Matched by Ally Condie is very similar in theory to Delirium but very different in writing. This one is similar because it’s a dystopian book surrounding love, but very different at the same time. In this book, when you reach a certain age, you go to a matching ceremony where the government matches you with the person you will marry. How it’s written leads you to believe you get matched with your true love.
Everyone’s happy with their matches. The government has this scientific way of calculating all your brain waves and then matching you to the one person in the entire country you like to match the best with if that makes sense. So it’s very scientific, but it works. In the book, people are happy with their matches. It’s a way for society to create the happiest environments because you can choose whether you want to be matched.
You can be single and not get married, but you’re not allowed to have kids. To have a family and kids, you must be matched and marry your match. Society seems to be pretty stable and pretty happy until inter cast the lead girl of this book. Everything gets mixed up when her matching ceremony doesn’t go as planned. Books like Matched cover individuality, freedom, and the power of choice. They are captivating and enjoyable reads that explore important themes and feature memorable characters.
10 Books Like Matched (Mate Seeking Dystopian Romance)
In the book Matched, the entire storyline surrounds the fact that Tasya gets matched to two people. She’s the only person in the history of society. There’s a glitch, and she gets matched to two people. So for the first time in this girl’s life, she has to question society and whether she knows which guy is her true match and which guy she should be with, according to society.
As a reader, you know that this book focuses on true love and many relationship facts. I love the style that the book presents the relationship and society. After reading this book, I found some similar books with it. Now I’m going to discuss ten books similar to Matched. Let’s go!
1. Divergent
Divergent is the story of Beatrice Prior later on in Tris. It is a dystopian young adult novel. You have to start by explaining what the world is because that’s usually the thing that stands out. The story is set in Chicago, and people live in different factions.
The factions are Dauntless for the brave abnegation, For the selfless candor, For the honest amity, For the intelligent. You live in the area that belongs to that faction and your race that way. But then, when you’re 16, you have to go through this test, and then you have to decide which faction you want to belong to and where you want to live.
Beatrice was born in the Abnegation faction, and they wear gray clothes and can’t even look in the mirror only once or twice a year. Early on, Beatrice doesn’t feel she belongs in the faction she was born to. The most exciting thing would be if she chose the opposite of her faction, Dauntless, for the brave, which is what she ends up choosing.
So a huge part of this book is Tris trying to adapt to this new faction. She has to adapt to this new life, and she has to learn how to fight. There are lots of other interesting characters in this book, like Matched.
With all these different factions, it doesn’t take long before you connect to the Hogwarts houses and how dividing people into the five categories is impossible. You always get the people who want to be like slither claws.
So that’s one of these things that you get to think about while you’re reading this book. No one is entirely perfect for one of these factions. There are always going to be different sides to your personality. That’s the thing that Tris struggles with, which is very exciting.
Author: Veronica Roth
Average Rating: 4.6/5
Category: Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy Romance, Fiction about Values & Virtues (Goodreads Choice)
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
2. American Royals
I don’t need any magic in this version of royalty or setting with aristocrats. We have an actual royal family that governs the country, but the plot of this book follows four main protagonists. The first character we follow is Beatrice, the heir to the throne. She is the oldest daughter of the King and Queen. Then we have her sister, Samantha, and a twin brother, Jeff.
The third character is Nina, Sam’s best friend, the only commoner of the four. While one of her moms works for the monarchy in the cabinet, she has no noble blood. Finally, we have Daphne, who is the antagonist of the story. She’s very keen to marry Prince Jeff.
You will love this book if you enjoy The Princess Diaries and Matched. It’s The Princess Diaries meets the Gossip Girl drama that went down. So Princess Beatrice is the heir to the throne, and that’s for the first time in history that a woman can inherit the throne when there is another male child in the line of succession, which is so important. I loved the world-building of this book because there is no precedent for this. Katherine truly invented her own rules about how the American royal family would govern.
American Royals has a lot of tropes. The tropes in this were perfect for the setting, and it’s a rom-com. I particularly appreciate how this book delves into each girl’s position and how each has ups and downs. Beatrice is lucky to be the Queen of America, and Samantha is the spare. Often she talks about how her code name is the sparrow, which genuinely means she is the sparrow.
If anything were to happen to Beatrice or Jeff, you might think she’s unlucky, but then you see how much Beatrice has on her shoulders her whole life. She has been training for a job she doesn’t even get a say in, whether she wants it or not.
Author: Katharine McGee
Average Rating: 4.4/5
Category: Fantasy Romance, History & Culture for Teens (Teachers’ pick)
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
3. Delirium
Delirium is a similar book to Matched. It is set in a dystopian world where the government has controlled society and decided that love is a disease that humans should be cured of. Humans should be immune to love so they cannot feel it and feel the hysteria associated with love. People would be brainwashed into thinking that love is a disease and not a good thing. But the author does such a job describing the emotions you feel when you’re in love and using the feelings of love as symptoms of the disease.
In this society, they change something in your brain to not feel love. The results of the surgery can backfire as well. It can make you abuse animals and children more than you would in real life. Like in our world, that sometimes happens too. But it’s due to removing love from your abilities in this world.
Your brain can’t feel that emotion anymore. There are rules to every, and there are people that might not. The surgery might not work on them. Some people who live outside of the city are non-believers. They believe love should be embraced and must run for their lives because the town will kill them.
The main character’s name is Lena, and she looks forward to her surgery. She is scared of the disease, and this society brainwashes her so much. Throughout the book, there’s little before every single chapter. There’s a quote, always quoted as we recognize, but they are twisted. So it will be a quote from Romeo and Juliet talking about how amazing love is. But the words will be changed slightly, and it will be second-grade English.
The whole thing is that she’s excited about the surgery, and then she falls in love, and it happens. That’s what the book was about. She would have someone fall in love and try to beat the system, and that’s what happens. If you are not the type of person who ever reads that cries in books, you probably will have no problem. But sometimes I have been known to cry if you cry in books.
Author: Lauren Oliver
Average Rating: 4.6/5
Category: Science Fiction Romance, Dystopian Fiction (Editors’ pick)
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
4. The Princess Bride
Like Matched, The Princess Bride is a classic tale of true love and high adventure abridged by William Goldman. There’s never a case when it’s better to see the movie before reading the book. Reading the book should always come first because everyone loves the movie. William Goldman wrote the screenplay, so the movie and book have the same fun and silly flavor.
When you first get to the book’s introduction, it’s already the book itself. So the author is a character in this book who talks about being a child and not into reading. William Goldman is a genius storyteller. His father read this story to him when he was younger.
As he’s gotten older, he realized that the story his father read to him was much shorter and condensed. His father only read him the good parts, fencing, fighting, and adventurous stuff. Also, his father left out all the boring parts, like the royal family’s history and monsters.
The story starts outwards with Buttercup and Wesley, and Buttercup is the milkmaid’s daughter. She is a commoner, and Wesley is a farmhand who works for her father on the dairy farm. Eventually, they fall in love, as many young people do when they grow up. When he returns, Wesley decides to go to the other country and work and make enough money to marry buttercButtercupart a family.
So after Wesley leaves the news, he gets the better cup that the Dread Pirate Roberts overtook the ship he was on. The bad thing about that is that he has a reputation for not leaving any survivor’s sad face. So Buttercup takes this news, and she assumes that there is no way that her Wesley has survived.
Not long after this, Prince Humperdinck is interested in the story, and he and Buttercup become engaged, even though Buttercup has made it quite clear that she does not love Prince Humperdinck and never will. On the day that Buttercup’s engagement with Prince Humperdinck is announced, she is kidnapped by three men, Vicini Fennec and Inigo Montoya.
This is where the story begins and takes off. That way, you can see what happened earlier in their lives, why they are the way they are, and how they were brought together. In the book, seeing her transformation and growth in the story is quite different.
Author: William Goldman
Average Rating: 4.7/5
Category: Literature & Fiction, Romance
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
5. Rebecca
Rebecca follows a young woman traveling through Europe as a companion, a paid companion of this older woman, where she meets a very mysterious older man called Maxim. Maxim is very well known for owning the huge English estate of Madeleine and because he’s been widowed recently. His wife, Rebecca, who was pretty much loved and adored by everybody she met, has died tragically after spending time together in Monaco. Maxim proposes to this young woman and takes her back to the Manly estate.
However, our heroine finds adjusting hard as she always feels Rebecca’s presence haunts her. The girl finds some typical answers. It’s a very slow-moving plot that essentially focuses on this young girl who struggles with adjusting to life in a place where she feels like she’s always going to be second best to this ghost of Rebecca.
They’re looking for an action-packed story similar to Matched. This book has a very gothic feel, and with such a slow-moving plot, you will get the feel of the suspense building up inch by inch. Also, it made such a brilliant climax at the end.
The characters in this book are so interesting. When you don’t like the characters, you wouldn’t want to be friends with them, but you can still empathize with them and see where they’re coming from. The main character was fascinating. She’s a very wallflower-type narrator because she’s never given a name. She’s utterly insignificant compared to Rebecca, who is remembered as this massive, forceful personality and even the book’s Rebecca.
Author: Daphne du Maurier
Average Rating: 4.5/5
Category: Psychological Fiction, Gothic Romances
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games takes place in a dystopian world where the government forces children from each district to fight to the death in a televised event called the Hunger Games. The main character volunteers to take her sister’s place and becomes a symbol of hope for the oppressed districts.
Throughout the novel, she faces deadly games while trying to survive the brutal and oppressive Capitol. Collins does an excellent job of creating a terrifying dystopian world that feels all too plausible. Like Matched, it tackles government oppression, class inequality, and the power of propaganda.
7. The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Giver takes place in a seemingly utopian society where everything is controlled, and there is no pain or suffering. The main character, Jonas, is chosen to become the next “Receiver of Memory” and learns the truth about the society he lives in.
As Jonas receives memories from the current Receiver of Memory, he realizes the cost of sacrificing individuality and emotions for conformity. He starts to question the decisions made by the Elders, who control every aspect of the citizens’ lives, including their careers, families, and emotions.
The novel tackles memory, free will, and the power of choice. Lowry’s writing is simple yet powerful, and she creates a haunting dystopian world that lingers long after the book is finished. This dystopian literature classic will remind you of the story of Matched, which has won many awards.
8. Legend by Marie Lu
The story takes place in a future United States divided into two warring factions. A wanted criminal (Day) becomes involved with the government’s star pupil, June. June’s brother is murdered, and Day is the prime suspect.
So June sets out to capture him and avenge her brother’s death. However, they uncover a conspiracy that could change the war’s course. Legend is a fast-paced adventure with a compelling romance and a thrilling plot.
9. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
The book follows the story of a girl with a lethal touch who is locked up in an asylum by the government. She decides whether to use her power for good or evil when freed. After being alone for months, she is given a cellmate named Adam, who she soon discovers has secrets of his own.
She explores her feelings for Adam and grapples with her powers. Then she becomes involved in a rebellion against the government and discovers that her power might be the key to overthrowing their oppressive rule. Shatter Me includes some science fiction elements, such as the government’s use of advanced technology and genetics.
10. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Uglies takes place in a future world where everyone undergoes surgery at 16 to become “pretty.” The protagonist, Tally, can’t wait to undergo the procedure until she meets a group of rebels who show her the dark side of the operation.
Tally learns about the cost of conformity and the sacrifices required to maintain society’s ideals. She becomes involved in a rebellion against the government. She also begins questioning the nature of beauty and individuality and learns the importance of true friendship and loyalty.
If you enjoyed “Matched,” you should check out these other dystopian novels. They all offer compelling stories, brave characters, and thought-provoking themes that keep you engaged from beginning to end.
Read More Similar:
Dystopian Romance Books Like Uglies
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Classic Dystopian Books Like Brave New World
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