** spoiler alert ** 
 I don't know if I have just hit my limit for YA dystopia or what, but they are all starting to feel the same now. 
 The good: Ally Condie can definitely write and what she writes is lovely -like looking at a pretty picture. There were some beautiful phrases and a nice lyrical echo to the Dylan Thomas poetry which features within the novel. 
 The bad: Nothing happens. Except a teenage love triangle between the confused yet quietly courageous heroine, the boy next door type and the emo poetry lover with a dark past. Nothing new to see here. There was absolutely no sense of urgency to this novel and I have come to see this as a must-have for me in this type of novel. The world is dystopian but really vague, and all too familiar. Once again the segregated communities (whether you call them factions, districts or what it's all beginning to get a bit same-y), the plying of everyone with happy or forget drugs (ala The Giver and Across the Universe), the over ruling "officials" who watch and control, the slow decay of that control... excuse me while I yawn. The world building was not strong enough - they have artifacts from "before" but I never got a sense of how long ago that was. How did things end up as they are now? It was repeated several times how awful it would be for people to have a choice (like they used to) but WHY was never explained. It was just like this world existed out of the ashes of nothing and I couldnt really get a sense of its history or creation. (This was also one of my beefs with Divergent but at least that had a plot, action and a sense of urgency). Weird things were never explained - like they use tablets and scribes but can't write themselves, are allowed to mess around with other teenagers and playing kissing games but have to be strictly chaperoned once their 'match' has been made for them. IDK the lack of coherent, believable (and unique) world building really let this book down IMO. 
 Like I said, it was like looking at a pretty picture, but then about half way through I realised there was absolutely no substance behind it. 
 I wish Condie had written something truly unique, or gone for another genre where her writing could really have shined. Dystopian novels for me need to be a bit more gritty, a bit more horrific, they need to have me thinking 'omg imagine if...' and this novel didnt deliver on any of that. I have book 2 on hold at the library but Im going to cancel it because I just dont feel like Condie will deliver the type of dystopia I enjoy.