Review of The Testing by Joelle Charbonne

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.

The Jist : Cia has been working towards being one of the few chosen for The Testing her whole life, without encouragement from either of her parents. For anyone in the colonies, being chosen for the Testing means the chance to get a college education and a chance to become one of a very select few chosen to help rebuild a world almost completely destroyed by war.

When Cia gets chosen her dad tells her about his testing experience for the first time and Cia learns that this might not be the amazing opportunity she always dreamed it would be. With her dad’s ominous words now guiding her guiding her every decision, Cia must chose her allies very carefully because the wrong choice could have fatal consequences.

My Take: After skimming through some of the reviews of this book I was very close to not reading it at all. There were so many complaints of it being a Hunger Games knock off that I wondered if it would even be worth reading. I am so glad that I decided to just read it and find out for myself!

 Yes this book has a lot of similarities to The Hunger Games and while many found that to be a turn off, I found myself just as drawn into this story. While they are similar, they are not the same story, they are just of the same theme. I don't know exactly what it is about these government-controlled futuristic societies that make them so appealing but I, for one, am hooked!

The author, Joelle Charbonne, does some wonderful writing in this book. I was immediately engrossed in her story to the point where I stayed up until six in the morning for two days in a row because I had to know what happened.  These are my favorite kinds of books, the stories that can take you away from where you are and completely captivate you to the point of putting off the real world so you can see this story to the end.

Wrap Up: Those of you who are fans of dystopian series will not be disappointed in this book! Read it and find out for yourself. 


This is going to be a trilogy and the next book will be on the shelves January 7, 2014 and I am looking forward the Independent Study!