I love friends who read and generally like the same stuff I do, because sometimes you just miss a book here or there that has potential. In comes Taylor…who had a stack of books from the library and I noticed one called Independent Study. She had read the first one, The Testing, and said that while it wasn’t the best book out there, it was definitely one that keeps you reading fast until you reach the end. She was spot on! I am looking forward to reading Independent Study just so I can find out what happens next!
Title: The Testing
Author: Joelle Charbonneau
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian
Buy it on Amazon: Hardcover or Kindle
Book Description:
It’s graduation day for sixteen-year-old Malencia Vale, and the entire Five Lakes Colony (the former Great Lakes) is celebrating. All Cia can think about—hope for—is whether she’ll be chosen for The Testing, a United Commonwealth program that selects the best and brightest new graduates to become possible leaders of the slowly revitalizing post-war civilization. When Cia is chosen, her father finally tells her about his own nightmarish half-memories of The Testing. Armed with his dire warnings (”Cia, trust no one”), she bravely heads off to Tosu City, far away from friends and family, perhaps forever. Danger, romance—and sheer terror—await.
What I Think:
Combine elements from The Maze Runner with elements of The Hunger Games and you have The Testing. This will be right up your alley if you enjoyed these series. But, I think I might have liked it more had I not read these other popular dystopian trilogies, because even though the story is good, I kept making comparisons in my head. Of course, one thing that I appreciate above all was Cia’s goodness. I found myself liking her because she always had compassion towards others and was stalwart in her convictions of right and wrong. Even Katniss in Hunger Games had her times of wavering in her head about decisions of morality (albeit, Katniss also had a more dire situation). I also liked how Charbonneau introduced a handful of characters that we will no doubt see more of in Independent Study like the man from the fence and her skimmer driver. I will let you know if Independent Study turns out to be just as much of a page-turner!
