The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau is a Dystopian teen thriller that starts slow but gets better and better as it goes on. About half way through, things really pick up. Cia, age 17, is chosen for "The Testing" to see if she can attend the University and become one of the leaders of the United Commonwealth to restore the country. However, she soon
finds out that the tests are not easy and have dire consequences if she
fails. It has been years since anyone has been chose from her Five
Lakes Colony, but several others from her colony are also going with her
to Tosu City to be tested, including her childhood friend, Tomas. Cia
is pretty smart, mechanically inclined, compassionate and very knowledgeable about plants.
I enjoyed this first book of a series and had trouble putting it down when Cia and her friend, Tomas were struggling to survive the fourth test. The relationship between Cia and Tomas was interesting to me as well.
This book is all about choices and consequences. Basically,
Cia's father's advice about trusting no one serves her well during the
testing, but unfortunately, she didn't always follow it. I look forward to reading the sequel: The Testing: Independent Study coming out this fall.(Karen's review, 4 stars)
Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!