 early in the novel and this is when you get "matched" with your future husband. From the beginning a mistake has been made in her matching. She actually gets paired with two different boys, both of whom she knows which is unusual in and of itself. The Officials try and correct the error immediately, but Cassia is left wondering. Which leads her to question all of their perfection and how choices can really make life go in different directions; not less, just different.
     This really is a fundamental question, isn't it? Is there one, right career that I should choose? Is there one and only one person I should be with and marry? Should my favorite songs be just like everyone else's? But who has the right to decide these things but me? Would it be easier if someone else made all of the hard decisions for us? Absolutely. But would our lives be drastically different? Again, Absolutely.
     Ally Condie presents these issues to make us think about life and how one decision affects another and another and another and how perfection really is an unattainable goal, but somehow our lives can turn out just "perfect" in the end anyway.
     This is a style you might enjoy. Stop in to the library and check it out.