As I read Ally Condie’s new dystopian tale paired upI couldn’t help but make comparisons to the first young adult dystopian novel I ever read, The donor by Lois Lowry. Both books are coming-of-age stories of teenagers who, with the encouragement of an older mentor, begin to see that the “perfect” worlds they live in are anything but. Although Lowry’s Jonas is a younger male lead, paired upSeventeen-year-old Cassia Reyes follows the same progression of doubting, questioning, and ultimately rebelling against those in charge.
Condie’s style, like Lowry’s, is often rich in description, enough to make adult readers sigh with delight, but not so much as to dissuade young adult audiences from enjoying the main character’s emotional journey. . And that journey is what drives the plot. although I read paired up in a marathon reading session, I wouldn’t say his pace is particularly fast. Neither was it The donor. What keeps the reader turning pages in these books is the emotional, intellectual, and philosophical growth of the main character. That might not sound as exciting as saying that these books are about hormonal teens lashing out at an oppressive society, but, at least as far as book one in each of these series is concerned, it’s the truth. Both books focus much more on the character’s decision to rebel or not, whether it is right to rebel, than the actual rebellion, which in both books takes place only at the end. However, Condie and Lowry make the decision-making exciting enough to propel readers into the final chapters (and beyond, since both books are in a series).
The biggest difference between these two stories is the plot of the love triangle of paired up. Condie could have used this popular romance plot from recent YA books to appeal to fans of The Hunger Games Y Twilight, but the twist it puts on it is unique and doesn’t seem like a ploy to suck off teens at all. Romance is not an aside from the plot of dystopian society; prompts Cassia’s awakening and final rebellion. Although I still feel that teens can be turned off by the amount of melancholy Cassia does about her emotions for the two boys, the fact that those emotions are so intertwined with her decision to break free might keep kids from classifying this book as chick bed. .
Which makes the teacher in me drool paired up it’s your topic and the opportunity for a serious discussion of timeless themes within a story that teens want to read. Every time YA readers choose books with such clear and important themes, that’s a win for teachers, parents, and kids. And if a new series, like Matched or The Hunger Games, can be connected to books that have become staples of middle and high school classrooms, like The donor Prayed 1984that these young readers (and their teachers) can forge a deeper understanding of the great books, both old and new.
Bottom line: Read them both. i thought i liked it paired up enough to want to read the rest of the series, I think to really appreciate it, readers should start with its predecessor, The donor.
