After a devastating war nearly wiped out the entire population, those left are struggling to pick up the pieces. New colonies are sprouting up in the ruined husks of once-thriving cities. Both food and water are scarce, but civilization has pressed on and remain hopeful for their future.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one already.

Malencia – Cia – Vale has reached Graduation Day, the day when she’ll be recognized as an adult in the eyes of her colony. Unfortunately for Cia, the day is not as joyful as she had hoped. After years of her colony being passed over for Testing candidates, four children are chosen and Cia is one of them. Those chosen for the Testing are required to undergo multiple tests and not everyone reaches the end. Not everyone survives. Those who do pass are then able to attend the University and learn skills to better their society.

Cia knows there’s a possibility she’ll never see her family again. What was originally an exciting affair is now solemn and filled with unsaid thoughts. Before she leaves, Cia’s father shares his own Testing experience – and it’s not what Cia wants to hear. Her father sometimes has flashbacks, wiped memories have been resurfacing. Cia is warned not to trust anyone, but will she follow that advice?

The Testing was hailed as the next Hunger Games – a title nearly every new dystopia series has held at one point or another. In my eyes, The Testing is The Hunger Games meets Divergent meets Battle Royale. In the worst way possible.

The book reads as though the author (who has written a few adult mysteries before trying her hand at YA) compiled every dystopia trope into story form. Threadbare backstory about a terrible (& unexplained) war: CHECK. Colony in Chicago: CHECK. No food sources or clean water, but still able to have things like cake: CHECK. Big Brother-type organization/government: CHECK. A select few chosen to compete in a series of tests/battles to determine who’s fit to move up in the world: CHECK. A childhood friend who’s possibly more: CHECK. A bad guy who is more than he seems: CHECK. A good guy who isn’t everything he seems: CHECK. I could go on.

The most frustrating part of the book surprisingly wasn’t the over-abundance of tropes. Instead, it was the utter lack of explanation. Why were these kids going through these tests? What was the point? These are supposed to be the best and brightest students in the colonies, yet the government aims to pit them against one another, provide them with weapons, and sit back while they kill each other. How does that further society? It seemed to me Cia’s colony was doing just fine without any Testing candidates for those years.

Once the Testing begins, the book read like the worst parts of Harry Potter‘s camping scenes: Cia and Tomas are wandering around catching fish and rabbits, eating berries, cleaning and dressing their wounds. Repeat ad nauseam for the next two hundred pages. Occasionally there’s a mutant creature/human (the aftereffects of the War) and a few times the pair crosses paths with another candidate. There are also groups of people living outside the borders, people who refuse to live by the government’s rules. Again, I’ve read this same story way too many times now.

The author did very little – if anything – to bring a new aspect to an overwritten genre. The killing and brutality these children partake in is accepted because their memories are wiped at the end of the Testing. SO IT’S OKAY GUYS, SEE!

The Testing was one eyeroll after the next. The only interesting part was at the very end – and I mean the very end. In the last two or so paragraphs Cia discovers a recording she made before her memories were wiped. Suddenly she realizes what she went through and who she shouldn’t trust. And there the book ends. I really ought to learn my lesson by now – Dystopia as a genre just isn’t for me. The Testing only confirmed that.

Die-hard fans of the genre and those looking for a familiar (extremely!) story will most likely enjoy The Testing. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for me. There were too many questions left unanswered and plot points left unexplained.

This book turned me into a Joelle Charbonneau fan! I loved everything about it -- the details of Cia's tests, the friendships, the complexity of the characters and their motives, Cia's careful approach to everything, and of course, Cia and Tomas's growing friendship. The ending is definitely a cliff-hanger, and it kept me on pins and needles for book two (which I also loved). The entire trilogy is something I re-read at least once a year, and I've read both Charbonneau's books which have come out since the trilogy was finished.

Weeding out the books I don't have on my kindle because they didn't get downloaded. Sorry for not getting to them when requested.

Seriously my most favorite book!

It ranks up there with The Hunger Games and the young adults in my life have also loved this! I hope it will continue to do well and readers will find it as enjoyable as I did!

Sorry, never got around to reading. Will try again at a later date.

Not happy with the book. It was difficult book to read.

Cia has just graduated from high school and has been selected for "the testing". Cia and her childhood friend Tomas most going through a series of test which may allow her to go to the university or she may lose her life.

There were parts of this story that I thought were extremely interesting. The first half about the actual "test" the students went through felt different from other books in this genre. However, when the final test began the book began to feel a little too similar to "The Hunger Games". Plus, I found the very naive narrative voice to be in conflict with the violence found throughout the story which was jarring and at times distracting.

*I never got around to reading and reviewing this book. I may do so in the future*

Sorry, requested but did not get around to reading.

[Disclaimer: I was given a free e-copy of this book by NetGalley for review purposes.]

The truth is, I was given the free copy of this a couple of years ago, had trouble getting it to work on my computer, didn't have a Kindle app, and couldn't figure it out. So I never reviewed it. But when I saw I could take out the Kindle edition from my local library I figured it was time to give it a shot, and provide my promised review (albeit very very late).

I was surprised by this book in a lot of good ways. I was honestly expecting it to be just a rehash of other dystopian YA novels I've read over the last few years, and there were parts that were, but most of it was new to me. I enjoyed the pace of the plot, the narration style, and the character development (at least of the main character, Cia). I knew she would be chosen for the Testing, simply because duh, that's what the book is about. But I did appreciate the author's attempt at suspense when it wasn't announced at the expected time, and she faced the disappointment of not being chosen.

Cia's father warns her at the beginning not to trust anyone. And I liked how her wariness followed her into each challenge, even though there were times she decided to trust anyway. One of my major gripes was that she seemed to see just about every trap laid for her, even though she claimed to not be one of the top students in her class. She went on and on about how Tomas was the smartest one, but he repeatedly followed HER lead, instead of being the trailblazer. She wasn't the type of "heroine" that I hate, vapid and stupid, just going wherever her boyfriend leads her. She was the exact opposite, but she seemed almost too perfect. (Until the end, but I won't spoil that even though it's been out for a few years already.)

I also couldn't appreciate Cia's relationship with Tomas, and how it sprung up out of nowhere. She seemed oblivious to his attention at the start, and then acted like she'd been hoping he liked her for a long time. Their relationship seems to have formed out of desperation on each of their parts. After what she figures out at the end, I'm not sure where their relationship would have left to go in book 2.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I am sorry that I waited so long to read it, as it was worth the read. Highly recommended to fans of dystopian YA. I'll definitely be picking up book 2.

I'm suffering from a full-blown case of dystopian fatigue. As a result, I approach new books in this genre with the hope that they will offer up some kind of a fresh spin on things. The Testing didn't meet that test for me. Still, if you feel the way about dystopian fiction that I feel about contemporary/realistic YA -- namely, that you're a tireless and devoted reader of the genre -- I think you'll enjoy this book.

The Testing opens with Cia, the main character, getting all dressed up for a big ceremony. All the residents of her colony are gathering in the town square to find out which of Cia's classmates will be chosen for the Testing, a chance to compete to attend their country's University.

Cia wasn't the kind of character who had me rooting for her. To me, she came off as calm and detached. I tend to connect more with characters who show either greater vulnerability or more of an snarky edge. Or both. Cia wasn't a bad narrator, she just struck me as bland.

Of course, Cia is chosen to be tested. She and three of her classmates are taken to Tosu City to undergo a series of tests. They're assigned a mentor. They meet their competitors. Then -- and I have to admire the gutsiness of this storytelling move -- for the first round of competition they actually take tests. They sit at desks and take tests with paper with pencils. (For teen readers who are in full exam panic mode, this scenario might actually elicit a cold sweat.) Fortunately, in subsequent rounds, the candidates get to do other stuff. Like test plants and soil. And then - finally - get down to the real-world leadership and decision-making tests.When the testing moves into its final stages, the book shifts to survival in the wilderness sort of stuff. Just like in the Hunger Games, Cia will have to battle injury and the elements and decide which of her competitors she can trust. This was definitely the strongest part of the book.

As in other dystopian books which feature plots that put groups of kids in deadly competition with one another, that part of the premise didn't entirely hold together for me. In the Hunger Games, the Reaping served as a cruel means by which the government punishes and controls its citizens. In this book, it didn't really add up. Yes, I understand that the United Commonwealth wants their best and the brightest to attend the university, but what is the logic behind such callous disregard for the almost-best-and-brightest, many of whom seem to end up dead?

Will you be surprised if I tell you there are two guys Cia finds herself drawn to, one of whom may not be trustworthy? However, as Cia learns in the beginning of the book, her memory will be erased if she survives the testing, so even if she figures out which guy she likes, she's not going to remember.

Here's a little test for you to take: are you dying for new dystopian books to read? Does the idea of a group of kids pitted against one another still makes your heart beat a little faster? Then you should definitely put The Testing on your to-read list.

The Seven Stages of the war left the world in shatters and the people of the United Commonwealth are trying to survive. In order to do this, they need the best of the best among their citizens. When, Cia is selected to partake in the testing her father reveals information regarding the test and warns her to trust no one.

The testing process turns out to be far more than she ever bargained for. Lives are at stake, including her own. Each testing processes is more difficult than the previous and the only way out is to pass the test or die trying.

This book is well written, entertaining and impossible to put down. My favorite dystopian/post apocalyptic book this year. I simply can't wait for the next installment.

This book is a great mix of, The Hunger Games and Divergent.

Grade: A

The Testing is not a new-to-me title. I have seen his bad girl floating around Goodreads, blogs and the like for some time, but something kept me from reading. What? Couldn't tell ya. But when I saw it available on audio, I went out on a limb a requested; hoping my hesitations about the book were wrong and I would thoroughly enjoy it.

The jury is still out on that one.

Don't get me wrong -- there are many things to like about The Testing. With any dystopian, it needs to be brutal and harsh, and The Testing was definitely that. But I like to be wowed, on the edge of my seat and suffering from some serious anxiety due to stress and I just didn't have that in The Testing.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why someone would want to go through the Testing to attend University. If it were a society that overlooked education and didn't find it important, I could see. But it's HUGE in this world. They are testing for their new leaders; those that pass move on to great things and develop and remold society. But with Cia personally knowing someone who went through the Testing, this explanation fell flat. Granted, due to memory swipes and the sheer lack of knowledge for what happens DURING the Testing is there, I just don't understand the logic behind the entire thing.

I can overlook the similarities between The Testing and other fight-to-the-death dystopian's out there -- it's not a wholly original concept but when the similarities are TOO much? When it feels like there was a list with check marks and the author was checking away to make sure certain THINGS were there? That's a large pill to swallow.

Anyway.

Cia was a hard character to like and connect with. Her luck knew no bounds and yes, one could argue that she was very intelligent, but everything felt way too convenient for her. It honestly felt to me like she didn't really have to WORK for anything. Literally everything came easy to her. I didn't care for the romance either. It felt forced -- that is was there for *cough* convenience only.

The ending ended on a perfect note - I will admit that. There were some expletives coming from my mouth once the audio was over. I can't say for sure if I am sold on the second book yet -- but I may pick it up.

The Narrator

Within the first 20 minutes of the book, I knew the narrator was not a right fit for the story. Hate is a strong word -- but there were parts of her narration that I HATED. Her voice for the other characters being the main one. And I felt like she was adding emotion where it didn't fit and fell too flat when the emotion was NEEDED. That's a poor explanation but it's hard to really explain what I mean! A part of me feels like I may have enjoyed this more if I read it -- verses listening to it. But, that's not here or there.

Overall -- The Testing was just OKAY for me.