Author: Joelle Charbonneau
Series: The Testing #1
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Genre: YA Dystopian
Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Source: Mid-Columbia Libraries
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Synopsis
from Goodreads:
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Isn’t that what they say? But how close is too close when they may be one in
the same?
The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career.
Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies--trust no one.
But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust.
The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career.
Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies--trust no one.
But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust.
My
Review:
The Testing had a very interesting concept. It was a
great dystopian novel. The world has been destroyed by war and nature. There is
now a central government surrounded by smaller colonies. They have had to
genetically alter plants to get them to grow and venturing outside the colonies
is dangerous. Animals have mutated, becoming strange and dangerous creatures.
Future leaders of the country are selected through the Testing, a strenuous
program that only the best and brightest are selected for. If you can pass the
Testing, you are allowed to enter into the University and train to be a future
leader of the country.
Sounds super awesome right? It was….up to a certain
point. Our main character Malencia, or Cia, is selected to be a part of the
Testing. At first, I loved it. They were forced to go through strenuous written
tests and interesting tests that involved puzzles. I loved watching the way Cia
thought through everything. The last part of the test was where it started to
go downhill for me. It became very Hunger Games-esque to me. I was disappointed
because up until that point, it had a lot of originality.
The other complaint that I have is that the
relationship was awful. Cia and Tomas have known each other forever apparently.
I say apparently because up until the point where they leave for the Testing,
there is no indication that they are friends. It was kind of just like, they’ve
known each other forever, they danced together that one time, oh yeah, and they
may have a crush on each other… It felt forced. I almost felt like the author
put them together just for the sake of having a relationship. I never got the
feels with them and honestly found myself skimming over the kissing scenes.
*Gasp* I know.
But even though I didn’t like the relationship, I did
like Cia. She was smart and analytical. She was able to slow down and think
things through before making any decisions. A lot of times in YA, I feel like
the main character rushes into things without thinking (I’m talking to you,
Clary Fray…). It was refreshing to have a character that seemed to have her
head on straight. At the same time, I also felt like things came too easily for
her. She learned tons of survival skills from her brothers like how to set
snares and start a fire and I just didn’t see any reason why she would have had
to learn these things in the colony. It just seemed like every time a struggle
came up, she knew what to do. Too convenient for my liking and she was way too
trusting. Yes, even after her father warned her not to trust anyone.
Although, it was extremely difficult to decide who
to trust and who not to trust. There was one character the whole book that I
didn’t trust. I was half-right. But there was another character that I never
even suspected and then that character broke my heart into a million pieces. So
there were definitely some great plot twists that left me gaping.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a fun, quick
read that had an interesting concept. The characters were enjoyable, just not
the romantic relationship. The world-building was excellent and I really felt
like I knew how this world came to be. I am definitely looking forward to
seeing where the second book goes. If you like dystopians, I would recommend
this one. It’s a fun read with lots of mystery and crazy plot twists. Happy
reading all!
Have you read this one? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!
I really enjoyed this one as well. The fact that so few of the candidates make it is a bit farfetched, especially given these candidates are supposed to be the best and brightest. This is a question that is brought up in the book, so hopefully that question will be answered in later books. And although you know what happens to some of the candidates that don't make it, you don't know what happens to most of them. I really liked Cia, she's a great character. She is smart and resourceful, and a lot of the tests involve knowledge and skills other than just strength, and she shows that she is very capable. Although you're right, a bit unbelievable that she knew pretty much everything. Even though she wants to win, she also cares about people and doing the right thing, which gets her in some trouble. There are a lot of head games and back stabbing going on in this book. And like you, I was surprised by one character and I have a question for you about that character and what happened so e-mail me if you want (I don't want to spoil it for others). Great review! ~Pam
ReplyDeleteGreat point about how many candidates got eliminated. I didn't really think about that, but you're totally right. If they are the best and brightest you would think more would pass. And that brings up another point: I wondered why some got selected. Like the artist girl (I can't remember her name for the life of me). I hope that we get more info on how the candidates are selected and what all the symbols and groups mean in the next book. I will email you about that character for sure!
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