The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
Title: The Testing
Author: Joelle Charbonneau
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Published: August 1st 2013, Templar Publishing
Pages: 384
Blurb: A gripping
futuristic thriller, perfect for fans of The Hunger Games.
DO YOU POSSESS A
WINNING COMBINATION OF THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICAL SKLLS AND RAW
INTELLIGENCE?
DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT
TAKES TO LEAD OTHERS? ARE YOU WILLING TO CRUSH THOSE WHO STAND IN YOUR WAY?
Every year, the
United Commonwealth invites top graduates from each colony to participate in
The Testing. Successful candidates will go on to the University and help the
government work to rebuild our war-stricken world. This process is not optional.
Disclaimer: The
United Commonwealth is not responsible for candidates' psychological or
physical heath during The Testing.
The
Testing is used to eliminate the chosen participates who are weak and aren’t
suitable to be the future leaders of The United Commonwealth. It’s used to get
the total chosen number of 108 to decrease in number to around about 20 people. The first part of The Testing uses 4
different tests that test the contestant’s knowledge of history, science,
mathematics and reading and gives United Commonwealth an idea on how certain
people use their brains. The second part is used to give the contestants a way
to show their knowledge in a practical way and the third part is used to show
how individuals work as in a team. And finally part four is used to test
leadership and survival skills. Overall The Testing is a way which forces
individuals to put themselves first in order to survive, to trust the right
people, to be able to stand by their decisions and also to never guess on
important matters.
The
Testing is different to The Hunger Games because firstly The Testing has
multiple winners and it’s not first come first win. Secondly the actual Testing
is not all about physically surviving it’s about testing your knowledge,
trusting the right people, working with people you don`t trust, following your
instincts and trusting yourself. What happens in The Testing isn’t known to
everybody so unlike The Hunger Games where everybody watches what happens The
Testing is just a way for people to compete to get into University.
The
book started out rushed with the entire Graduation Day, the people chosen for
The Testing and Cia packing and leaving Five Lakes happening in the span of a
couple of chapters. But then the book paces out really well with the reader
actually getting to know the secondary characters and learning what Cia’s
skills are. I could actually connect to the characters because I could tell
them apart from each other and Cia wasn`t the character to leave any details
behind.
The
world Joelle Charbonneau has created is that everyone is expected to find a job
and be useful to the community and this adds a lot of pressure to Cia. This is
the reason she wants to be in The Testing, she doesn`t want to be like others
who have been forced to take a job which they don`t enjoy doing, like her brothers.
She wants to go to University to help change the Earth and help the community
grow but how can she do that when the corruption isn`t just in the earth but in
people too.
The
element of trust is very important in the book because Cia’s “friends” or
anybody could betray you at any part of The Testing. Cia has good instincts and
a lot of her struggles were of her trying to follow her own instincts and
trusting herself and not leaving her trust on others.
Cia
was strong, clever, skilful and independent and she didn’t really show any
flaws. Which made me so angry, no character/human being is perfect so why did
Cia get everything right so easily. She passed the written tests, yeh she
struggled but she still did plenty of the papers, she was socially able to make
a group of strangers connect, she was mechanically able to solve problems, she
was incredibly intelligent, she solved the problem of working as team, she
could sense betrayal, she could read people, she could shoot a gun, she was a
great friend, she dressed appropriately, she stored food, she choice her three
things wisely, she spend her time wisely, she saved others lives, she cared for
someone even when they were holding her back from winning and she was also
clever enough to record her story before her memory was wiped.
Wow –
A long list of her perfection
!
Cia
had help from people outside of the United Commonwealth, the rebels. I see
where this is going, typical!
Blurb: A gripping futuristic thriller, perfect for fans of The Hunger Games.
DO YOU POSSESS A WINNING COMBINATION OF THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICAL SKLLS AND RAW INTELLIGENCE?
DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO LEAD OTHERS? ARE YOU WILLING TO CRUSH THOSE WHO STAND IN YOUR WAY?
Every year, the United Commonwealth invites top graduates from each colony to participate in The Testing. Successful candidates will go on to the University and help the government work to rebuild our war-stricken world. This process is not optional.
Disclaimer: The United Commonwealth is not responsible for candidates' psychological or physical heath during The Testing.
The
Testing is used to eliminate the chosen participates who are weak and aren’t
suitable to be the future leaders of The United Commonwealth. It’s used to get
the total chosen number of 108 to decrease in number to around about 20 people. The first part of The Testing uses 4
different tests that test the contestant’s knowledge of history, science,
mathematics and reading and gives United Commonwealth an idea on how certain
people use their brains. The second part is used to give the contestants a way
to show their knowledge in a practical way and the third part is used to show
how individuals work as in a team. And finally part four is used to test
leadership and survival skills. Overall The Testing is a way which forces
individuals to put themselves first in order to survive, to trust the right
people, to be able to stand by their decisions and also to never guess on
important matters.
The
Testing is different to The Hunger Games because firstly The Testing has
multiple winners and it’s not first come first win. Secondly the actual Testing
is not all about physically surviving it’s about testing your knowledge,
trusting the right people, working with people you don`t trust, following your
instincts and trusting yourself. What happens in The Testing isn’t known to
everybody so unlike The Hunger Games where everybody watches what happens The
Testing is just a way for people to compete to get into University.
The
book started out rushed with the entire Graduation Day, the people chosen for
The Testing and Cia packing and leaving Five Lakes happening in the span of a
couple of chapters. But then the book paces out really well with the reader
actually getting to know the secondary characters and learning what Cia’s
skills are. I could actually connect to the characters because I could tell
them apart from each other and Cia wasn`t the character to leave any details
behind.
The
world Joelle Charbonneau has created is that everyone is expected to find a job
and be useful to the community and this adds a lot of pressure to Cia. This is
the reason she wants to be in The Testing, she doesn`t want to be like others
who have been forced to take a job which they don`t enjoy doing, like her brothers.
She wants to go to University to help change the Earth and help the community
grow but how can she do that when the corruption isn`t just in the earth but in
people too.
The
element of trust is very important in the book because Cia’s “friends” or
anybody could betray you at any part of The Testing. Cia has good instincts and
a lot of her struggles were of her trying to follow her own instincts and
trusting herself and not leaving her trust on others.
Cia
was strong, clever, skilful and independent and she didn’t really show any
flaws. Which made me so angry, no character/human being is perfect so why did
Cia get everything right so easily. She passed the written tests, yeh she
struggled but she still did plenty of the papers, she was socially able to make
a group of strangers connect, she was mechanically able to solve problems, she
was incredibly intelligent, she solved the problem of working as team, she
could sense betrayal, she could read people, she could shoot a gun, she was a
great friend, she dressed appropriately, she stored food, she choice her three
things wisely, she spend her time wisely, she saved others lives, she cared for
someone even when they were holding her back from winning and she was also
clever enough to record her story before her memory was wiped.
Wow –
A long list of her perfection
!
The
romance element seemed like a bit like insta-love but the two characters have
known each before The Testing so you understand why they friends in the beginning
– they didn`t just instantly connect. The relationship wasn’t like others where
the male led the girl through the abandoned city, they were both equal in the
sense they both had their own ideas which they both decided on. But they also
had secrets which they kept from each other.
Cia
had help from people outside of the United Commonwealth, the rebels. I see
where this is going, typical!
No comments:
Post a Comment