Ratings38
Average rating3.8
The opening volume in the New York Times bestselling Testing trilogy. In Cia's dystopian society, it's an honor to be chosen for The Testing. But it’s not enough to pass the Test. Cia will have to survive it. 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. “The Testing is a chilling and devious dystopian thriller that all fans of The Hunger Games will simply devour. Joelle Charbonneau writes with guts and nerve but also great compassion and heart. Highly recommended.”—Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Rot & Ruin and Flesh & Bone The Testing trilogy is: The Testing Independent Study Graduation Day
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3,696 booksWhen you think back on every book you've ever read, what are some of your favorites? These can be from any time of your life – books that resonated with you as a kid, ones that shaped your personal...
Featured Series
3 primary books4 released booksThe Testing is a 4-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2013 with contributions by Joelle Charbonneau and Carolien Metaal.
Reviews with the most likes.
I have read this book about 4 times now. And every time I enjoy it so much. There is something this book have that I like so much, that I don???t see in so many books I have read. And actual smart character. So many main character always have the ???smart??? characteristics, as if the is the only important or good thing people can be. And yet in the story they overlook so much and make so many stupid decisions. It makes it hard to read. But in this book Cia really is extremely clever.
Another thing great about this is that the romance part of the story isn???t awkward or forced or feel at all like it shouldn???t be there. It???s weaved through the story so naturally that I really didn???t mind it. I really love this book and will probably read it more times in the future.
Less wordy/scifi version of Red Rising, hints of Hunger Game, and something else. I adore this book and am so ready to reading the next one. MC was a little sharper than most people would be, but hey.. Ill take it. I wish we had Internet so I could post full reviews. Typing on the phone blows. /ramble
A more grounded slightly more believable Hunger Games. Can't wait to see where the story goes from here.
This book shows that if imitation is the deepest form of flattery, then Suzanne Collins should be deeply flattered. I had hopes that The Testing was something that was going to be unique and interesting, but sadly, it is a ripoff of every famous dystopian novel to come out in the last five years (since 2013).
Our first and biggest problem with this book is the main character, Cia. She is a girl that, sadly, feels like a paint-by-numbers strong female lead character. Now, let me say upfront that I don't hate female lead characters who are strong examples of what a woman can do. In fact, I like a woman in a story to be strong no matter her capacity. However, with these women being very popular right now, the author has to distinguish her from all of the other, more famous leads out there. And, in this book, she doesn't. Not to say that Cia isn't a bad character. She is strong, independent, and very smart. However, I felt that the way she was written made her instantly forgettable against someone like Katniss, or even Tris form Divergent . I felt no emotional grab towards her at the beginning of the novel, and I felt that she didn't convince me she was worth my time when I decided to stop reading.
Then there is her main romantic lead...hey, Veronica Roth? You remember in my Divergent review about how I thought Four was a flat character and he was a major cliche that wasn't worth writing? I don't know if I said those things exactly, but I certainly meant to (sarcastic laughter)...Roth, I am so sorry for judging you. I have found someone far worse than Four. Thomas is a character who seems to like Cia, but he is just as standard as her in terms of what we should expect from a romantic lead in these kinds of books. And there is absolutely no basis for them being together...and that is saying something considering how much crap I gave Divergent for its romance. Worse still, there is a testing official who seems to like Cia who has even less of a basis for liking her than Thomas. At least Cia and Thomas grew up together. The official, whose name I forget, just seems to look at her and, boom, he likes her. One could just chop this up to hormonal teenage boys, but this novel wants us to take it seriously, and I...Just...can't. It is painfully obvious that this is set up for a love triangle, and I just can't handle that. I am SICK of love triangles at this point.
The world building is even more unoriginal. The country is split up into different sections, here called colonies, and they all work for The United Commonwealth, and their main capitol Tou Sou city. When the smartest students turn sixteen, they are selected to go through a series of deadly tests, and eventually only a few will come out as winners. Does this sound familiar to anyone? This world is so devoid of originality that I refuse to write any more about it.
And in the end, that sums up The Testing fairly well. There is nothing to make it origonal, let alone memorable, when it copies every famous dystopian novel made in the five years since it was first published. And because it isn't memorable in the slightest, I have to give this book a two, out of five.
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