However, when viewing the information for her Match, the picture of another young man Ky Markham, an acquaintance outcast at her school, is flashed across the screen.

Condie was inspired to write the novel after chaperoning a high school dance and considering what would happen if the government devised a perfect algorithm for matching people into romantic pairs.

After its release, the book received largely positive reviews and reached The New York Times bestseller list in 2010.

The novel explores young adult themes such as control, courtship, rebellion, and agency, which are strengthened by her poetic writing style and frequent references to poems.

According to Condie, she was more influenced by older dystopian fiction such as 1984 by George Orwell and Ray Bradbury's short story "There Will Come Soft Rains".

When Cassia decides to view the information about Xander, the screen glitches and displays another face: that of Ky Markham, another young man who lives in her borough.

Meanwhile, the Society raids everyone's homes in order to collect meaningful personal items called "artifacts", which they believe promote inequality.

Cassia is administered a final test for becoming a sorter that requires her to sort the most efficient workers at the nutritional disposal plant.

The neighborhood is instructed to take their red pills, which erase recent memories, and Cassia discreetly drops hers on the ground and crushes it.

Later, Xander reveals that the red pills do not work on him or Ky and gives Cassia a large number of blue tablets, which affect her nutrient intake.

[5] Susan Carpenter of the Los Angeles Times called it a "wonderful debut", praising the way Condie used the style of writing to reflect Cassia's feelings.

[10] A key theme in Matched and throughout the trilogy is attunement to art, which is reinforced by Condie's poetic writing style.