I'm often asked to provide "readalikes" for teens who have found one book that they've enjoyed and who want a similar experience with the next. My unofficial take is that this is most popular for fantasy books (like Harry Potter) or dystopian novels (like The Hunger Games). My immediate recommendation for the latter is Pure by Julianna Baggott. It was a summer reading option, and our students greatly enjoyed both the book and the discussion this August.
Another popular series right now is Allie Condies' Matched books. In this series set in the future, Cassie has always trusted the officials to make the important choices in her life. She begins to doubt them, however, when she finds a romantic partner on her own, and her choice does not match theirs. She has to choose between "perfection and passion."
Lucky for me, the Young Adult Library Services Association has done some of my work for me by providing a fantastic list of readalikes for Matched.
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Like Matched, this is a dystopia in which love and the society’s rules
around who you can or can’t love take center stage. It has romance,
action, and a heroine who’s forced to reconsider everything she’s
believed her whole life. When I book talk this book I say that it’s like
Divergent and Matched had a baby and it’s this book!
The Giver by Lois Lowry
This book is an oldie but a goodie. Like Matched, every facet
of life, including love and marriage, is controlled by the
government–who are hiding the terrible secrets that lie under their
“perfect” world.
Possession by Elana Johnson
This is a story of opposites: the haves and the have-nots are called the
Goodies and the Badies and there is a strong delineation between their
worlds. Readers will enjoy the pervasive sense of “Big Brother” watching
over everyone’s actions, which makes the plot feel tight and
suspenseful. Look for the sequel, Surrender, due out today.
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
After being woken up 50 years too early from her cryogenic chamber, Amy
finds herself living on a spaceship where every element of society, even
mating, is decided by a man named Elder. Fans of Matched will
love headstrong Amy, but the mystery of the murdered “frozens” and the
increasing suspicions that Elder is hiding something dangerous make for
one very suspenseful book. The romance doesn’t hurt, either! Its awesome
sequel, A Million Suns, was so full of surprises it’s hard to imagine what could be in store in the finale, Shades of Earth. The only thing I didn’t like about this trilogy is that I have to wait until January 2013 for the third book.
Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Genetic experimentation gone wrong has led to a future where men die at
twenty-five and women die at twenty. To keep the human race alive, girls
are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages with men. Rhine,
captured to become an unwilling second wife, struggles to escape her
luxurious new prison home. With the help of a handsome household worker,
she might just be able to get back to New York City and her twin
brother. This is another story that focuses on the dark side of love and
mate selection in a dystopian future.
The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn
Everyone in Kayla’s society gets a bar code tattoo when they are
seventeen. It’s supposed to make life easier and make you part of the
system, but Kayla refuses, and there are dangerous consequences for
herself and her family. Fans of Matched will like the strong lead character and the refusal to conform!
Brave New Love: 13 Dystopian Tales of Desire, edited by Paula Guran
When you’re in the mood for just a taste of dystopian romance, check out
this anthology that is chock-full of familiar names and a few new ones
as well. Dianna Peterfreund (For Darkness Shows the Stars and the Killer Unicorn series), Carrie Vaughn (Steel, Voices of Dragons), Kiera Cass (The Selection), and Maria V. Snyder (Inside Out/Outside In, the Poison Study
trilogy) are just a few of the authors you will find within. Though
this book may have to be read in short spurts because all of the short
stories together become a little depressing, each individual story is
really well done and will definitely appeal to fans of romantic
dystopians like Matched.
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Waverly and Kieran are among the first generation of children born
aboard the Empyrean, a spaceship headed for New Earth. They are destined
to be married–but when the people aboard their sister ship, the New
Horizon, stage a violent attack, Waverly and Kieran find themselves torn
apart and thrust into leadership roles as they try to reunite–and
salvage mankind’s future. Like Matched, this book examines the role of love and choosing who you’re with in a future society. What’s interesting about Glow is that it’s not so much a dystopia as an examination of what a closed society might look like after years on its own.
Scored by Lauren McLaughlin
Imagine your whole life being determined by a score. Academic excellence
and sound moral choices earn you a high score, leading to wealth and
prestige—as long as you stay out of trouble and hang with the right
crowd. There are surveillance cameras everywhere, so be careful. The
corporation is watching. Like Matched, this book features a
strong-minded, daring heroine who takes a critical look at a
controlling, futuristic society. Scored is a thought-provoking read with
a premise that feels uncomfortably possible in this day and
age—guaranteed to make you think twice about your SAT score.
The Declaration by Gemma Malley (sequels: The Resistance and The Legacy)
Want to live forever? If you sign the Declaration, you can. Longevity
drugs have made the population so large in 2140 that it’s now a crime to
have children. If you refuse to sign, you’re considered an outcast.
Children born outside the law are considered surplus and made to work in
slave-like conditions at Surplus Hall and to atone for their very
existence. Not everyone’s in favor of living forever, but it takes
Surplus teenager Peter, who has more knowledge of the outside world than
most, to convince fellow Surplus Anna that they need to rebel.
http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2012/06/05/matched-readalikes/
Anything you think should be added to the list?
