Tuesday, August 26, 2014

REVIEW: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau



The Testing (The Testing, #1)
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.







MY THOUGHTS
I just have to start off with saying this: This is not another Hunger Games. I see a lot of reviews complaining about how similar this book is to The Hunger Games and how this is just a copy. Yes, these books are very similar to one another (especially the last half), but there are more differences. And it is a dystopian book. Every dystopian book has something in common with The Hunger Games, it happens.

Anyway, now that I got that out of the way! I'm actually writing this book after reading this for the 2nd time and I still enjoyed reading this book the 2nd time around! This book is well-written and definitely original!
I was very fascinated with The Testing, I thought it was horrible what society was doing to these teens , but I thought that the idea was very interesting and very well thought-out. I really liked out main character, Cia. It is very obvious why she's in The Testing. She's an absolute genius and can figure problems out. She's also a very strong leader. Not the kind that The Testing is looking for, as they are looking for those who do not care for human life, but she is the kind of leader that should actually lead.

The only issue that I had was the romance. It's not bad, I actually like the love interest, but I found it a bit ridiculous. I honestly felt like The Testing was not the time for romance.

IN CONCLUSION
This book is kind of a hit or miss for most people, to be honest. Like I said, many people complain about Hunger Games parallels and those people don't enjoy the book. My advice: Do not compare this book while reading it. It will ruin the experience for you.

Now, I, enjoyed reading this book (again!) and will definitely continue the trilogy! That was actually the whole point of me rereading this...

I hereby give this book
4 Wheels!
Meaning: It was amazing!

2 comments :

  1. This sounds interesting but I have read some bad reviews. I think I'm going to add it to my TBR now and try it myself :)

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  2. I will definitely be trying this one for myself, too.

    I just wanted to let you know that I've nominated you for the Liebster Award! Find the information here: http://never-anyone-else.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-liebster-award.html

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