Tag: The Testing

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YA Review: Graduation Day (The Testing #3)

Title: Graduation Day (The Testing #3)
Author: Joelle Charbonneau
Edition: Kindle
Rating: 4/5

I’m giving book three of the Testing Trilogy four stars instead of five, mostly because the ending felt rushed. I’ve enjoyed the series, and I wanted more from the final book – or even another sequel so the author could give extra time to tying up all the plot threads!

And there are plenty of plot threads. Graduation Day pulls together all the personal and political relationships, and all the opposing factions and ideologies from the first two books. Cia and her friends face choices that affect not only themselves and their classmates, but the survival of the country they are helping to rebuild.

Cia’s actions become at once more personal and more political as she attempts to balance justice with survival. I really enjoyed seeing how her experiences and lessons from the previous books informed her decisions. The cruelties and dangers of the series so far are not wasted, but contribute to Cia’s confidence and abilities as she faces the final challenges. Decisions about who to trust continue into this book, and by this point in the story all the teenaged characters are carrying guilty secrets. Cia is constantly challenging her own judgements about the people around her, and as the story progresses she uncovers more secrets and greater threats.

I enjoyed the trilogy, but it feels unfinished. There are definitely more stories to tell and more questions to be answered about the government, the opposing factions, and the dramatic actions of Cia and her friends. That said, the series was an enjoyable read, with an engaging female protagonist, strong political and moral themes, and plenty of plot twists to keep readers guessing. A good, well-constructed YA Dystopia.

Have you read The Testing Trilogy? What did you think of Cia’s story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

Review cross-posted to GoodReads.

Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear.

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YA Review: Independent Study (The Testing #2)

Title: Independent Study (The Testing #2)
Author: Joelle Charbonneau
Edition: Kindle
Rating: 5/5

Book two of The Testing Trilogy sees Cia and the other survivors enrolled in the Early Studies programme, designed to prepare them for their final training. Based on their performance in the Early Studies exam, each student is admitted to one of the five university departments and given the chance to help rebuild their post-war society. But this is a YA dystopia, so of course the author gives us more tests, and more danger for the characters to survive before they can concentrate on their studies.

A series of harrowing induction challenges gives Cia and her new classmates the chance to demonstrate their leadership abilities, teamwork, and survival skills. Once again the students must decide who to trust, and who to protect, in an increasingly political competition. There are revelations about other students, about the testing regime, and the consequences of failure. When Cia attracts the attention of those in power, she finds herself having to choose between concentrating on her studies, and attempting to uncover the secrets at the heart of government.

While the first book in the series pitched Cia and her classmates against each other, Independent Study concentrates more on Cia’s attempts to find people she can trust – in the induction challenges, at the university, and in government – and on her suspicions about the system they are trapped in. It’s a page-turning story, and a solid mid-trilogy novel, building gradually towards a finale in book three.

Cia continues to be an interesting and engaging narrator. To begin with she is focused on survival, and on figuring out how to bring herself and her team through every test. As she discovers more about the testing regime and the different factions in the government, she begins to take risks in pursuit of justice, and as a reader I was cheering her on. There are some heart-pounding moments, and some chapters where I found myself shouting at Cia’s decisions, or gasping out loud at their results.

I’m fully invested in the story, and I’ve already downloaded book three!

Have you read The Testing Trilogy? What did you think of Cia’s story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

Review cross-posted to GoodReads.

Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear.

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YA Review: The Testing

Title: The Testing
Author: Joelle Charbonneau
Edition: Kindle
Rating: 5/5

This book has everything you’d expect from a YA Dystopian novel, and it hits each beat perfectly. Teenagers taken from their homes to be tested for the next stage of their lives. Danger, manipulation, and cruelty at the hands of the authorities. A competition where success means a chance at an education, and failure means death. A glimpse of corruption and rebellion behind the scenes of the testing process, and a friends-to-lovers romance along the way.

The story takes place in a world almost destroyed by war and climate disasters. Isolated colonies are established by a central government to reclaim land from the poisons of war and the climate crisis. Teenagers with high test scores at their colony schools are selected to compete for a place at the university where they will be trained to become the leaders of the future. Cia’s colony hasn’t sent a candidate for testing in years, so it is a surprise when she is chosen along with three of her classmates. The testing proves to be more difficult – and more deadly – than anything the colonists had imagined, and Cia and her friends must work together to survive.

But there’s a twist, revealed early in the novel, which adds an extra dimension to the testing, and to Cia’s developing relationship with her school friend. With failure punished by death, and candidates encouraged to eliminate their competitors, Cia realises that she must hide what she knows from the authorities, and act extremely carefully at every stage of the process.

Cia is a sympathetic, brave, and intelligent protagonist. She quickly learns to be observant, to think beyond the tasks in front of her, and to conceal her knowledge from everyone who might use it against her. Her relationships with the other candidates develop throughout the novel as she finds herself constantly guessing who she can trust, who might help her, and who might prefer to see her fail. The other characters are well drawn and believable, and the friends-to-lovers romance feels natural in the context of the story.

The world-building is fantastic, with each location carefully described. The history and geography of the post-war continent builds throughout the book, and nothing feels forced or out of place. When I reached the end I ordered book two in the series and started reading immediately – I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next!

Have you read The Testing? What did you think of the story? Would you have succeeded in Cia’s place? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

Review cross-posted to GoodReads.

Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear.