The Testing

I have heard a lot on other blogs that people are saying this is another Hunger Games. While there are some similiarities to HG, the story line itself has a different twist. I have not been more excited or left reeling about a book in awhile and this one did that for me!

The book starts out with Cia's graduation day. This is the day that they announce which individual's, if any, will be chosen for The Testing. Cia would love to be chosen and follow in her father's footsteps. Her mother is not really thrilled with the idea and I got the feeling that she was secretly hoping that Cia would not get chosen. Cia has done EVERYTHING in her power to assure that she gets picked. She has always gotten good scores in school and worked really hard. To her, this is her only shot at doing something meaningful with her life.

Now, this is not really a teaser because obviously, we would not have a book otherwise, but...yes, she does get chosen:) This is where the book really takes off! Her father warns her not to trust anyone but cannot give her much more in advice since he has a hard time remembering his time in the testing. Cia listens attentively and soaks up any knowledge he could give her.

The Testing itself is what most will remind readers of HG. And while it did remind me of that too, I just could not help continuing on! It was not exactly the same and I insisted that my curiosity was much bigger than really trying to compare the two.

The characters were a great mix. I enjoyed all of them from Cia, to Tomas and right on down to Cia's parents. I thought they were written well and they held little surprises around every corner.
The ending was so frustrating! Don't get me wrong, it was written amazingly, but for the reader, it was aggravatingly suspenseful! You will keep your fingers crossed for these characters up until the very end! Then you will yell out loud because you are sooo PO'd!

The ending was left on a bit of a cliffhanger and I look forward to what happens in the next book, Independent Study due out January 2014! UGH, That is just too long to wait!

Many people who reviewed this book complained about the obvious similarity to The Hunger Games Trilogy. I, however, do not find that to be a distraction and actually enjoyed the path this book took. Yes, The Testing is a dangerous event, like the Games, but in this story people want to be chosen for the Testing and find that failure is not an option. Without delving too much into the plot of the book, I will say that I could not put it down. I finished in one day. It was addictive. In order to read and really enjoy the book, you have to stop comparing it to other dystopian books out there. Similarities are inevitable, but it's how the story teller communicates their tale that makes for a great book.
I am on to the next book in the series, Independent Study. I hope this series continues to engage me until the end!
Give this book a chance. Forget The Hunger Games. Forget other books. Just read and enjoy, and I have a feeling you'll like The Testing as much as I did.

First off A LOT of people have been comparing this book to the Hunger Games trilogy and does it have similar themes...yes, but that doesn't make it unoriginal, in fact the Hunger Games itself wasn't original in themes and ideas, as evidenced by many other books that came before and even some movies. Does that make the story any less original, any less entertaining? NO! This book does press on a similar theme, the atrocity of war, and how it affects people after the unthinkable happens. This book isn't about "kids" per say. Cia Vale and her counterparts are high school graduates entering their adult lives, Cia just happens to have graduated a year early. The Testing takes the best and brightest of the colony graduates (and there are lots of little colonies) who will go through a process to see who's worthy to be a leader of the country. These future leaders are skilled in many advanced sciences that will help rebuild a ravaged earth, you'll actually have to read a bit into the book before you figure out what happened to make the earth so barren and they do indeed give you a brief little history. Are there hard themes for some people, yes, does it get brutal? Yes, but it is so very entertaining, I read it in one sitting. It is a fast read, it picks up pace once everyone gets to Tosu City. I did find this story surprisingly unique, you should try to separate yourself from other dystopian novels and just enjoy the ride. I can't wait for the next book to come out to see where Cia's story will go. I think the themes in this book are a very common worry right now, the destruction of ourselves, the corruption of government or rather the altogether brutal nature that people have, I think especially in the world today these themes will become more and more evident in literature. I hope this book series does well because I think the author did a fantastic job with the characters, the world building and all the twist that present themselves.

The story is modeled on the Hunger Games, but with some changes. Set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian United States, the story involves a morally questionable capital city and an assortment of colonies instead of Hunger Games' capital city and districts. Also, like Hunger Games, we have young kids rounded up and forced to compete against one another, but it's not totally to the death. 108 of the brightest kids in the colonies are rounded up and they go through four rounds of testing, with some kids being eliminated with each round. During the final and longest testing round, the kids are allowed to off each other to reduce the competition. Not everyone dies, but a lot do. The heroine is 16 year old Cia and her romantic counterpart is Tomas. The story centers on their progress through the testing. The writing is decent and the story gradually departs from the Hunger Games storyline and has enough unique elements that it's not a total Hunger Games rip off. It doesn't have quite the depth and pathos as Hunger Games, nor does it have the same romantic tension. The romance is pretty simple and I found it lukewarm. The good news is that if you're a big fan of the Hunger Games and want to experience again that type of story, you'll probably like this.

I know, I know. I'm supposed to have read this book, seen that it was another teen dystopian thriller that copied _The Hunger Games_ to the core, and then thrown it away after making fun of it.

But I can't do it. Yes, it's derivative. Yes, it has many of the same plot twists. Yes, it's not as good as the original. But that doesn't mean that it's terrible. In fact, I read it over the course of four hours in one sitting. And any book that gets me to do that has to be worth something more. I think the best feature of Charbonneau's book is the depth of the world. You truly feel like you know the shadows of this particular dystopia. Maybe it's because I live in the Midwest, and therefore was mentally tracing the path from Chicago to "Tosu City" and thinking about what it probably looked like. But this world was believable. It felt like what would exist after such a war, so it worked. Similarly, the characters had some depth. Cia is a likable, smart protagonist, and there's enough to learn about the other unknowns that I'm waiting for the second book.

So, in the end, three starts for the text itself, one for getting me to read it in one setting. The author has produced a very entertaining book that is worth your time, and I'm looking forward to the second volume.

I have heard quite a few comments about how The Testing is a rip-off of The Hunger Games and Divergent. And though I'll admit that there are similarities, it provides a unique dystopian concept that I enjoyed. If anything, it's the best The Hunger games meet Divergent story out there complete with a whole new twist. ;)

But let's get this out of the way. These are the things that are a little too similar to the two best-selling series:
1. It's set in a futuristic world where the world is destroyed and the few people left are run by a strict government.
2. Students are chosen to compete with each other to get to the University.
3. Whether you pass or not, you are unlikely to see your family again so they get compensation as a kind of payment for you.
4. Wrong choices made during The Testing results to death or being transferred to another colony.

If you can get past the similarities then, well, you're good to go.

A brief review of The Testing's dystopian world:

The world is in ruins after the Seven Stages of War. The first four being man-made wars, and the other three was earth's response to those wars (earthquakes and such). The few left are scattered into colonies. The colonies are fomed in lands that are not too corrupted and can be revitalized in order to slowly build the earth again. Students graduate at the age of 16 and, if not chosen for The Testing, are deemed old enough to work.

Malencia Vale, or Cia, is a 16 year-old girl who is part of the Five Lakes Colony. Her father passed The Testing and a graduate of the University. His job is to revitalize the land around Five Lakes and tweaking genes of plants and other food so they can grow in the not-too-courrpted land.

When she was chosen for The Testing, she learned from her father that he doesn't remember any of it (Testing officials wipe all the candidates' memories of the Testing process) but that he has nightmares about it that could or could not be true. It at least gave her the edge to be careful and not too trustful which helped her a lot during the first stages of The Testing.

Cia is your typical nice and helpful protagonist. Smart and resourceful, too. Her only downfall is being too trustworthy (aren't they all?). Still, I love reading her PoV. Mostly because I like the way she thinks!

Tomas... well, I like Tomas. Not in love yet, no. While he's a handsome, smart and nice guy, he didn't stand out too much among the long line of YA male characters. There's nothing... special about him. I need him to make an impression. Hopefully the second book would remedy this!

Now, I deducted the one star because of two reasons:

One: Much as I enjoyed the unique spin, you can't deny the THG/Divergent similarities.

Two: I don't like the foreshadowing brought by that gray-haired man. MINOR SPOILER IN THE NEXT SENTENCES. According to the gray-haired man, there are people who don't approve of the Testing. Some are Testing officials themselves. Too Catching Fire for me. It also implies that these people may someday (or maybe soon?) try to do something about the government and I won't be entirely surprised if Cia finds herself in the middle of it. If that happens, well, too Mockingjay for me.

The Testing is book very much in vein with The Hunger Games and Divergent books. It's a YA dystopian book that focusses on protagonists that are forced to undergo a brutal test of sorts in their adolescent years. For those folks who love such sub-genre of books, then The Testing is a book that you simply can't miss.

It ticks all the right boxes by showcasing a rigid, bureaucratic Big-Brother government that controls almost all aspects of life, we have a precocious teen that goes to the testing place and has adventures that form the focus of this story. The Testing is a through and through page-turner and if you like some fun reading then you shouldn't miss this one.

However if you are looking for any originality then this book doesn't differentiate itself from the crowd of YA dystopian stories. It is very much in line with that is to be expected and therefore for those bored by such, you would very much give this title a skip as it might seem like storyline that you have read before. All in all The testing does what it's supposed to do and that's entertain the readers and gives a story that will keep them captivated and lastly gives us a worthy protagonist to root for. As far as YA dystopian novels go, this one is a winner for sure.

I recently reviewed this for Mockingjay.net as we were given a review copy because we're a Hunger Games fansite. I've provided an excerpt of it:

It should come as no surprise that Cia is selected as a candidate for the Testing, otherwise where would the story go? Cia is a mechanical whiz and dreams of building things to make life for colonists of the United Commonwealth a better place. But before she leaves, her father sits her down and tries to warn her about The Testing. He's had terrible, haunting nightmares about it, but he doesn't actually remember any of it because once the Testing ends, their memories are wiped and after their education, they're sent off to a colony for work, usually never seeing their family ever again.

With all of this in mind, Cia makes her journey to Tosu City, where she soon learns that the Testing is literally a matter of life and death. The concept itself strains believability at times, but I found myself forgiving that for the sake of an entertaining read. Cia, the plot, and the events of the novel bear a lot of similarities to The Hunger Games with just enough of a difference to stand on its own. Still, if someone were to accuse this book of ripping off the building blocks of Katniss and Peeta, I wouldn't be able to put up much of a counterargument.

That aside, I still enjoyed the book and I look forward to the next installment more than I do for quite a few other YA novels out there. If you're looking for a quick read that keeps the pages turning and reminds you of The Hunger Games, The Testing is a worthy candidate.

Does Contain Mild Spoilers....

The testing is one of those books that hooks you in and makes you want to keep reading. From the very beginning I fell in love with Cia and five lakes colony. It is sad the type of destruction that was once the USA faces today in Cia's world with the devastation of the landscape and what these citizens have to do to revitalize the landscapes to make them livable once again.
When Cia is selected for the Testing she is thrilled but when her father reveals that it is not all as it may seem she decides to be prepared and takes with her tools that will help to ensure her survival. The testing is brutal but Cia remains the same as she always was ... a compassionate and caring person who puts others before herself and it stays that way through the entire book. She is a strong minded character with a strong will and a need to survive and help others around her survive as well... However, that is not always enough. She has to make choices and some of them end up being the wrong ones. She trusts too easily and thinks the best of everyone even when they do not deserve it.
With the testing over only so many candidates make it to the University and all of their memories are cleared of what happened during the testing. Will Cia ever remember what happened to her and her companions or what happened to those that failed? What will her future hold? I cannot wait to get my hands on book two coming next spring as I am sure it will be another amazing read.

I've had this book on my "to read" for awhile now. I was not disappointed. This book is like a perfect blend of some of the other dystopian books I've read, but in a whole new way. I find it hard to explain how I feel about this book without spoilers and I hate giving spoilers (even if they're hidden,) so bear with me. The premise of the book and what the main characters have to go through is similar in ways to both The Hunger Games and Divergent. But in other ways it's so different that it's not like reading the same book with different characters. I liked how slowly you're brought to how horrible things are in this world. It's not a book where you're horrified at the world they live in from page one. It's different, but not horrible until we get further into the book. It's also one of those books that just draws you in from the beginning and only succeeds to become MORE intriguing as you turn the pages, which of course is what makes up a good novel. I'm very excited to move on to the next book and see what else these people have in store for them in the next phase of their lives.

Malencia "Cia" Vale lives in a small community with her loving family, and she's rapidly approaching graduation from school and adulthood. She's a clever, smart girl with some skill for mechanics, and she would like to be chosen for the Testing, which, if she passed, would put her on the path to becoming a leader in her post-apocalyptic world. The United Commonwealth runs the show in Cia's world, and no one from her community had been chosen for the Testing in many years. Her father has actually gone through the process, but he doesn't talk about it, probably because he can't really remember what happened. After the Testing, everyone's memories of what happened during the process are wiped, though he does sometimes get haunting nightmares. With the knowledge that the Testing may be even harder and more sinister than she expected, Cia is selected and sent off to magnificent Tosu City. The Testing is brutal and cruel and death and sabotage are common. As she maneuvers through the Testing, she gains and loses allies and enemies and even sparks a romance with a fellow candidate. The Testing is a book that fans of dystopians will probably enjoy. Definitely a trilogy to look out for, and it could easily be turned into a film or TV adaptation. Thank you, Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for giving me the galley for this book!

http://www.riverinaromantics.com

My Rating: 4 out of 5
Heat Rating: 1 out of 5

I really liked the concept of this story, and although it did have quite a few similarities to The Hunger Games, I think it had enough differences to make it unique to itself. I liked some of the characters, and disliked others. Of course, I did not like the government—which we’re not supposed to. All in all, I thought it was well done.

Cia was a very intelligent young woman. She had a talent for machinery and gave everything she did one hundred and ten percent. She was dedicated to what she wanted in life, which was to be accepted into University. The close that day came, the stranger things around her started to become. She took everything with a logical approach, taking her time to solve problems and figure out the puzzles placed in front of her. It was difficult for her to figure out who was friend or foe, but she was quick on her feet and her mind lightning sharp. She made mistakes, and they sometimes turned out badly, but she never gave up and she did everything in her power to save herself and Thomas, her only connection to home and her growing feelings for him.

Thomas was also a very intelligent person. Although his skills were more of the brainy sort, he was no less a strong character. He accomplished anything he set his mind to. He was wary of everyone and everything around him, except Cia. He never let anyone get too close and he did his best to protect those he cared for. Although he was strong most of the time, certain mistakes he made affected him visibly, which led to feelings that caused him to struggle later on. He was the more emotional one out of the pair, but not so much that it affected him negatively. He found his way through the situations he was placed in and he made sure Cia did as well. He didn’t want to go on without her, and it showed.

I loved the concept of University. Although not a place I would at all want to go to, this different spin on an idea of a government-controlled operation was very interesting and intriguing. Any decision you made had a consequence, and if you acted too rashly, you were rewarded accordingly. It just adds another idea of what a dystopian life could be like. I also really wish I could have believed the relationship between Thomas and Cia, but unfortunately to me in fell very flat. There didn't seem to be much development, and what there was felt so beyond incomplete it was almost like it was tossed in there as an afterthought. I hope it gets better in the next book.

I really enjoyed the ideas this author put into play and look forward to the next book.

Cia is hoping that she gets chosen for the testing by the United Commonwealth. You see one the best are chosen for the testing. If you get chosen you can further your education and have a really good job. Cia does get chosen. The one person that Cia would have thought would have be happy would be Cia's father. He was chosen a long time ago as well. Cia's father may not remember much about the testing as the government wipes your memories if you pass but he does give Cia some advice..."Trust no one."

While I have not read any of the Hunger Game books, I did see the movie. I know movies are not the best to decide a story on and this is why I am not comparing. However after seeing the movies I can say that I am better familiar with what the books are about. So this is why when I was reading The Testing, I could not help but compare this book instantly to The Hunger Games book. It has some similarities. Teens are selected. They are tested. Only the best survive.

The Testing is the first book, so I did not see a lot of action happening in this book. The way the book ended however I think that there will be more drama in the second one. Other than Cia and Tomas, I did not get attached. One because I did not know who else would be playing a major part in the story either as a primary or secondary character and two some did not last long in the story. Although this book did not have a lot of action it still kept my interest and makes me want to read book two.

The Testing...an important mark of adulthood for a chosen few, this is something Cia has striven for all her life. To be tested for a spot at University, along with the other chosen from colonies around the country, is a great honor. Her father made it, but no one else from her colony has made it in the last decade, including a smarter older brother. When she does make it (and since you can tell from the synopsis that she does, I'm not considering this a spoiler), she finds out the Testing is a lot darker than she ever realized.

This book seemed almost to be a cross between The Hunger Games and Divergent, only probably not as amazingly written, but still really good--especially if you like those sorts of stories. It's set in a dystopian world long after nuclear strikes took out a good part of the country. The United Commonwealth is still focusing on revitalizing the land, and Cia's father is heavily involved in these revitalization efforts.

It's a dark story, and explores some heavy ideas, but I personally think it makes the book all the better. Some readers seem to wonder why a country would go to such extremes to test for the brightest minds, and why it would also waste so many of the didn't-quite-make-it bright minds. After all, the country is still trying to re-populate. But I could see why it might make sense, especially to a country that as a whole, seems to still be suffering lingering effects of PTSD. It is a proven fact that going through extreme circumstances can really bring out someone's character; it is the ultimate test. And for a country who still has the mindset that their leaders need to be able to lead through the pressures of a nuclear war, I could see where their fears might have created this insane testing system.

But this is why we like to read dystopians, right? Because the characters will need to face terrible situations and overcome impossible hurdles, and throughout those experiences, grow into who they really are. They will probably discover they need to rebel against the system, and lead the way to change--but my guess is that part will wait for book two. Which I can't wait to read.

This digital copy of The Testing was given to me by NetGalley & Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in exchange for an honest review.

The marketing strategy was very clever and well thought out. I was both surprised and slightly disenchanted by the fact it not only mirrored the Hunger Games in many ways but there seemed to be no effort to make it different in any way.
I found it lacked depth at times and there were many missed opportunities to draw the reader in and let them connect with the characters.
Sometimes I felt this was done on purpose to give the story an overall feeling of the end is nye coldness. Robotic, emotionless and shallow Cia. Born into a society of dictatorship that doesn't allow you to feel what you want. Picked and torn from her family and fully aware that this might be the last time she sees them.
Now if you see it from that perspective it makes the almost robotic like Cia make sense in the grand scheme of things.
Anyone who can devise a concept to draw the reader in via clever websites, previews and the essence of secrets to be unlocked should have been able to create their own story, even if the core idea was sparked by another book.
I would suggest the author give themselves a little credit and trust in their own creativity, which was certainly evident beneath the HG template.
I think this will appeal to readers who don't mind a little fan-fiction or enjoy the dystopian setting despite the familiarity of the plot.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley.

This book is FANTASTIC! ? There's so much going on in this book I couldn't put it down! I finished it in 1 day and instantly wanted the next one! If your looking for a great book with mysteries, action, romance, and unexpected turns then this is the book for you! ? ? You get attached to the characters and are always wondering if they can escape the next trap alive! ? The description for the book on this site doesn't say much and well....sounds like alot of other books out there but believe me its not! I was captivated at the very beggining and by the 2-3 chapter I was totally in love with Cia! ? This book let's you get completely attached to the main characters so your always on the edge of your seat hoping they make it out alive! ? This book also gives a lot of details so it feels like your there with them, there's also some gruesome parts in the book so if you don't like blood and unattached limbs then you might not like this book as much as I did ?...but if your okay with that kinda stuff then you HAVE to read this book! ? Its a must must must must MUST read!!!! ? I totally loved this book and I'm getting the rest! ? ? ?
Hope this review was helpful ?

From: evelinesbooks.blogspot.nl

During the book I made some notes about similarities between the Hunger Games and The Testing.

The Hunger Games vs The Testing:

Districts - Colonies
Hunger Games - Testing
Peeta - Tomas
Cato - Roman
Haymitch - Michal
Katniss - Cia
President Snow - Dr. Barnes
Arena - Stage 4

They both have mutated creepy animals roaming in the arena, there are both people chosen from districts/colonies for the testing/games. Both books have a boy who has had a crush on a girl for ages and finally decides to move in in the games/testing, after he is wounded and the girl is at first trying to deny the crush. Both protagonists are extremely good at survival.

There are too many similarities to say it's just a coincidence. It really seems like the author picked the concept of the Hunger Games and tried to make it her own, without actually plagiarizing anything. Sometimes this idea-picking works out great and it makes a wonderful book, but this book is definitely not better than The Hunger Games and I found myself constantly comparing the two books. The ideas in this book are just a lot more illogical and less well-developed. I know most ideas in books aren't creative and unique anymore, but an author at least has to try to come up with something of his own.

I'm not saying this directly made it a bad book, but it won't get a lot of stars in the end because of it.

The book also lacked action. Most of the book was build-up to the Testing and the first three parts of the Testing, which consisted of written tests. Even in the fourth stage, which was the arena survival/fight to the death part, wasn't really exciting at any point. Everything was resolved fairly easy by both Cia and Tomas and there wasn't an epic climax of any sort. It wasn't exactly boring, but I'd have loved to see some more action.

I could not really relate to any of the characters. Cia was just too smart and too good at everything to be realistic and her character was a bit boring. Tomas seemed like a very nice guy, a bit too much actually, that's why I found him suspicious from the beginning. That made him an unlikeable character and love interest. I did like his twist, and I am curious to see how that works out. The other characters in the book had no development and were just flat. They didn't really add much to the story. The only character I did find interesting was Will. He had much depth in his character and I thought he'd make a better love interest until the end of the book. But his twist made him even more interesting.

There was no real build-up to Cia and Tomas' relationship, it was unrealistic. They instantly became close after being chosen for the Testing, while they never even talked before. Tomas apparently had a crush on Cia (without apparent reason), never acted on it , until they were alone in the arena. Cia was constantly denying he had a crush on her and did not seem to return the crush. Then they kissed and they suddenly were in love.. The whole relationship just seemed forced and I did not sense any chemistry between them.

Some things did not really make sense in the book. Why would they kill most of the smart people in a still rebuilding country? Why would a future leader/ University attendee need to be able to survive a deadly arena? How did Cia know all that stuff about survival, she was just a high school student? Cia took an antidote to the memory-wipe medicine, why did she still forget?

I did like that the book had a few unexpected twists. From Cia's father's warning the reader knew he could not trust anyone, but a few characters really surprised me in the end and the ending itself was unpredictable to me.

The world-building was not really detailed. We know America was destroyed by war and colonies came in its place. But we don't get details about the other colonies, how the rebuilding went and the whole war was pretty confusing, since we only got answers via stupid test questions. The post-apocalyptic theme of the book was just not believable, since it was never really explained.

Okay, my review seems very negative, but it wasn't really that bad of a book. It's just hard to stay positive when you start comparing it to the Hunger Games and it's just less good on all points. If I hadn't read The Hunger Games this review would probably have been pretty positive.
So if you already read THG, I wouldn't recommend this book to you and if you haven't, give it a try and read THG after that if you liked it.

The book started off a little slow, and throughout felt very similar to other YA Dystopian novels (hunger games, Divergent, Maze Runner, etc). That isn't necessarily a bad thing though, if you enjoy those other series then you will enjoy this one as well. I often think these are important novels for young people to read because they teach them to question authority and that they are going to be the only ones looking out for their best interest. It shows that we should all fight for the world we want to live in, to change the wrongs in society and not just accept the status quo.

Once I got into the story, around the time the she leaves for the testing city, I was hooked and it was a swift moving storyline full of peril and self-reliance and self-discovery. Unfortunately she loses the memories of everything that happen during the testing, but I don't think it will be for long. I look forward to seeing how things play out and I wonder if Thomas has managed to keep his memories. I also want to learn more about the people that helped her along the way. Interesting new world and yet another series to continue.

The Testing is an entertaining quick read, but nothing that makes it stand out from the mile high stack of equally entertaining yet forgettable dystopian novels. It has all of the required dystopian plot details - totalitarian plutocracy government, food shortages, poverty, secret communities, etc. It also has a protagonist who has led a sheltered life and is not ready for the cruel and diabolical actions of her opponents as she tries to win a spot in the competition to attend the university. Cia's father warned her to "trust no one no matter what." Of course, being a teen, Cia does not listen. She suffers some painful and heartbreaking consequences for not heeding the advice. But most importantly, is she entering into a romantic relationship with someone who is using her to get ahead and is intending to betray her? Have to read the sequel to find out, of course. The Testing does have an exciting surprise twist and a nail-biting suspenseful conclusion.

I was invited by Net Galley to read this book and boy, am I glad I accepted the invitation. A lot of reviewers will say this book is a rip-off of The Hunger Games, but don't believe them. Yes, there are some similarities - dystopian setting, controlling government, and romance - but aren't those aspects included in a lot of stories? The Testing is the first in a trilogy and is its own story.

Over a hundred teenagers are invited to participate, but less than 20% of them will pass the tests, so you have a lot of extremely competitive, conniving, and manipulative people participating and one of Cia's biggest concerns is who to trust. I felt like the author did an excellent job with the "show don't tell" rule, in that the actions of the characters let the reader judge who was trustworthy and who wasn't. And sometimes you were never sure. The characterization was impressive and sometimes I found myself arguing with the characters, asking them if they were sure they were making the right decisions. Good thing no one was around to see that.

I'm not saying there aren't any deaths in this book, but killing isn't required to pass the tests or be the winner, as it was in The Hunger Games. If you're a dystopian fan, definitely check out this series.

Does Contain Mild Spoilers....

The testing is one of those books that hooks you in and makes you want to keep reading. From the very beginning I fell in love with Cia and five lakes colony. It is sad the type of destruction that was once the USA faces today in Cia's world with the devastation of the landscape and what these citizens have to do to revitalize the landscapes to make them livable once again.
When Cia is selected for the Testing she is thrilled but when her father reveals that it is not all as it may seem she decides to be prepared and takes with her tools that will help to ensure her survival. The testing is brutal but Cia remains the same as she always was ... a compassionate and caring person who puts others before herself and it stays that way through the entire book. She is a strong minded character with a strong will and a need to survive and help others around her survive as well... However, that is not always enough. She has to make choices and some of them end up being the wrong ones. She trusts too easily and thinks the best of everyone even when they do not deserve it.
With the testing over only so many candidates make it to the University and all of their memories are cleared of what happened during the testing. Will Cia ever remember what happened to her and her companions or what happened to those that failed? What will her future hold? I cannot wait to get my hands on book two coming next spring as I am sure it will be another amazing read.

I've had this book on my "to read" for awhile now. I was not disappointed. This book is like a perfect blend of some of the other dystopian books I've read, but in a whole new way. I find it hard to explain how I feel about this book without spoilers and I hate giving spoilers (even if they're hidden,) so bear with me. The premise of the book and what the main characters have to go through is similar in ways to both The Hunger Games and Divergent. But in other ways it's so different that it's not like reading the same book with different characters. I liked how slowly you're brought to how horrible things are in this world. It's not a book where you're horrified at the world they live in from page one. It's different, but not horrible until we get further into the book. It's also one of those books that just draws you in from the beginning and only succeeds to become MORE intriguing as you turn the pages, which of course is what makes up a good novel. I'm very excited to move on to the next book and see what else these people have in store for them in the next phase of their lives.

Malencia "Cia" Vale lives in a small community with her loving family, and she's rapidly approaching graduation from school and adulthood. She's a clever, smart girl with some skill for mechanics, and she would like to be chosen for the Testing, which, if she passed, would put her on the path to becoming a leader in her post-apocalyptic world. The United Commonwealth runs the show in Cia's world, and no one from her community had been chosen for the Testing in many years. Her father has actually gone through the process, but he doesn't talk about it, probably because he can't really remember what happened. After the Testing, everyone's memories of what happened during the process are wiped, though he does sometimes get haunting nightmares. With the knowledge that the Testing may be even harder and more sinister than she expected, Cia is selected and sent off to magnificent Tosu City. The Testing is brutal and cruel and death and sabotage are common. As she maneuvers through the Testing, she gains and loses allies and enemies and even sparks a romance with a fellow candidate. The Testing is a book that fans of dystopians will probably enjoy. Definitely a trilogy to look out for, and it could easily be turned into a film or TV adaptation. Thank you, Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for giving me the galley for this book!

http://www.riverinaromantics.com

My Rating: 4 out of 5
Heat Rating: 1 out of 5

I really liked the concept of this story, and although it did have quite a few similarities to The Hunger Games, I think it had enough differences to make it unique to itself. I liked some of the characters, and disliked others. Of course, I did not like the government—which we’re not supposed to. All in all, I thought it was well done.

Cia was a very intelligent young woman. She had a talent for machinery and gave everything she did one hundred and ten percent. She was dedicated to what she wanted in life, which was to be accepted into University. The close that day came, the stranger things around her started to become. She took everything with a logical approach, taking her time to solve problems and figure out the puzzles placed in front of her. It was difficult for her to figure out who was friend or foe, but she was quick on her feet and her mind lightning sharp. She made mistakes, and they sometimes turned out badly, but she never gave up and she did everything in her power to save herself and Thomas, her only connection to home and her growing feelings for him.

Thomas was also a very intelligent person. Although his skills were more of the brainy sort, he was no less a strong character. He accomplished anything he set his mind to. He was wary of everyone and everything around him, except Cia. He never let anyone get too close and he did his best to protect those he cared for. Although he was strong most of the time, certain mistakes he made affected him visibly, which led to feelings that caused him to struggle later on. He was the more emotional one out of the pair, but not so much that it affected him negatively. He found his way through the situations he was placed in and he made sure Cia did as well. He didn’t want to go on without her, and it showed.

I loved the concept of University. Although not a place I would at all want to go to, this different spin on an idea of a government-controlled operation was very interesting and intriguing. Any decision you made had a consequence, and if you acted too rashly, you were rewarded accordingly. It just adds another idea of what a dystopian life could be like. I also really wish I could have believed the relationship between Thomas and Cia, but unfortunately to me in fell very flat. There didn't seem to be much development, and what there was felt so beyond incomplete it was almost like it was tossed in there as an afterthought. I hope it gets better in the next book.

I really enjoyed the ideas this author put into play and look forward to the next book.

Cia is hoping that she gets chosen for the testing by the United Commonwealth. You see one the best are chosen for the testing. If you get chosen you can further your education and have a really good job. Cia does get chosen. The one person that Cia would have thought would have be happy would be Cia's father. He was chosen a long time ago as well. Cia's father may not remember much about the testing as the government wipes your memories if you pass but he does give Cia some advice..."Trust no one."

While I have not read any of the Hunger Game books, I did see the movie. I know movies are not the best to decide a story on and this is why I am not comparing. However after seeing the movies I can say that I am better familiar with what the books are about. So this is why when I was reading The Testing, I could not help but compare this book instantly to The Hunger Games book. It has some similarities. Teens are selected. They are tested. Only the best survive.

The Testing is the first book, so I did not see a lot of action happening in this book. The way the book ended however I think that there will be more drama in the second one. Other than Cia and Tomas, I did not get attached. One because I did not know who else would be playing a major part in the story either as a primary or secondary character and two some did not last long in the story. Although this book did not have a lot of action it still kept my interest and makes me want to read book two.

The Testing...an important mark of adulthood for a chosen few, this is something Cia has striven for all her life. To be tested for a spot at University, along with the other chosen from colonies around the country, is a great honor. Her father made it, but no one else from her colony has made it in the last decade, including a smarter older brother. When she does make it (and since you can tell from the synopsis that she does, I'm not considering this a spoiler), she finds out the Testing is a lot darker than she ever realized.

This book seemed almost to be a cross between The Hunger Games and Divergent, only probably not as amazingly written, but still really good--especially if you like those sorts of stories. It's set in a dystopian world long after nuclear strikes took out a good part of the country. The United Commonwealth is still focusing on revitalizing the land, and Cia's father is heavily involved in these revitalization efforts.

It's a dark story, and explores some heavy ideas, but I personally think it makes the book all the better. Some readers seem to wonder why a country would go to such extremes to test for the brightest minds, and why it would also waste so many of the didn't-quite-make-it bright minds. After all, the country is still trying to re-populate. But I could see why it might make sense, especially to a country that as a whole, seems to still be suffering lingering effects of PTSD. It is a proven fact that going through extreme circumstances can really bring out someone's character; it is the ultimate test. And for a country who still has the mindset that their leaders need to be able to lead through the pressures of a nuclear war, I could see where their fears might have created this insane testing system.

But this is why we like to read dystopians, right? Because the characters will need to face terrible situations and overcome impossible hurdles, and throughout those experiences, grow into who they really are. They will probably discover they need to rebel against the system, and lead the way to change--but my guess is that part will wait for book two. Which I can't wait to read.

This digital copy of The Testing was given to me by NetGalley & Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in exchange for an honest review.

The marketing strategy was very clever and well thought out. I was both surprised and slightly disenchanted by the fact it not only mirrored the Hunger Games in many ways but there seemed to be no effort to make it different in any way.
I found it lacked depth at times and there were many missed opportunities to draw the reader in and let them connect with the characters.
Sometimes I felt this was done on purpose to give the story an overall feeling of the end is nye coldness. Robotic, emotionless and shallow Cia. Born into a society of dictatorship that doesn't allow you to feel what you want. Picked and torn from her family and fully aware that this might be the last time she sees them.
Now if you see it from that perspective it makes the almost robotic like Cia make sense in the grand scheme of things.
Anyone who can devise a concept to draw the reader in via clever websites, previews and the essence of secrets to be unlocked should have been able to create their own story, even if the core idea was sparked by another book.
I would suggest the author give themselves a little credit and trust in their own creativity, which was certainly evident beneath the HG template.
I think this will appeal to readers who don't mind a little fan-fiction or enjoy the dystopian setting despite the familiarity of the plot.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley.

This book is FANTASTIC! ? There's so much going on in this book I couldn't put it down! I finished it in 1 day and instantly wanted the next one! If your looking for a great book with mysteries, action, romance, and unexpected turns then this is the book for you! ? ? You get attached to the characters and are always wondering if they can escape the next trap alive! ? The description for the book on this site doesn't say much and well....sounds like alot of other books out there but believe me its not! I was captivated at the very beggining and by the 2-3 chapter I was totally in love with Cia! ? This book let's you get completely attached to the main characters so your always on the edge of your seat hoping they make it out alive! ? This book also gives a lot of details so it feels like your there with them, there's also some gruesome parts in the book so if you don't like blood and unattached limbs then you might not like this book as much as I did ?...but if your okay with that kinda stuff then you HAVE to read this book! ? Its a must must must must MUST read!!!! ? I totally loved this book and I'm getting the rest! ? ? ?
Hope this review was helpful ?

From: evelinesbooks.blogspot.nl

During the book I made some notes about similarities between the Hunger Games and The Testing.

The Hunger Games vs The Testing:

Districts - Colonies
Hunger Games - Testing
Peeta - Tomas
Cato - Roman
Haymitch - Michal
Katniss - Cia
President Snow - Dr. Barnes
Arena - Stage 4

They both have mutated creepy animals roaming in the arena, there are both people chosen from districts/colonies for the testing/games. Both books have a boy who has had a crush on a girl for ages and finally decides to move in in the games/testing, after he is wounded and the girl is at first trying to deny the crush. Both protagonists are extremely good at survival.

There are too many similarities to say it's just a coincidence. It really seems like the author picked the concept of the Hunger Games and tried to make it her own, without actually plagiarizing anything. Sometimes this idea-picking works out great and it makes a wonderful book, but this book is definitely not better than The Hunger Games and I found myself constantly comparing the two books. The ideas in this book are just a lot more illogical and less well-developed. I know most ideas in books aren't creative and unique anymore, but an author at least has to try to come up with something of his own.

I'm not saying this directly made it a bad book, but it won't get a lot of stars in the end because of it.

The book also lacked action. Most of the book was build-up to the Testing and the first three parts of the Testing, which consisted of written tests. Even in the fourth stage, which was the arena survival/fight to the death part, wasn't really exciting at any point. Everything was resolved fairly easy by both Cia and Tomas and there wasn't an epic climax of any sort. It wasn't exactly boring, but I'd have loved to see some more action.

I could not really relate to any of the characters. Cia was just too smart and too good at everything to be realistic and her character was a bit boring. Tomas seemed like a very nice guy, a bit too much actually, that's why I found him suspicious from the beginning. That made him an unlikeable character and love interest. I did like his twist, and I am curious to see how that works out. The other characters in the book had no development and were just flat. They didn't really add much to the story. The only character I did find interesting was Will. He had much depth in his character and I thought he'd make a better love interest until the end of the book. But his twist made him even more interesting.

There was no real build-up to Cia and Tomas' relationship, it was unrealistic. They instantly became close after being chosen for the Testing, while they never even talked before. Tomas apparently had a crush on Cia (without apparent reason), never acted on it , until they were alone in the arena. Cia was constantly denying he had a crush on her and did not seem to return the crush. Then they kissed and they suddenly were in love.. The whole relationship just seemed forced and I did not sense any chemistry between them.

Some things did not really make sense in the book. Why would they kill most of the smart people in a still rebuilding country? Why would a future leader/ University attendee need to be able to survive a deadly arena? How did Cia know all that stuff about survival, she was just a high school student? Cia took an antidote to the memory-wipe medicine, why did she still forget?

I did like that the book had a few unexpected twists. From Cia's father's warning the reader knew he could not trust anyone, but a few characters really surprised me in the end and the ending itself was unpredictable to me.

The world-building was not really detailed. We know America was destroyed by war and colonies came in its place. But we don't get details about the other colonies, how the rebuilding went and the whole war was pretty confusing, since we only got answers via stupid test questions. The post-apocalyptic theme of the book was just not believable, since it was never really explained.

Okay, my review seems very negative, but it wasn't really that bad of a book. It's just hard to stay positive when you start comparing it to the Hunger Games and it's just less good on all points. If I hadn't read The Hunger Games this review would probably have been pretty positive.
So if you already read THG, I wouldn't recommend this book to you and if you haven't, give it a try and read THG after that if you liked it.

The book started off a little slow, and throughout felt very similar to other YA Dystopian novels (hunger games, Divergent, Maze Runner, etc). That isn't necessarily a bad thing though, if you enjoy those other series then you will enjoy this one as well. I often think these are important novels for young people to read because they teach them to question authority and that they are going to be the only ones looking out for their best interest. It shows that we should all fight for the world we want to live in, to change the wrongs in society and not just accept the status quo.

Once I got into the story, around the time the she leaves for the testing city, I was hooked and it was a swift moving storyline full of peril and self-reliance and self-discovery. Unfortunately she loses the memories of everything that happen during the testing, but I don't think it will be for long. I look forward to seeing how things play out and I wonder if Thomas has managed to keep his memories. I also want to learn more about the people that helped her along the way. Interesting new world and yet another series to continue.

The Testing is an entertaining quick read, but nothing that makes it stand out from the mile high stack of equally entertaining yet forgettable dystopian novels. It has all of the required dystopian plot details - totalitarian plutocracy government, food shortages, poverty, secret communities, etc. It also has a protagonist who has led a sheltered life and is not ready for the cruel and diabolical actions of her opponents as she tries to win a spot in the competition to attend the university. Cia's father warned her to "trust no one no matter what." Of course, being a teen, Cia does not listen. She suffers some painful and heartbreaking consequences for not heeding the advice. But most importantly, is she entering into a romantic relationship with someone who is using her to get ahead and is intending to betray her? Have to read the sequel to find out, of course. The Testing does have an exciting surprise twist and a nail-biting suspenseful conclusion.

I was invited by Net Galley to read this book and boy, am I glad I accepted the invitation. A lot of reviewers will say this book is a rip-off of The Hunger Games, but don't believe them. Yes, there are some similarities - dystopian setting, controlling government, and romance - but aren't those aspects included in a lot of stories? The Testing is the first in a trilogy and is its own story.

Over a hundred teenagers are invited to participate, but less than 20% of them will pass the tests, so you have a lot of extremely competitive, conniving, and manipulative people participating and one of Cia's biggest concerns is who to trust. I felt like the author did an excellent job with the "show don't tell" rule, in that the actions of the characters let the reader judge who was trustworthy and who wasn't. And sometimes you were never sure. The characterization was impressive and sometimes I found myself arguing with the characters, asking them if they were sure they were making the right decisions. Good thing no one was around to see that.

I'm not saying there aren't any deaths in this book, but killing isn't required to pass the tests or be the winner, as it was in The Hunger Games. If you're a dystopian fan, definitely check out this series.

Malencia "Cia" Vale desires to be a part of The Testing, but the dangers involved may prove to be more than she and the other candidates can handle in Joelle Charbonneau's The Testing.

Intelligent and kind-hearted, Cia Vale must find a way to put her naivety aside without losing who she is. Her budding relationship with Tomas is sweet, and I enjoyed how they looked out after each other. Cia has a wonderful relationship with her family too. Her brothers were so much fun to read about. Each character added to the story with how they treated The Testing and their fellow candidates. Charbonneau dug deep into their psyche and morality on who would rise above the horrors awaiting them.

The worldbuilding, although reminiscent of The Hunger Games, is complex and well thought out. Charbonneau built the history, the landscape, even how the creatures would've changed. The Testing itself was intriguing at how it starts like an ordinary exam, which turns out to be extraordinary and very dangerous. Each moment in the story speeds along in this well-written novel with plenty of twists and turns.

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau left me craving for book two.

***I received a copy in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.***

Cia Vale is honoured to have been chosen as a Testing Candidate. The Seven Stages War left her world in total disarray - charred and broken. Her generation are the chosen ones to rebuilt and restore its brokenness. If you are indeed chosen to be a candidate of the Testing, that enables you to attend university and have a rewarding career. The night before her departure she and her father, who also was a candidate, talk candidly of what lays ahead for her. He warns her that things are not as they appear and to trust no one.

Her journal of survival is remarkable indeed. You cheer her on as she awakens to the horrific truth behind the tests given. You applaud her for her discernment and bravery as she makes hard choices, that if proven wrong, could actually lead to her death. Cia is portrayed as a strong, smart, trusting character, with a pure heart that always wants to do the right thing and carry out her assignments with integrity and distinction. The book will keep you engaged until the very last page. If you loved the Hunger Games or Divergent then you are going to equally love The Testing. It is well written with many twists and turns in the plot that will keep you hungering for more.

This book surprised me, plain and simple. I must admit when reading about the book I knew I would end up comparing it to the Hunger Games and know that many other would also. And to be honest for about the first third of the book I was asking myself 'How would Katniss handle this?' or 'how would Collins have written that'? But soon this story grabbed me and took me to places I had not yet imagined. It was an amazing read and I cannot wait for the next installment in the story. In a world devastated by the Seven Stages War, no one is really safe. There are zones or colonies where the survivors try and survive and try and repair the earth and the environment. Yet even there things are not as they seem, as Cia Vale discovers when she is selected to be a testing candidate. On the eve of her selection her father warns her that the testing would be devastating, he warns her to trust no one.

From the beginning I found myself trusting Cia. Cheering her on. It was an excellent read. But I must warn you the ending is very suspenseful and leaves you wanting the next book right away.

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 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.

If you read and enjoyed 'The Hunger Games' then you will love this book. It's basically the same plot with a few added twists to keep it interesting.

The protagonist, a girl named Cia, is about to graduate from her local school. She has always dreamed of being chosen for 'The Testing' in which the smartest kids compete for coveted college slots. When Cia is chosen for 'The Testing', she is eager to compete.

This test turns out to be a lot more serious than Cia believed. In face, the penalty for failure is grim indeed.

My only quibble (a minor one) with the premise is that in a society where people/workers are desperately needed to ensure its survival, I have no idea why the government would do this to its best and brightest kids. But if you accept that and roll with it, this is an exciting ride.

It's the first in a trilogy (isn't everything a trilogy these days?) and I am eagerly anticipating the next books. I want to find out how this works out.

The Testing is one of the best YA dystopian books/trilogies out right now. One of biggest complaints/turn offs about a lot of the YA fiction is the terrible writing style and grammar that you often find. The other is that the books are so often plot driven that the setting and believability of the story suffers. This is not the case with The Testing. You can begin to see the colonies and the Testing Compound. You begin to understand how the characters feel and why they react the way they do.

This book does want to take on the dystopian government, but it's not attempting a complete bloodshed overthrow of the government similar to the other popular trilogies. It's a somewhat refreshing approach.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian and YA fiction. I've been reading a lot of fiction along these lines, and I don't recommend them all. This one rises to the top for sure.

I could not get over the central conceit of "The Testing": that the best and brightest throughout the land are made to compete against each other - oftentimes resulting in death - to see who will rise to the top and become part of the elite which will guide (rule) society.
Yes, that's right - make a bunch of teen geniuses compete against each other, perhaps resulting in gruesome deaths. Um, so how exactly does that improve society? Instead of having scores of intelligent people to be the leaders, you are now reduced to mere dozens.

Joelle Charbonneau's rip off of The Hunger Games is quite transparent. I don't mind that she put her own spin on the teen dystopian genre, but I do mind that it's poorly written and badly conceived.

So in this series, the Special Snowflake is Malencia - and of course she's the only one who not only knows what the tests entail, but knows that they are not benign. (Apparently in this society, all subjects' memories of the tests are erased.) So it's up to her to start the revolution. I also decried the scant world building. Perhaps the author expounds on this later in the series, but since I won't read books 2 and 3, I guess I'll never find out. As it is, even if Charbonneau does provide more background to how society was formed, it's too little too late as far as I'm concerned.

If you've read any other reviews about The Testing, you've probably already heard the comparison between it and The Hunger Games trilogy. It was one of the very first things I heard about it. "If you liked The Hunger Games, you'll like The Testing." Well, I like The Hunger Games, but I didn't think it was fair to try to compare this book to it. It's bound to happen, though. There's so many similarities that it would be hard not to compare the two. While there are similarities between the two, there are enough differences between the two that it doesn't seem like you are reading the same story over again with different names and whatnot. I'll say I agree with the statement, though. If you liked The Hunger Games trilogy, there's a very good chance you'll enjoy The Testing. I know I did.

I felt like the first few chapters moved a bit slowly. Since they are building up some of the background to the good stuff, I don't feel like it really brings the story down. Once the story picks up, a few chapters in, it doesn't stop. When the story picked up for me, the book was really hard to put down. It sucked me in and didn't let me go, even when the book ended (mostly because the story isn't over). I'm really looking forward to reading the next book and finding out more about The Testing.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley.*

It's interesting. It's exciting. It's The Hunger Games meets the SAT's. I enjoy and read a lot of dystopian literature, but this one is very similar to THG. Not that I didn't enjoy it - it's obvious by my 4-star rating that I did enjoy it very much, and actually cannot wait until I read the second book. It's just, it does have shades of THG. And I know, most dystopian authors are getting tired of being compared to THG, but....it is what it is.

In a not-to-distant version of America, only a select few are chosen to test for the University. These are the brightest the country has, the ones who will rebuild the country after the Seven Stages War. But, is the testing really as innocent as most people believe? Secrets and lies are revealed with each page, leaving Cia to wonder who she can trust.

Very intriguing, very interesting, and well written, this promises to be a great series.

At first glance, The Testing looks like a blatant rip off of the Hunger Games. Probably because that's what it is. And, as with most rip offs, some of the most important elements from the original are done badly or ignored altogether. That's not to say the whole book is bad, though. Joelle Charbonneau creates a realistic enough world, and her writing style is surprisingly engaging. During the first couple tests Cia goes through I found myself getting very sucked in and wondering how she would get through. And that in itself is a problem: I wondered HOW not, IF. Cia Vale, our main character, is snarky, but vulnerable. Scared, but resourceful. In every bad situation she gets herself into, Cia gets out without a scratch because of some 'convenient knowledge' from her hometown, or just by the virtue of being the protagonist and not allowed to die or get critically injured before the climax. I never connected with Cia as a person because she didn't feel like a real person. The romance with a guy so bland that I can't even remember his name (we'll calm him Fail Gale) is probably the weakest element of the story. Fail Gale has no personality outside of conveniently falling in love with our protagonist and being the emasculated version of, you guessed, Gale from Hunger Games. His decision near the end of the book (which I won't spoil) did add a bit more to him, but as it came in the last ten pages it didn't do very much to change my overall opinion of him.
The Test never felt like a real danger. Cia's roommate, who commits suicide about twenty pages after her less than flattering introduction, felt pointless and rushed. And the final phase of the Test - MY GOD. This was when the book died. It was boring, uncreative, and entirely pointless. Literally. The only reason for that part of the Test to exist was so Charbonneau could blatantly rip off Hunger Games some more. (and so Cia would have a chance to grope Fail Gale while trying to save his life. Girl power?)
But overall, I do have to give it three stars because Charbonneau's writing style is very entertaining, the first parts of the Test were suspenseful, and if you ignore the Hunger Games tie ins, it's not a terrible book. It needed better characters and a better plot, but it's still a decent book. If you've never read Hunger Games and you don't mind some bland protagonists, go ahead and check it out. And who knows, the sequels might turn out to be God's gift to great literature. Just don't expect me to read them.

No one has been chosen for The Testing in Cia's small town in years. So when Cia is chosen, she is shocked but excited - until a conversation with her father who was also chosen years ago. Cia is immediately on guard and smart about what she takes with her. And though she's careful about who to trust, she's a caring person and often thinks of others before herself. The characters are engaging and feel real.

As I read this surprising novel, I could easily liken it to Divergent and The Hunger Games. This incredible dystopia was an exciting, post-apocalyptic thriller that I couldn't put down. It's intense, captivating, shocking, and emotional. As soon as I started, I had to keep reading straight through to the end, staying up late to finish. Loaded with suspense, danger, intrigue, and drama - The Testing is the first in a new trilogy that is sure to be hit. I began talking about it before I even finished. Quite simply, it's one the best novels I've read this year.

Review previously posted at SciFiChick.

Book #119 Read in 2014
The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau (YA)

This is the first book in a young adult dystopian trilogy. Similar to the Hunger Games, there is a completion or a "testing" of young people selected from each colony. Those people are tested on a variety of elements and the failing of such tests can have dire, even deadly, results. Cia is one of the forerunners of the testing. Will she be able to retain herself and her humanity and survive the selection process?

The book was engaging and kept my interest. Cia was a brave and intelligent main character. The plot had good twists and turns and the story had a complex set of secondary characters. I will read the other two books in the series.

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Yes The Testing is very reminiscent of The Hunger Games and also the Matched series. You will discover many similar characteristics found in previous dystopian novels. But give it a chance. Yes there is violence and disturbing situations but they seemed written to a slightly younger crowd. We don't have to experience the demise of every single testing candidate but enough to know serious problems exist in the system. But then again perhaps I'm becoming sensitized due to the increasing violence in teen literature.

I'm hoping the sheer gore and corruption are less than the previously mentioned popular reads. Also I'm one that hated the end of the Hunger Games- because I married a Gale not a Peta I guess. Hoping that the up and coming Independent Study and Graduation Day in the Testing series build and further draw us in to Cia's world and that there is a cool resolution/ending.

I'm so glad I read this book. The whole process of the Testing and the world Cia lives in were so interesting, and done in such an engrossing manner, I just wanted to keep reading and reading. Too bad the next book isn't coming out till January...

I don't really want to summarize what this book is about, I think it's better experienced than explained. It takes this idea that has kind of been done before, but makes it more believable and unique to the world it is in. I loved that the government wasn't shown as evil, that things weren't as clear cut. The same with the characters, they do some horrible things, even characters that are supposed to be good, but that doesn't mean they're bad people, and I love that the book doesn't just give us that easy distinction.

Also props to the author for giving Cia a loving family, a good childhood, friend(s), a caring personality, clever, and a decent comfortable life growing up. Oh and she isn't some female fighter, she's just a normal girl who studies a lot. It was refreshing.

One of the negatives woud be the fact that the author has a tendency to describe conversations instead of writing them at times (at least conversations that aren't that important), there is a lot of description in some cases. But then I got used to it and I didn't mind or notice after awhile.

The romance scared me when it became clear there was a romance and who it was with, but it doesn't take away from the story. In fact it adds to it in ways I didn't expect. I really liked that Cia doesn't just fall in love with him and it consumes her, that alone is a plus. Though there seemed to be something lacking when they kisses?

Overall I'm so glad I read this story and can't wait to read the sequel. It took me a while to get into the story, but once I did it became really interesting and exciting. Cia surprised me, as I got to know her I found myself actually liking her, so I hope she survives what's coming. There's a lot of potential here, I hope the next two books live up to it.

This dystopian was like a combination of Hunger Games and Insignia, with a lot more recent YA references tossed in. So, not exactly original. But I don't demand my novels be unique in concept: I just want to them to be good to read.

The Testing was a good read. I ate it up, enjoying the mystery at the beginning, and the eventually revealed premise. The element of danger in each layer of test was tangibly ominous. The early tests reminded me of the dangers of being a student at Hogwarts, somehow. The classroom setting middle tests were my favorite part of the story.

I also got into the test final - the BIG "practical" test. Not outstandingly new here, but plenty of good, gripping stuff. There is even a form of "zombie" for those craving subhuman creature characters.

The characterization, pacing, plotting and storytelling itself are worth a solid 4 stars. Recommended.

The Testing is set in the future on the Earth ravaged by wars. Humanity lives in small green oases which are man-made by soil-regeneration and genetic modification of plant life to grow in new conditions. I liked the world Joelle Charbonneau developed, it presents a scary but possible future for humanity. There is no info-dumping, instead we are presented with small significant (and insignificant) bits and facts through the whole book that in the end help us understand the society and the motives behind the Testing better.

Story is narrated by Cia. I immediately felt connection to her. Cia reminded me a lot of me when I was high school graduate (a geek, from a small community, hopes to go to The University). Because she is smart, problem-solver, compassionate, thinks before she acts and plans ahead, Cia is one of my favorite heroines in young adult novels. I wish there were more like her.
Sadly for Cia, she has no control over the decision if her education will be continued. Since college is expensive, government picks only the best to come to The Testing for The University. And believe me if you thought your exams for college entry were hard, you are going to rethink that statement after you see what Joelle Charbonneau has in store for our heroes.

As always, every time a novel is labeled as young adult dystopian, comparison to The Hunger Games is inevitable. But this time the advertisement is not lying. In many ways The Testing has some elements similar to The Hunger Games: heroine is a smart and resourceful young girl who with a group of teens is set to compete against each other in a battle of wits. But here the motives for this competition are much more reasonable to me, after all when you are choosing future world leaders and politicians, you need him to be able to endure pressure and be the best there is. In some sick way, their logic has some weird sense.
In fact, I liked The Testing more than The Hunger Games. There, I said it kill me now. Sorry but, I adored the heroine and the world was chilling but possible future for us. Something like this could truly happen people, so be careful!

I will stop singing praises about The Testing now, and if you waited for me to say something bad about this book - it's not going to happen. I would not change a thing. I can not wait to read more about Cia's adventures in a sequel Independent Study. I know that she will not give up to fight for the right cause.
"Funny, but giving up is the last thing I will do. Not after everything we have witnessed and the things we have been forced to do. Giving up would be like admitting none of it mattered. And it needs to matter. It needs to be remembered."

So, if you are in a mood for young adult dystopian novel who is set in a frighteningly possible future world with smart realistic characters, likeable heroine, cute friends to lover side romance (100% clean and young adult safe) then grab The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau. Or buy it as a birthday gift to those friends who loved The Hunger Games, there is a big chance they are going to enjoy this one too!

Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

The Testing is about Cia Vale, a girl from one of the smallest colonies in apocalyptic America's Commonwealth, struggling through a deadly series of intellectual, interpersonal, and practical tasks called The Testing in the footsteps of her father, who passed his Testing years before and whose nights are still haunted by terrible things he can't remember experiencing. The Testing, in theory, is supposed to examine the best and brightest of the graduating classes from each colony and to identify which of those would be fitting leaders for the future of the Commonwealth. The first lessons Cia learns are that the penalty for anything even resembling failure is death, and that no one can be trusted... And things only get more perilous from there.

Overall, I would recommend this book - but how strongly depends on what you go into a book in search of.

If you go into a book like this in search of an intriguing dystopian plot, this definitely has that to offer. The book starts off a bit boring, but as soon as Cia leaves for The Testing, things get distinctly more interesting. I've read plenty of dystopian YA and tend to spot twists a while off, but a couple of plot-twists that The Testing brings about surprised even me.

This book has a distinctly Hunger Games feeling to it, to the point that I'm almost positive that served heavily as the author's inspiration. This is especially evident in the stretch near the end, in which Testing candidates are turned loose in what's essentially Rat Race meets Panem's Arena. The goal may be to reach the end of the massive stretch of bombed-out America, but very early on it's clear that many Testing candidates plan to use this time to go stab-crazy (or gun-crazy or arrow-crazy) and weed out the competition.

HOWEVER, if you go into a book for the characters first and the plot second, I unfortunately can't recommend this book nearly as strongly.

The first-person protagonist Cia is probably the most bland I've read in a while. I genuinely can't pick out a single character trait she had, aside from your typical "unusually deep compassion for her fellow human being", "can't kill while others slaughter mercilessly", "refuses to leave friends behind", that whole deal. I guess she's also innovative, but that's more about her knowledge-base and skillset than anything.

The side characters aren't too captivating, either. They have no distinct personalities and the only ones with noticeable flaws are the ones who end up as "bad guys" or whom the readers aren't supposed to like.

On top of that, I'm a sucker for romance subplots but this one really didn't grab me. It starts off with Cia contemplating a fellow candidate from her town as if he's way out of her league, then magically he pays attention to her, then it's revealed that they also kind of had a thing a year ago but they actually really don't act like they have history at all, then they're magically together somehow. It's like the book is going through the motions of romance with no real spark. It's kind of saddening.

Like I said, if you want an interesting dystopian plot, definitely pick up this book for the Testing portion of the plot. It keeps you reading, wondering what's next and who to trust. Just don't go into it expecting a super deep cast of characters. This is a book clearly written with the plot first in mind and the characters simply filling the necessary roles.

You won't be able to help but think about The Hunger Games (Book 1) and constantly compare The Testing against it as you read, assuming you are one of the millions of people who have read the book and/or seen the movie. This really worried me as I scanned the first few pages. Could this new novel even hold a candle to Suzanne Collins's heart-wrenching runaway hit?

There are a few notable differences between the two series which I appreciate very much. As brutal as the tests may get, there is an inherent hopefulness in The Testing, brought forth by Cia's loving upbringing and her desire to help others despite her father's whispered warnings. Indeed, the secondary characters are complex--revealing new facets at every turn and sure to provoke conversation about heroes, villains, and the gray area in between that most humans occupy. Finally, and most important of all, the parts of this trilogy are spaced six months apart. No more waiting years to finish a series--we'll get it all in one, this time!

Though Charbonneau drags her heroine feet-first through Mary Sue territory, Cia can still give The Girl on Fire a run for her money. She's likable and tough, practical and smart. There's no love triangle, unless you can count the niggling feeling that clever, handsome Tomas isn't all he seems to be. I'm not sure whether it's the straightforward language or Cia's level-headedness which stops this book from being too maudlin. Something utilitarian about this book's tone stops me just short of tears; that, I'd have to say, is its biggest weakness.
(Read Now Sleep Later)

Oh my God.

This book, man. This book.

I don't think I've been so hyped about a book since the waiting period for Divergent (which turned out to be the biggest disappointment of my book-life, by the way). The Testing survived that weight of shame and thrived like my dog among worms.

(My dog loves worms)

Cia has just graduated from school. The two places she can go from here is continuing to work in the colony she was born in or have the honor to be chosen for a chance to keep on keepin' on with her education at college. To get to college, however, she must prove her worth and dedication through what is ominously (and obviously) called The Testing. Cia and a few of her former classmates are chosen, including meek Malachi, hot-headed and awesome girl Zandri, and Handsome Boy Tomas with whom Cia shared a dance and a kiss some time before.

(Guess who's the love interest)

You'd think Cia's family would be proud of her for being chosen to further her education. While her mom is after a change of heart, her dad is somewhat horrified. Cia's dad went through The Testing. This should give Cia a bit of an advantage, but her dad remembers nothing about the process. All he can recall is the events just up to arriving at the center for The Testing and not a speck else. There is his nightmares, though, which he tells Cia about, shaking her down to the core.

This is where life goes to pot for poor Cia.

'kay so enough of that recap crap. I can't do this book justice because it's AWESOME. Seriously, I have no idea as to why it's not at the top of lists everywhere. I can understand how some people might be sick of dystopians. I can see how it's like the others. But The Testing is able to set itself apart by it's wonderful story and voice. The beginning felt a lot like Divergent, BUT YEAH GLAD THAT DIDN'T LAST LONG.

(Divergent's ending is a bit of a dystopian sore spot for me)

I loved the characters and the plot and the twists. My favorite parts are too many to count.

(my favorite character is Brick ('∀｀)♡ )

This is easily one of my favorite books for 2013!

I really enjoyed this novel. It was a nice change of pace compared to some of the dystopian novels that are out these days. While Cia does tend to have skills that are a little too convenient at times, her attitude toward killing drastically differs from most dystopian novels, where killing eventually becomes second nature, or at least acceptable. Cia isn't like that at all, and I can really appreciate it.

The first book tends to have some cliches and predictability, and Tomas, in my opinion, is just annoying and is just there for a weak love interest, but overall the book is excellent and it's interesting to see a new form of dystopian literature.

Make sure you check out books 2 and 3. The writing and plot gets much better.

Kind of slow and boring at the beginning. It took so long to get to the point. Also, it is a very unoriginal story. The testing just seems like a rip off of The Hunger Games. I couldn't get into the romance. It seemed very shallow. These two people who literally meant nothing to each other before the test suddenly fall in love? Unlike The Hunger Games, it just felt forced as if the author threw it in at the last minute. Once they were going through the actual testing, it did get more exciting which is why I gave it three stars instead of two. I hope the next one in the series is more original. (less) [edit]

I really enjoyed The Testing. I will admit that there were a couple of occasions in which I had to roll my eyes a little about how similar it is to The Hunger Games, but they were smallish infractions, albeit with the ability to grow into larger ones. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The world was fairly believable. I actually (at least so far) like Cia better than Katniss from the Hunger Games or Tris from Divergent. I feel she is a little more relate-able, although like many of these dystopian YA books, she seems to jump into romance a little quick. Overall if you like The Hunger Games and Divergent, you will enjoy this book (as long as you are not too nitpick-y about similarities) and I am looking forward to reading the next!

I'm going to be very honest- I couldn't bring myself to finish this book. I was able to read it for free with Kindle Unlimited, otherwise I would have felt royally robbed. It was truly awful, everything from the logistics of their dystopian future to the complete lack of interesting characters. The first two chapters were the most absolutely boring thing I've read in years due to the author's inability to show rather than tell. It was a non-stop stream of narrative with little to no action or dialogue from the characters. The author even went so far as to TELL readers what the characters were talking about, rather than actually show it. I can't fathom how this was published.

Teaching junior students is tough, getting those students to read is tougher. I made a promise that I would read as many Lonestar books as I could and this was my first one for this year. The story is about teenagers who are chosen to participate in the Testing. The world has virtually been destroy and the government is trying to revitalize the land. These chosen students will not just test their academic skills but their ability to survive betrayal. Many students will not live to tell the tale of their Testing experience. The rest that survive won't tell either. The struggles, violence, and desperation the teenagers go through is amazing and terrifying. It reminded me of other ya books such as Hunger Games and Insignia. Enjoy its a great read.

The Testing By Joelle Charbonneau is about a dystopian society where teens are selected to be "Tested" in order to be future leaders of the new world. Cia Vale, the main character is chosen for the testing. Cia is extremely smart, and very beautiful. Cia along with 3 others from her colony are sent to the Commonwealth Capital, Tuso City. Now right from the bat, this story was a spitting image of The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins. In fact if you are a huge fan of THG like I am, don't read this book, it is filled with major disappointment from the beginning to end. From the characters to the setting, and the plot, all of it.
First, the characters. Cia, is purposely made for you to like, after all the entire book is from her perspective. Cia is very smart but over thinks every situation making her a nervous ticking time bomb which I don’t know if you as a reader like that, but I for one become VERY annoyed with characters that way. Then there is Thomas, who is kind of off putting and mysterious, but is loyal to Cia. They are known to be friends, but when they speak of have encounters in the past, it is never shown, you don't read about it AT ALL! The setting, is WAY too much like The Hunger Games. In more ways than one.

After one day of being in Tuso City, Cia's roommate Ryme kills herself, because it is assumed the stress of the testing is too much for her resulting in taking her own life, reality hits Cia after this making her realize that it's more serious than just “a test” - Okay, REALLY?!!?! A person kills herself? Seems a bit over kill (No pun intended) But honestly? The author had to kill an unknown character to prove a point? It's a bit dramatic, and overdone, making a reader feel like we’ve been there done that before in a story, maybe instead the character should have gone mad? Stabbed someone, having her been thrown out? That would have worked MUCH better than killing an unknown character who probably had a nice personality. The setting was similar to The Hunger Games, and even some hints of Divergent. At the final stage of the “test” candidates who have survived and made it thus far are told to gather 3 main supplies are then drugged and placed in an abandoned city this time it being Chicago. After this the story begins to fall apart, Cia and Thomas are slowly falling in love while attempting to go back in Tuso City making them pass the final stage of the “test” the book explains that they’ve had history, but neither character hits towards their past whatsoever. In fact at one point in the story it talks about them dancing together before but never did a flashback like a normal piece of literature. The Testing barely scratches the surface with it’s characters, and plot development reminding me of an old black and white movie leaving the imagine to roam free with little to structure and or balance. A great book would want you to not put it down or stay up into the wee hours of the morning reading it to the last page. This was the opposite for me, I wanted to gently set the book down, set it fire, and peacefully watch it disintegrate.
If one can make it through the book then a person can make it through almost anything I can promise you that much..Something positive though, it showed dedication and strength in young teens in a world that tries to challenge them, and pushes some to their breaking point.
So, maybe it was the plot, characters or maybe it was the authors writing skill, but Joelle Charbonneau probably has written much better books than The Testing.

The Testing

A psychological adventure, with many twists and turns. This post-apocalyptic world shows how we could survive after a nuclear and chemical war that devastates all of nature. Corrupting all nature, forcing men and women to adapt or change the environment. This book is a cross between Orson Scott Cards, Enders game and Hunger games. Like both this story has great characters and a way of writing that captures the imagination of the reader. The heart felt twists, are conflicted with the psychological manipulations. This is a great book to share with students, especially gifted students.

Joelle Charbonneau is an author known for her enjoyable "Cozy Mysteries", many that I have reviewed, but she has now come out with a trilogy and THE TESTING is the first installment. It is supposedly geared toward teens and young adults, but my bet is it will sell like wildfire to everyone once the word gets out. I LOVED this book and now can not wait for the next episode, INDEPENDENT STUDY, which is set for January, 2014. THE TESTING has been compared to THE HUNGER GAMES and indeed it started out resembling it as I first began reading. I wondered if the two stories would be too similar for me to enjoy THE TESTING but I quickly saw that would definitely not be the case. As I immediately got caught up in the remarkably well developed characters and their own unique story, I could NOT put this book down!

In this intense psychological thriller, Joelle Charbonneau has set THE TESTING in our future where Earth has been decimated by the "Seven Stages War". The population is suffering physically as well as emotionally. Major necessities, from food and water, to transportation and fuel, are hard to come by. Yet, with all of this despair, for some, there is still a profound sense of hope in others.

The protagonist, Malencia "Cia" Vale, is 16 and remains optimistic as she hangs her hopes on the "Testing" which is coming up. Cia believes that if she is selected to take part in this, her dream of changing things for her family and others could be realized. The Testing will help choose the best students for University, and from there, the future leaders of the United Commonwealth will be confirmed. However, there is so much more to this then meets Cia's idealistic eyes. When several are chosen from her district, she receives some unsettling advice from her father who knew a great deal about the workings of The Testing. As the young characters begin to interact, including Tomas who becomes Cia's companion and love interest, they start to realize that all is not what it seems. Cia finds things to be much different from her initial naïve perceptions.

The likelihood that the initial testing can actually determine a person's future and beliefs is exposed. Cia finds that everything she does is a test. She develops doubts about those close to her and even her own values. Charbonneau has written a thrilling narrative with so many twists and turns, you never will guess what is coming next. The ending brings readers to a point that they can physically close the book but not emotionally let go. I found myself wanting to be with others who had read THE TESTING so we could discuss it. What a fabulous book this will be for book clubs! Waiting for the next part of the trilogy is exciting but also agonizing. Joelle Charbonneau has given readers a real gift with this first part of her trilogy and I hope everyone will be as excited about THE TESTING as I am!

I liked the main character and her intelligence but I didn't really care for the writing style or the supporting characters. The overall events were awesome though. I'm going to continue the series to see what the rest has to offer.

Cia has dreamed of being selected for The Testing all her life, but thinks her opportunity has passed now that she's graduated from school with no word. But when the Testing officials unexpectedly show up to her colony after graduation and select not just she, but three more graduates, she is elated, even if it means she will be leaving behind her family, possibly forever. Only her father, himself a Testing graduate, shows concern, and as it turns out, not without cause. Almost immediately upon being taken to Tosu City, the Testing becomes a brutal competition between 108 candidates, only 20 of whom will ultimately be chosen to go to University. For sheltered but brilliant Cia, it's an eye-opening experience that culminates in a weeks-long trek across 700 miles filled with danger, disaster, and death. Will it all be worth it?

The Testing is a young adult dystopian with echoes of The Hunger Games and other recent novels that share its theme. However, it is very well written, with the innocence of Cia being its main turning point; Cia believes in only the good in people, and it is both her downfall and its saving grace. There aren't a lot of surprises along the way; it's a dystopian novel, so we know there will be an uncaring government and people who aren't what they seem, with lots of harsh conditions and heartbreak. If I have a complaint about The Testing, it is that the relationship between Cia and Tomas is a little too sweet, but that follows Cia's naivety.

The Testing is the first of a trilogy, and it is well-plotted with its twists and its smart heroine. The set up for the next novel is well done, with a cliffhanger ending that promises more surprises and horror ahead. The Testing doesn't break any new ground, but it does provide page-turning action and an interesting premise which makes it a very good read. I'm hooked.

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau is an intense adventure book. It starts out in Five Lakes Colony, home to Malencia Vale and her family. Every year, a class from each colony graduates, and out of certain classes students are chosen to go to the Testing. Cia and 13 other students graduated that year. That was the largest class the colony had ever had. No one has been chosen for the Testing in a long time. Her dad was chosen and completed the Testing. He now creates hybrid plants that are able to withstand what’s left of earth but he has horrible nightmares about it and he can’t remember the Testing at all. What is causing him to have these nightmares? She goes home from the graduation and no one was chosen for the Testing. She is very sad until Magistrate Owens had radioed in and asked for Cia to meet at her house. What is Cia’s future going to be if she passes the Testing? When she arrives she is told that she and 3 others were chosen for this year’s testing. She meets new people and faces new challenges like when “Ryme took her own life.”(page 94). It is a slow start but once you’ve started, you can’t stop. This is a great read for grades 7-10.

I am a lover of the hunger games and of dystopian books societies. But because hunger games was my first and favorite series to read I am often very critical of book that just seemed to be to much like the others in this genre. The Testing definitely got my approval. I love the characters and loved how clever the author created suspense, action , and a bit of mystery.

The Good: I loved The Testing. It hit a lot of the marks for me in terms of what draws me into a book. A dystopian world, a boarding school-esque setting, a reality show competition feel (even if that wasn't the exact situation going on in this case), etc. There is a lot of mystery to continue on here, especially in relation to what the true evil is here. It's implied that this is a dystopian system/society and you see how the testing itself works, but much is left unexplained as to why this particular system is utilized. I was absolutely glued to the pages of this book and cannot wait until the sequel is released.

The Bad: Nothing at all. I loved everything about The Testing.

This book was super intense and super amazing. Throughout it I couldn't help but blurt out the entire plot line to my family (they were never gonna read it anyway). I just HAD to share its awesomeness! I felt as if I was there, as if I was a candidate in the Testing. Let me tell you, the experience was stressful and I definitely would have failed by round 2.
I loved this book!! There was tons of twists and turns that kept me guessing. If you haven't read it yet, I definitely recommend running out and getting it. :)

It has taken me forever to get around to reviewing this book, even though I read it ages ago. And why is that you might ask? I rated it 4 stars, so I must have liked it! And the truth is yes, I did like it, but the issue that "The Testing" has, is that it is basically "The Hunger Games: Reloaded". It has almost all the same elements, it has the same setup. The difference between "The Hunger Games" and "The Testing" as far as I can see is the characters.

When I read "The Hunger Games", I laughed, I cried, I got mad. The characters and situations elicited emotions from me. I responded to the book, I cared about the "people" in it. When I read "The Testing", I recognized that situations were stressful and dangerous, I realized that people were evil and frustrating, but while I had those realizations they did not really affect me as a reader in any way, shape, or form. I am not sure if it is due to a lack of development of these characters, or maybe I just did not connect with them for some other reason. Maybe it is the way the plot is structured or the way obstacles are introduced. Whatever the reason, this book just did not live up to the book that it was essentially copying.

All those things being said, I did enjoy this book a good bit. I think that is because I liked "The Hunger Games" series so much that anything similar I can read as a "bonus" makes me happy. I have not read any additional books in this series but I really hope that Charbonneau finds her own voice in the subsequent books and diverges a little from the path that Collins has already taken.

I'd recommend this book to fans of "The Hunger Games" with the caution that you need to not expect anything new, and it would help to not compare this book and its characters to "The Hunger Games" if you can help it. It just will not live up to those kinds of expectations.

actually, i really liked this book. it is clearly a knock-off of the hunger games and several other popular young adult novels, but it was a little different, and it was good. i'm reading the second one now, and not liking it quite as much. the testing was a good read, though - hard to put it down. enjoyable. my 9 year old is hooked, now- no sex and not much violence. but good for adults, too - i read it on an airplane. good beach reading.

The testing was definitely a good book, I really liked the characters and I really enjoyed the book, it was creative but I don't necessarily think the idea was all that unique it felt like a combination between the Hunger Games and Divergent so I wasn't too happy about that. I also don't like how fast she falls in love, I felt it was superbly abrupt and just out of the blue and the author definitely could've stretching that out because when they did get together I was more upset than happy simply because there hadn't been enough character development between the two to constitute in that type of relationship.

This book's been touted as the next Hunger Games, like so many other post-apocalyptic/dystopian young adult novels. But this one? This one actually lives up to this comparison. Cia's a character I can definitely get behind, as she does everything she can not only to survive but to thrive and she does it for her family. Now, the two boys...I don't think we can really trust either of them. There are underlying motives behind what they do and say. Plus, a love triangle? Blerg. (That's really the only thing I don't like about this book.) I've already read the second in this series and it just gets better -- no middle slump at all! Can't wait to see how this series ends.

Recommend! I was looking for a quick read in exactly this genre, and was at first concerned that it might be a washed-down version of some of the well-known dystopian novels so popular these days, but was genuinely impressed. The writing is solid - not overly flowery or complex, but also does not err on the side of cheesiness. The narrator's voice stays true to the perspective of a teenage girl who thinks and reacts logically in order to survive. The universe itself is cool - similarly to the Hunger Games novels, this is set in a future version of our real world but post-disaster. The history of the disaster is interesting, close to reality in a slightly scary way, and cleverly weaved into the storytelling framework rather than just included wholesale at the beginning of the story.
Overall awesome. Happy I picked this up and will continue to read the series. Thank you for writing a strong, realistic, and smart female protagonist. Always gives me hope to see another out there.

I first learned about this author through her novel need. This book is the first novel in the testing trilogy and represents another port that I have plundered. Arrrr! I have to say that the start to this story is one of the best young adult dystopian novels that I have read. I liked it better than the start to both the hunger games and divergent series, both of which I enjoyed.

Cia is a wonderful main character – smart, loyal, compassionate, honorable, and everything you want your young heroine to be. The book is seemingly uncomplicated in its style of writing and was super easy to read. Time flew by. But the underlying questioning of how the society works and the darker side of the world make the story anything but simple. Cia must question everything, everyone, and every fact she thought she knew.

Overall, I loved the majority of the secondary characters. The use of the secondary characters to further the tension in the plot and the growth of Cia made them an integral part of the story. I loved the dichotomy between Will and Tomas. The love story was not a triangle (what a relief!) and did not get in the way of the story. There are a couple of excellent twists in the plot and enough mysteries that still remain to be resolved in later books.

This novel also ends in spectacular fashion (which I won’t spoil) but makes me impatient to get to book two.

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THE TESTING includes everything desired from a story set in a dystopian universe: a controlling government that wants to right all previous wrongs, a brilliant-minded down-to-earth heroine who questions everything the government claims is true, and a fight to the end where the heroine and her friends are put through an ultimate test where she manages to emerge victorious... with a vow to uncover the government's evil deeds.

But for all the pomp and circumstance initially set up in the novel, it lacks a certain "umph" to make it a great read.

Cia Vale is everything you would want from a heroine in a dystopian universe: she's brilliant, she's resourceful, she's humane, and despite less than pleasing circumstances, she will always put her head on the chopping block for the people she cares about. To sum it all up, she's perfect. A little too perfect. As far as it goes, Cia has no flaws. She mourns her fallen peers, protects her family, and is so rational-minded that she can think her way out of all situations.

Thankfully enough, Cia's seeming perfection is countered with her friends' hidden secrets and her peers' desire to eliminate the competition, which in turn helps to spice up the story and adds that extra layer of suspense.

Having read THE HUNGER GAMES, and having heard of the similarities between THE HUNGER GAMES and THE TESTING, I was pleasantly surprised when the first three tests were brilliantly unique. The written exams had my hand cramping up on Cia's behalf as she tested her way through every school subject imaginable, the practical exams had me wincing in horror as Cia watched her fellow peers fail, and I almost relaxed during the team exam... until Cia realized that she had been doomed to fail. These three sections of the testing had me on my edge of my seat, and are what I personally believe to be the best chapters THE TESTING has to offer.

Moving forward, the similarities to THE HUNGER GAMES begin to show. We still bear witness to Cia's brilliance and her resourcefulness as she guides her fellow peers towards the finish line, but there was unfortunately a certain something lacking that made the whole experience a lot less desperate and urgent than what the test was set out to be. And as a result, it had me flipping past pages of descriptions in order to see what was next in line for Cia and her friends.

All in all, if you have some spare time, definitely pick up THE TESTING and give it a try. You will inevitably find yourself rooting for Cia and her friends to pass the tests and move on to the University. It also helps that the cliffhanger at the end of the story will leave you desiring for more. That being said, this is not a book that I would choose to reread.

I bought this book on a whim, due to it being similar to the Hunger Games. It sat around my house for almost a month as I procrastinated in reading it hoping it wouldn't be a typical YA with sappy romance and plot holes. Boy was I wrong. This book is well written, and I finished it-from start to finish-in a matter of hours, I just couldn't put it down! The main character is a little cheesy and seems to always make the right choices with no consequences, but no book is perfect. I am on the hunt for the next two, and will be chewing my nails to stubs until I can get my hands on them. DEFINITELY worth the read!

(no spoilers)

Great, great series. To be honest - at first it took me a bit to get into the novel. I was disappointed, because I could see the potential it had, but something was off and I couldn't put a finger to it. Although, I kept reading, and by the end I was hooked. I've now read the rest of the series and LOVED it all! It is an incredible novel with a strong and likeable main character who uses interesting knowledge and calculated actions while still having normal human emotions of love, hurt, and, most importantly and somewhat to others dislike, trust.

If you get into a rut midway through and think of stopping, don't. I'm so glad that I continued through, it is an incredible series.

Once a YA series hits big there are scores of imitators vying to be the next book just like the one that hit it big. The Testing is a first-cousin novel to "The Hunger Games" and kids that ate up the dystopian future in that series will eat up "The Testing" in a frenzied rush of reading. The book's premise is bleak, but the prose and narrative pacing cause the book to explode into the imagination. Both of my high-school aged boys loved this book, and so did I. We all read it in less than 10 days, and all are in agreement that more books in the series will be eagerly devoured.

I knew going into reading this book I had heard rumblings of The Testing being very similar to The Hunger Games and it was but I don't care. I enjoyed reading The Hunger Games so why not read a book with a similar feel but a different story. The Testing focuses on a girl named Cia being chosen to be a candidate at The Testing, pass and she will get the opportunity to become a University student and a future leader of the United Commonwealth. Of course this is a competition so there's betrayal, love, friends, enemies, death and survival. I can't wait for Independent Study to come out, too bad I have to wait until January 2014!

This book seems like fair to middling Hunger Games fan fiction. I read this book aloud to my son, who is 12 and loved it. I, however, thought it was so completely ripping off the Hunger Games I kept calling the main character Katniss, and throwing in Hunger Games references until my son got mad at me. It is not even well written. For instance, during The Testing, the tests that can culminate in a kid being mutilated or killed are completely arbitrary. Cia decides not to touch part of the motor she is working on b/c she has never seen anything like it before. Her buddy is not so lucky, and gets a bolt through the eye. Gruesome and pointless. I feel like the same scene could have been written where Cia gets lauded for touching the random piece of machinery, because why does touching or not touching random machine components imply leadership potential? It does not even make sense, which the characters themselves frequently point out. Having your characters discuss the implausibility of the plot does not give you a free pass to write garbage.
I would have given this book 0 stars (not an option) except that my son liked it and wants to read the next two, so that is something. My recommendation is read the original (The Hunger Games), and avoid this silly rip off.

Great new YA dystopia novel! Okay, yes, this book is similar to "The Hunger Games." But considering all the dystopian society works of late, why not be comparable to probably the best of its genre? The characters are interesting and the themes are thought-provoking. I do appreciate that the MC's love interest is not perfect, and the author approaches the end of the book (which obviously will have a sequel) without sacrificing the flow of the writing and making sure it doesn't feel forced. The settings are more city-based/urban than many novels of this market. What makes this book worth reading is simply that, even though it follows the YA dystopia formula, the characters and storyline are as original as any reader could ask. Recommended for fans of all YA dystopias, especially "The Hunger Games," "Divergent," and "Partials."

Net Galley Feedback
[book:The Testing|13326831]
[author:Joelle Charbonneau|4027380]

Here is a book that would not exist were it not for the success of The Hunger Games. This is first in a trilogy in which teens must test their survival skills in a hostile world. This is the third young adult book I have read with this concept in the last 4 months. However, this one is the best in the bunch. This is a cut throat competition to get into the university in which death is always a possibility due to the competition itself or your fellow competitors. However, I can see teens reading this with gusto as the characters are interesting and the world they live in is both threatening and believable.

The testing was definitely a good book, I really liked the characters and I really enjoyed the book, it was creative but I don't necessarily think the idea was all that unique it felt like a combination between the Hunger Games and Divergent so I wasn't too happy about that. I also don't like how fast she falls in love, I felt it was superbly abrupt and just out of the blue and the author definitely could've stretching that out because when they did get together I was more upset than happy simply because there hadn't been enough character development between the two to constitute in that type of relationship.

This book's been touted as the next Hunger Games, like so many other post-apocalyptic/dystopian young adult novels. But this one? This one actually lives up to this comparison. Cia's a character I can definitely get behind, as she does everything she can not only to survive but to thrive and she does it for her family. Now, the two boys...I don't think we can really trust either of them. There are underlying motives behind what they do and say. Plus, a love triangle? Blerg. (That's really the only thing I don't like about this book.) I've already read the second in this series and it just gets better -- no middle slump at all! Can't wait to see how this series ends.

Recommend! I was looking for a quick read in exactly this genre, and was at first concerned that it might be a washed-down version of some of the well-known dystopian novels so popular these days, but was genuinely impressed. The writing is solid - not overly flowery or complex, but also does not err on the side of cheesiness. The narrator's voice stays true to the perspective of a teenage girl who thinks and reacts logically in order to survive. The universe itself is cool - similarly to the Hunger Games novels, this is set in a future version of our real world but post-disaster. The history of the disaster is interesting, close to reality in a slightly scary way, and cleverly weaved into the storytelling framework rather than just included wholesale at the beginning of the story.
Overall awesome. Happy I picked this up and will continue to read the series. Thank you for writing a strong, realistic, and smart female protagonist. Always gives me hope to see another out there.

I first learned about this author through her novel need. This book is the first novel in the testing trilogy and represents another port that I have plundered. Arrrr! I have to say that the start to this story is one of the best young adult dystopian novels that I have read. I liked it better than the start to both the hunger games and divergent series, both of which I enjoyed.

Cia is a wonderful main character – smart, loyal, compassionate, honorable, and everything you want your young heroine to be. The book is seemingly uncomplicated in its style of writing and was super easy to read. Time flew by. But the underlying questioning of how the society works and the darker side of the world make the story anything but simple. Cia must question everything, everyone, and every fact she thought she knew.

Overall, I loved the majority of the secondary characters. The use of the secondary characters to further the tension in the plot and the growth of Cia made them an integral part of the story. I loved the dichotomy between Will and Tomas. The love story was not a triangle (what a relief!) and did not get in the way of the story. There are a couple of excellent twists in the plot and enough mysteries that still remain to be resolved in later books.

This novel also ends in spectacular fashion (which I won’t spoil) but makes me impatient to get to book two.

If you liked this review and what to read others visit (...)

THE TESTING includes everything desired from a story set in a dystopian universe: a controlling government that wants to right all previous wrongs, a brilliant-minded down-to-earth heroine who questions everything the government claims is true, and a fight to the end where the heroine and her friends are put through an ultimate test where she manages to emerge victorious... with a vow to uncover the government's evil deeds.

But for all the pomp and circumstance initially set up in the novel, it lacks a certain "umph" to make it a great read.

Cia Vale is everything you would want from a heroine in a dystopian universe: she's brilliant, she's resourceful, she's humane, and despite less than pleasing circumstances, she will always put her head on the chopping block for the people she cares about. To sum it all up, she's perfect. A little too perfect. As far as it goes, Cia has no flaws. She mourns her fallen peers, protects her family, and is so rational-minded that she can think her way out of all situations.

Thankfully enough, Cia's seeming perfection is countered with her friends' hidden secrets and her peers' desire to eliminate the competition, which in turn helps to spice up the story and adds that extra layer of suspense.

Having read THE HUNGER GAMES, and having heard of the similarities between THE HUNGER GAMES and THE TESTING, I was pleasantly surprised when the first three tests were brilliantly unique. The written exams had my hand cramping up on Cia's behalf as she tested her way through every school subject imaginable, the practical exams had me wincing in horror as Cia watched her fellow peers fail, and I almost relaxed during the team exam... until Cia realized that she had been doomed to fail. These three sections of the testing had me on my edge of my seat, and are what I personally believe to be the best chapters THE TESTING has to offer.

Moving forward, the similarities to THE HUNGER GAMES begin to show. We still bear witness to Cia's brilliance and her resourcefulness as she guides her fellow peers towards the finish line, but there was unfortunately a certain something lacking that made the whole experience a lot less desperate and urgent than what the test was set out to be. And as a result, it had me flipping past pages of descriptions in order to see what was next in line for Cia and her friends.

All in all, if you have some spare time, definitely pick up THE TESTING and give it a try. You will inevitably find yourself rooting for Cia and her friends to pass the tests and move on to the University. It also helps that the cliffhanger at the end of the story will leave you desiring for more. That being said, this is not a book that I would choose to reread.

I bought this book on a whim, due to it being similar to the Hunger Games. It sat around my house for almost a month as I procrastinated in reading it hoping it wouldn't be a typical YA with sappy romance and plot holes. Boy was I wrong. This book is well written, and I finished it-from start to finish-in a matter of hours, I just couldn't put it down! The main character is a little cheesy and seems to always make the right choices with no consequences, but no book is perfect. I am on the hunt for the next two, and will be chewing my nails to stubs until I can get my hands on them. DEFINITELY worth the read!

(no spoilers)

Great, great series. To be honest - at first it took me a bit to get into the novel. I was disappointed, because I could see the potential it had, but something was off and I couldn't put a finger to it. Although, I kept reading, and by the end I was hooked. I've now read the rest of the series and LOVED it all! It is an incredible novel with a strong and likeable main character who uses interesting knowledge and calculated actions while still having normal human emotions of love, hurt, and, most importantly and somewhat to others dislike, trust.

If you get into a rut midway through and think of stopping, don't. I'm so glad that I continued through, it is an incredible series.

Once a YA series hits big there are scores of imitators vying to be the next book just like the one that hit it big. The Testing is a first-cousin novel to "The Hunger Games" and kids that ate up the dystopian future in that series will eat up "The Testing" in a frenzied rush of reading. The book's premise is bleak, but the prose and narrative pacing cause the book to explode into the imagination. Both of my high-school aged boys loved this book, and so did I. We all read it in less than 10 days, and all are in agreement that more books in the series will be eagerly devoured.

I knew going into reading this book I had heard rumblings of The Testing being very similar to The Hunger Games and it was but I don't care. I enjoyed reading The Hunger Games so why not read a book with a similar feel but a different story. The Testing focuses on a girl named Cia being chosen to be a candidate at The Testing, pass and she will get the opportunity to become a University student and a future leader of the United Commonwealth. Of course this is a competition so there's betrayal, love, friends, enemies, death and survival. I can't wait for Independent Study to come out, too bad I have to wait until January 2014!

This book seems like fair to middling Hunger Games fan fiction. I read this book aloud to my son, who is 12 and loved it. I, however, thought it was so completely ripping off the Hunger Games I kept calling the main character Katniss, and throwing in Hunger Games references until my son got mad at me. It is not even well written. For instance, during The Testing, the tests that can culminate in a kid being mutilated or killed are completely arbitrary. Cia decides not to touch part of the motor she is working on b/c she has never seen anything like it before. Her buddy is not so lucky, and gets a bolt through the eye. Gruesome and pointless. I feel like the same scene could have been written where Cia gets lauded for touching the random piece of machinery, because why does touching or not touching random machine components imply leadership potential? It does not even make sense, which the characters themselves frequently point out. Having your characters discuss the implausibility of the plot does not give you a free pass to write garbage.
I would have given this book 0 stars (not an option) except that my son liked it and wants to read the next two, so that is something. My recommendation is read the original (The Hunger Games), and avoid this silly rip off.

Great new YA dystopia novel! Okay, yes, this book is similar to "The Hunger Games." But considering all the dystopian society works of late, why not be comparable to probably the best of its genre? The characters are interesting and the themes are thought-provoking. I do appreciate that the MC's love interest is not perfect, and the author approaches the end of the book (which obviously will have a sequel) without sacrificing the flow of the writing and making sure it doesn't feel forced. The settings are more city-based/urban than many novels of this market. What makes this book worth reading is simply that, even though it follows the YA dystopia formula, the characters and storyline are as original as any reader could ask. Recommended for fans of all YA dystopias, especially "The Hunger Games," "Divergent," and "Partials."

Net Galley Feedback
[book:The Testing|13326831]
[author:Joelle Charbonneau|4027380]

Here is a book that would not exist were it not for the success of The Hunger Games. This is first in a trilogy in which teens must test their survival skills in a hostile world. This is the third young adult book I have read with this concept in the last 4 months. However, this one is the best in the bunch. This is a cut throat competition to get into the university in which death is always a possibility due to the competition itself or your fellow competitors. However, I can see teens reading this with gusto as the characters are interesting and the world they live in is both threatening and believable.

Cia is disappointed when she isn't chosen for The Testing at her graduation ceremony. The next day she finds out that there was a mistake, she (and several classmates) were chosen. That night, her father tells her the truth.

The tests Cia endures are gruesome and terrifying, and I'm really excited to continue the series.

My only issue with the book is that the romance seemed forced. Cia and Tomas transition from rare interactions to a couple very, very quickly. I think that if the author wanted Cia to be attached to someone during the tests, Cia and Tomas should have already been a couple.

I won this ARC from a blog giveaway, thanks! This has probably been my favorite read in the past few weeks, but I couldn't give it five stars for issues that I couldn't ignore.

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau has been on my list to read for a long time. It's been compared to the Hunger Games, and stars Cia, who is in one of the colonies who have not had any candidates selected for The Testing in a long time. The Testing has been put in place after war has devastated the world to find the best candidate leaders of the country to go to University. No one in Cia's town knows much about The Testing except for her own father, who refuses to speak about it. Cia is chosen with three other people in her class, and she starts a difficult and treacherous journey where either death or glory can await.

I admit I was really into this book. Cia is a great main character-- she's humble, gracious, and has a good heart. But at the same time, she is super intelligent and has obviously been trained well by both her school and her father. Other reviewers have mentioned that she may be too perfect, at least in the sense of being able to do things and always being right for the most part, at least about her instincts on traps and puzzles. I agree. It would have been nice to see other characters contribute as well. They obviously were smart enough to get there.

Some reviewers were upset with how "boring" the testing part was, but actually, I loved that part. I really enjoyed the section where Cia figures out something key that allows her to pass to the next test and thought it was pretty clever. The test revealed something about several of the characters. I did think it was odd that even though her father gave her the warning not to trust anyone, she seems to have developed a sixth sense suspicion, which seems almost too good to be true. I also liked the descriptions of the other tests. It shows what kinds of things Cia is good at before she gets tested further in the third portion of the test.

The journey Cia takes with her love interest, Tomas, from thereon out was gripping, and I wanted to know what each of the characters were hiding. I was definitely surprised by some of the outcomes. This was the first book in a while that I was contemplating buying the next book on Kindle immediately to see what happens next.

That said, other than the issues I alluded to above, there were a couple of other problems. I agree with others that the love connection between Cia and Tomas seems kind of quick and unbelievable. There are "hints" to the past, about looking longingly at each other during a dance, but we never see that, so we never really feel for them and root for them. And lastly, the world building isn't perfect. I definitely don't get why people have to die during the Testing. And what happens to the people who fail? It isn't clear what happens to them-- but I feel like the book hints to them being executed. It seems to me that people that put their own gain above the needs for others (meaning people who kill to "win") would probably not make very good leaders, but hey, that's me. Hopefully, more world building will be revealed in the next book.

Overall, there are definite similarities between this book and The Hunger Games, and probably has been in somewhat inspired by that trilogy, but I believe it stands on its own. I don't know if it's because I haven't read a dystopian in a while (I burned myself out like many other reviewers and then took a long break), or what, but I really like the "test" aspect to the whole thing, which was definitely lacking in The Hunger Games, which it should, since that wasn't the focus.

I think this was a great first novel in the trilogy, and Charbonneau definitely has a talent at keeping us on our toes and glued to the page. Even though I have 20 more books to get through, I may just take a break from my reading list and pick up the second today.

I enjoyed this book--it's a lot like the Hunger Games. I would still prefer the Hunger Games over The Testing, but it's a close one. And that is only concerning the first book. The whole series is a very fast read.

Short and Sweet:

I so enjoyed The Testing! I couldn't put it down. This story was so well written, thoughtful and full of suspense. Another wonderful 2013 read!

To Elaborate....

All of her life, Cia has looked up to her father, a previous successful Testing candidate and aspired to follow in his footsteps. However, the night before she leaves her father confides in her that the Testing is not at all what she has imagined. In fact, what she will soon experience has left him with a wiped memory and haunting nightmares. He tells her to 'trust no one.'

'Trusting no one' turns out to be horrifyingly accurate advice. With the possible (ha! no spoilers here, people!) exception of Tomas, a boy whom she has grown up with, the other testing candidates are desperate, ruthless and willing to do whatever it takes to make it as a future United Commonwealth leader. As she advances through each stage of the Testing it becomes more and more clear that she will be lucky to make it through alive. Nothing is what it seems and even within the obvious tests are more intricate evaluations that are unspoken of, unknown and unfortunately easy to fail.

Cia must learn to trust her own intuition and often takes huge risks in doing so. She is an incredibly likable character in a beautifully executed story. Definitely pick this one up!

This reminded me of The Hunger Games, Maze Runner, and Divergent all kind of mixed together. Still it is it's own story and I enjoyed it very much. I like the main characters and wondered at the ruthlessness of some of them. I am thinking things are going to get much worse before they get better. The ending was a big. OH MY!!!! I am so wondering if Tomas remembers. It will be interesting to see. On to the next book.

I had a hard time getting into the story, but I'm really glad I pushed through. By the time I reached the middle of the book, I decided to go ahead and purchase the next two books in the series. Wow! The twists and turns kept me reading late into the night with each chapter ending in a cliff-hanger, it was impossible to stop! Loved this book! The characters were well developed and the writing was top-notch. I'm starting the next book tonight!

The plot is good, but the author writes like a rookie. She knowss nothing About fighting an survival. The characters don't connect with you and with others. Also the book is a carbon copy of the HUNGER GAMES. Also things are way to predictable.

The Testing is the first in a scary dystopian YA series. Again one girl and two boys deal with a very uncertain future. Chosen for a chance to study at the university, they must leave family and friends and compete for the opportunity. Here the rules aren't the rules and they're told they can't trust anyone, even each other.
Not just another copycat, I liked The Testing better than Margaret Stohl's "Icons" and as much as "Divergent." Definitely looking forward to "Independent Study."

I loved this book. The reason I am not giving it five stars is because it seems like all the other war ravaged, survival, dystopia books that are popular right now. I really feel like this author just jumped on the bandwagon.

Think of this book as Divergent meets Hunger Games with a touch of The Giver thrown in for a little extra flavor. Not the most original. Enjoyable, but if I didn't have Kindle Unlimited I wouldn't have gotten this book.

As a fan of the Hunger Games I was apprehensive when I began reading this, but the only similarity is a girl fighting to survive in a dark future. In THE TESTING it's not a reality show but a fierce competition for the leadership of the United Commonwealth, what remains of American civilization after biowar destroys most of the planet. Cia is a sharp, resourceful heroine good with gadgets and problem solving, and her romantic interest Tomas isn't dead weight either, they make a solid team... if they can trust each other in a test where betrayal may be the option the Testers want you to take!
For anyone who loves post-apocalyptic fiction with characters who may make mistakes, but are smart enough to survive in a life or death situation, I highly recommend this book and eagerly await the next entry in the trilogy.

A book you can lose yourself in for a few hours. Let's face it; "young adult dystopian" has a current trend of seventeen year old girls ready to take on the world and change it. I am okay with that because most of our seventeen year old girls in real life right now need a confidence booster.
Off my soap box. Forget all the other reviews and clear your mind, find a comfy spot and prepare to enjoy a great story told for your reading pleasure.

Think The Hunger Games meets Divergent. It started off a bit slow, but once it picked up, I couldn’t put it down. Just enough intrigue to know it’s only book 1 in a series, not all loose ends are tied up neatly in a bow.

I do feel like Tomas and Malencia could use more fleshing out as characters. There was one plot twist I didn’t see coming. Kudos for keeping me on my toes.

The title is certainly descriptive. A big chunk of the book is all about test-taking. If this sounds compelling to you, then the first third of the book will be right up your alley. If not, you will likely find that it dragged, as I did. I could easily see some people electing to not finish this book, but I pushed on. Fortunately, the action picked up, but there were numerous other problems with the book that make it difficult to recommend.

We're told that much of the planet was destroyed in a global war, but I had to keep reminding myself that this is supposed to be a post-apocalyptic story, because it just didn't feel that way. Meager details of the war were relayed in the simplest way possible - via a couple of questions on the test that Cia must pass in order to be selected as a future leader. In fact, we are not given much more information on what brought the world to this point beyond the sentence in the synopsis above. A few American cities were bombed, we retaliated, and...the end. We're told the origin of the original bombs was unknown, which seems incredibly unrealistic. This is a huge omission in a book that touts itself as post-apocalyptic. If we don't understand what happened, how can we accept the dystopian society that formed as a result?

This brings us to the Testing itself. Maybe the future books in the series will pull a swticheroo and reveal an ulterior motive for the Testing, but while reading this one, I kept thinking: Is this extreme testing really the best way to suss out leaders? Isn't real world experience a better measure of success? If the people selected for Testing are so phenomenal, and the Commonwealth is so in need of leadership, what is the sense of putting these people through this Testing that may kill them? It all felt very contrived.

I have not yet mentioned the worst part of the story: the romance between Cia and Tomas. It was as believable as it was necessary to the story, which is to say...not very. These two childhood chums start spouting I love you's and making out as bullets and arrows fly past them on the Testing grounds, while Cia's "heart swells with love." Really? It might have been more believable if she and Tomas were in love before the Testing, but it probably would have been better if they were not in love at all.

Note - I received an ARC from the publisher with a request for an honest review.

Cia Vale is chosen for the testing along with 3 others from her community. It is an honor as they only accept the best and the brightest for the testing; however, Cia is warned by her dad, who had gone through the testing, that he had memories of a lot of death. He warns her to trust no one and to always be ready. Cia soon learns that of the 108 chosen that many are willing to go to any length to be one of the final 20 chosen. This includes murder. It was obviously acceptable to the school as many of the tests had killed the participants.

I have so many reasons for not liking this story, and I looked at the other reviews, which never mentioned my top reason for thinking this story belonged in the trash.

1. The university must be full of psychopaths. With no urging, many of the kids were willing to kill the competition. The author might as well have included this in the dialogue, 'I want to go to the university. Obviously, I need to kill to get there. Poison, guns, knives, arrows, and trickery is how I want to get ahead in life.' They weren't doing this for their families or communities as they had already received the only rewards that could be had. These students were only doing this for their own gain. I wouldn't want people who were willing to murder in important positions. Why would they ever stop murdering? Since they had no motivation to murder, why wouldn't they continue to murder? 'I want to be a department head. I think I will murder the present one. I want to be in charge of the country. I think I will kill the current person in charge, because I'm a psychopath, and this is how I roll.'

2. Let's find the best and the brightest, and perform testing that will kill the most of them. The testing doesn't test their individual areas of excellence. The smartest engineer in the world, who has a lot of new and forward thinking ideas, could have been killed, because the tests are really about strategizing and survival skills. If you aren't good at strategizing in an attempt to kill the competition, you could very well be killed. Since these tests don't assess individual skill sets, they are not finding the best and smartest in each field. However, they are designed to allow the biggest psychopath in the room to succeed. The question you have to pose to yourself as a reader is does this make any frickin' sense? The author did not build a plausible world as any person with a smidgen of common sense would not use this form of testing to find the best and the brightest in each individual field as it fails to look at the fields individually.

3. There just wasn't much to this story, and what was present was long and drawn out, boring. The author took us through each small testing procedure, and it just wasn't that exciting. There were explanations about written tests, practical tests, group strategizing tests, and the outdoor survival testing. Calling Edward Scissorhands, a lot of editing should have taken place to remove the boring fluff. It didn't happen. There were hints that something cool was actually going on behind the scenes, but nothing occurred because this another novel that was strung out to make a sequel. Books with sequels are normally made excruciatingly drawn out, so they have some exciting elements for additional books.

4. Calling all authors, I want you to give me one decent story. Don't save it up so you can make a sequel. I know you get more money that way, but holy buckets, most of your stories suffer because of this. When the representative from Tosu City, Michal, comes to pick up Cia and the other 3 testers, Michal starts giving her helpful hints because others want her to succeed. Why her? They don't know anything about her yet. Cia could be a homicidal maniac bent on decimating the competition. We continually get hints about this, but the meat must be in the sequel. There is nothing in this book. Also, at the end of the testing, the people who interviewed Cia seemed to hint at having knowledge that Cia may have been helped. Speaking of interviews, how does Cia overcome the truth serum? The interviewers asked very exact questions, and she was able to prevaricate. Why would the author even bother putting this in there?

5. I was largely indifferent to the characters because the author did not allow us to get to know any of them. The story was narrated from Cia's point of view, and she was an emotional cold fish. She did not appear to feel anything. She told us what was going on, but the author did not put any emotions behind it, nor did I feel much emotion. It was written like a detective murder mystery, and Cia was the emotionless detective, who was only invested to find the murderer.

6. This leads me to the romance between Cia and Tomas. This came out of nowhere. There was nothing that was said or done until the very moment that Tomas confessed to Cia he had ALWAYS loved her. She tells him that she believes she loves him as well. There was NOTHING prior to this moment that led anyone to believe that they were emotionally interested in each other. It was the cold fish syndrome. The author's writing was so without emotion that this took me totally by surprise. Then because this was a dystopian book the author had to add the mandatory love triangle.

7. It took me a while to figure out that there was a love triangle involving Will, but I finally got it. I believe the author had to explain that Tomas was jealous of Will. It didn't add anything to the story, but it did help the author add fluff for that sequel.

Overall, I had a lot of problems with this little piece of nothing. If you have to read it, I suggest getting it from the library, because you won't want to repeat this experience. Save your money. I got this from the library.

This book took me forever to read. I tried it because it is futuristic sci-fi and while it's not a favoured genre it sounded good. This book ranks along with James Michener in readability. Never write one word if a page full will cover it. I had to reread pages over because I just didn't get it. The premise is that the World is destroyed and slowly becoming healthy enough to live in again. It is put into separate areas and, as always, each area thinks they are best. Every year graduates are chosen to Test for applying to go to University so the World is able to become improved.Just say that it is not normal testing and those who pass are forever changed. Then realize this is a series and the University life will be the next book. This is not a favorite book for me. If you are into a plausible future life you should like this book. Don't pass on it from my opinion. Try it out. You may love it!

If you like adventure this book is for you. The book tells you an amazing tale of life and death. Cia Vale is chosen for The Testing.
There are four stages to pass after each one, people are eliminated. At the very end of The Testing 20 candidates will be selected to go to The University. Read the full story to find out the four stages of The Testing and who passes. - 12 year old, reading on our family iPad's Kindle app

All her life, Cia Vale has been waiting for her graduation day in hopes that she would follow in her father’s foot steps and be chosen for the Testing to become one of the nation’s leaders. Finally she has graduated and, with three other classmates, finds herself heading to Tosu city to begin her tests. Cia and her friends are honored to have been the first in twenty years in their colony to be chosen, but once they begin, they realize that the Tests are more than just paper and a pencil. Now being clever and trusting each other are the only ways for Cia and her friend Tomas to survive the remaining Tests. Joelle Charbonneau’s The Testing is a novel packed with action and romance aimed for young teenage girls ,but is a story for everyone.

I want to thank Houghton Mifflin Children's Books for sending me a copy of this book to read and give an honest review. I had received a copy on Net Galley but was unable to read it and the publisher was nice enough to send me a hard copy! Receiving this book for free has in no way influenced my opinion or review.

Blurb from Goodreads:
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.

So, who wouldn't want to try a book that is billed as the next Hunger Games? I loved The Hunger Games, so I jumped at the chance to give this one a try. Even read the blurb of this one, which I usually don't do, to see what it was all about. I have to say the concept really intrigued me for sure. I was really excited to finally get into another dystopian, as I haven't read one that has truly pulled me in since The Hunger Games.

The cover of this book is very simple. Once you read it, you understand what is pictured. I understand the want to go with something simple, but I feel like there could have been a bit more to it. It suits the book fairly well but I really would have liked more.

I will tell you now that if you are looking for a book that very much mimics The Hunger Games, this is it. It is eerily similar to a fault, to be honest. The characters names are different, but the concept of children fighting for survival and being pitted against each other rings throughout the book. I was actually a bit disappointed in the fact that there really wasn't much of a difference and truly wonder if the author has gotten her ideas straight from those books.There is even a scene where the main character climbs into a tree to sleep; certainly I pictured Katniss in my mind (from both the book and movie) when this scene occurred!

Malencia Vale (Cia) is an interesting enough character. She's fairly strong and definitely resilient. And she shows the smarts that are needed to be part of the testing. But unlike Katniss she wants to be chosen for the testing believing the testing will help her advance to university where she will learn to heal her broken world. Of course the corrupt government has other ideas, though we are never told their true reasoning behind the testing. We do know they want to find the most fit candidates to attend the University and help heal the destruction that has occurred due to the past wars. But the underlying tone, which Cia quickly picks up on, is that there is more to it then they are telling her. She, however, doesn't try to figure out what it is. I do understand that her will is more to survive so she can cross the finish line, but it just doesn't seem like she even cares to try and figure out what lies beneath the government's plan.
Tomas Endress, well, he seems like he's hiding something from the beginning. I just didn't trust him. And, while he and Cia have some sort of history having grown up together, their attraction seems kind of forced and doesn't evolve as I would like. The relationship also seems almost out of place in the landscape Charbonneau paints. I can't picture what Tomas looks like in my mind, which drives me bonkers. I know he has a dimple, but that is all I can honestly remember after having read the entire book with him in most of the scenes! He isn't someone I would remember in the future, nothing about him stands out and makes me want to remember him, either.
As for the supporting characters, they seem to just be there. Again, I feel no connection with any of them. I don't feel any emotion for them at all. And I have no idea what any of them truly looks like. I would have also liked to see more about the relationship between Cia and her brothers. I thought for sure, after reading the prequel, that we would get a bit more about Zeen (her oldest brother) and why it is that he and Cia are so close. But I don't really get anything at all about their relationship. And he actually disappears during what I would have thought would be the most important time for Charbonneau to have him in the book. I can tell that Cia has a good repore with her father. He trusts her and reveals secrets to her he feels she is sure to keep. This is the only relationship in the book that truly struck my interest.

So, as you can tell, I wan't completely thrilled with the cast of this book. I will tell you why I could not connect with them: this book is almost all narration from the main character's point of view. I understand the need to build a world, but Charbonneau has long paragraphs of narrative that completely take me out of the story. There is barely any dialogue between characters. This caused my inability to understand their relationships with one another. Everything I learn about them is from Cia's POV. I really would have liked to see them through dialogue and interaction. But it just was not there. When dialogue does appear, for the most part it is short and quipped, which would not be so bad except it would maybe consist of three or four lines before once again going back into long narratives from the MC's POV.

Another point of contention was the speeches that were made by the governmental officials They were LONG. It totally took me out of the story. I actually had a very hard time finishing some of them and would often have to back track to understand what the character was talking about. It was very distracting.

Remember the kids in The Hunger Games traveled by trains to Capital City? Well in The Testing it is a smaller group of kids traveling in some kind of hover craft type vehicle on their way to the capital city. Again, the similarity is still there. As if there is a cookie cutter outline and Charbonneau has taken it and added her ideas.

And I'm not feeling the total dystopian landscape that really needs to exist to understand how the people might be suffering. The children get schooling, everyone seems to be well fed, they are not dirty, they live well enough and people seem to have jobs. I just don't get how the destruction has decimated these people's lives.

So, these kids are thrown into a race to a finish line, meeting up with each other along the way, and often getting into violent confrontations. Yup, certainly reminded me of The Hunger Games. However, in The Hunger Games, the characters had reason to be violent and even kill one another. The Testing officials tell the candidates whoever makes it back will be interviewed for their final admission to university. They really don't give the candidates much of a reason to be killing each other. Sure, by offing their competition there are less of them to finish thus decreasing the risk of not being chosen for university. However, I just didn't feel like there was enough reason for them to be picking each other off.

Finally, and I cannot say this enough, there are barely any specifics given in this story. It just kind of chugs along as the kids move through the barren dystopian landscape and try to survive. Since there are no real relationships formed, we hardly get an idea of their fear or any other emotion they might have as they experience this harsh landscape and watch the other candidates go down. And since we have no real idea of why the wars happened, other than the people having not been intelligent enough, it's hard to understand what they are even racing towards.

In conclusion this book is full of plot holes, poor character development, and no explanations of why things are the way they are. The story line is weak and so closely resembles THG, I could not help but picture those characters as I read along. And I did not want that. I wanted something new and different. Something that would grab me and drag me, have me wanting more. Something that I would not be able to put down. This was not that book.

Will fans of THG like this series, perhaps. If they can put aside the fact that it is pretty much a carbon copy of what they already know. Otherwise, I say skip it and just wait for Catching Fire to come out in the theaters so you can happily continue to follow those characters as you did with the books. It's a shame, really, because the story line does have some potential.

2/5 stars.

If " The Hunger Games" and "Divergent" had a love child, this story is what it would look like. Although the story line, themes, and characters all seem to borrow heavily from those two books, the author does it well and makes her version original enough to keep you engaged and the turn events unpredictable enough to make it a worthwhile read.

I was drawn in by the YA post-apocalyptic survival storyline. What can I say; I am a sucker for the genre. But as I started reading, I thought it was going to be a slightly different version of Hunger Games. However, about half way into it I realized that a much deeper investigation into human nature. I can only hope that the author maintains control of the story and keeps on delivering exciting installments that lead to a satisfying and exciting conclusion (unlike other well known series that seemed to end abruptly as the author grew tired of the story herself).

EKKK this is exactly what dystopian young adult fans have been waiting for! This book was action packed from start to finish. From the very beginning of the book we are left wanting to know more and more. Not only are the characters one of a kind and compelling we are never sure who we can trust. This book creates a fun, new setting that any dystopian fan will love. A perfect blend of action and romance. I cannot wait for the sequel to come out in January. If you loved Tris and Katniss you will love Cia.

Wow. What can I say. This book has all the great makings of a movie. A lot like the "Hunger Games" but yet so different. I read this book in 2.5 days. Could not put it down. The story flows so nicely that there is never a dull moment. Action, romance, gore,........what more do you need. Hope to see this on the big screen someday.

I enjoyed the premise of The Testing, by Noelle Charbonneau. The main character, Cia, was an intelligent and brave heroine. I really liked the setting of post war torn US, and how the consequences of war are felt for years after. At times I felt that the story line was slow moving and I would have liked to seen more depth in Cia's relationships, especially with Tomas. Overall, if you are a fan of dystopian story lines, this is a great read. I will probably finish the rest of the series.

I liked this book a lot. It reminded me a lot like a mixture of Divergent and Hunger Games. Cia Vale is very smart and clever and is a well-rounded character. I honestly don't think that Thomas wouldn't have survived the last part of testing without Cia.

Ihad my eye on this book for a while, and after a couple weeks, Idecided to give it a chance. I was far from disappointed. Whoever says that this book is like the Hunger Games, obviously has not paid attention to either book. The only similarities they have is they are based on a dystopian society. NEWSFLASH! Not every dystopian society novel is like the Hunger Games. I read a lot of novels like this, so I am extremely critical. And this one left me wanting more. Even though tragic things happen in this novel, Ifound myself wanting to be a part of this world. This novel is based mostly on education, which I LOVED. I would definitely recommend this book for people who enjoy learning, and like to think. If you liked this, you may also like the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu. I found more similarities between those two than the Hunger Games. READ THIS. It's amazing!

Grab a handful of the Divergent books and a large scoop of the Hunger Games (with less interesting characters), and you have this.
Not sure who stole from who, but all these stories are the same.

*Edited to add that The Hunger Games and Divergent were written first. This author stole from the other two authors. You're tested. You're thrown into the wild; a game for the ones in charge. You kill competition. You struggle to find water, food. You kiss some guy with you and think it's love. BLAH!

Originality please. No one wants to read cast-offs from someone else's successful series. This book was just ok....
The Hunger Games has over twenty three thousand reviews here on the store. This book hasn't even broken six hundred. I own The Hunger Games trilogy. I should have just read those over again.

This review relates to the entire series and not just book 1. The Testing series is enjoyable enough, although not original in any meaningful way. If you want more like the Hunger Games and Divergent this series is like having a Hostess Cupcake when you really are craving a bakery quality cupcake. It can fill the temporary desire. But be forewarned. The ending could not be more stupid, illogical or nonsensical. It doesn't make any sense from a psychological or narrative perspective. I won't give it away, but I want everyone to know how frustrating it is to kind of enjoy an ok series only to have the author completely drop the ball at the end. It was like she couldn't be bothered and had a middle schooler come up with the ending for her. I wanted my time back, and I wanted to sit down with Charbonneau and ask her WTF?

After the Seven Stages of War, the Commonwealth decides to rebuild society. They create a test that will choose the leaders of tomorrow. Cia Vale, 16 years old, has dreamed like every other person of her age, to be chosen. Therefore, she is thrilled when she hears her name as one of the four chosen. Her father, who had also been chosen when he was young, advises her to trust no one. Surrounded by treason and hardships, will Cia survive? Does she have what it takes to become a head of the society? Facing the 4 stages of the test will be hard. Will she make it? This is a thrilling novel about Cia’s journey in the testing.

I enjoyed the story and characters. It is not a repeat of other post-apocalyptic stories. The concepts are fresh here, as are the characters. The Testing focuses on a group of students who must pass unknown tests to go on to University. University attendance is reserved for only the most elite students who prove they have what it takes to be future leaders. To do this they must complete a series of "test" created to find out who has the required strengths. The tests themselves are heavily guarded secrets - no one knows what they are or the details of the outcome; not even the students who "pass". I see another movie coming out of this series.

This is the start of a series just so you know. I really loved the flow of this story. It did take me awhile to kind of grow attached to the main character. She just didn't make me like here or relate to her in anyway at first but she kind of grew on me after awhile. While this is another dystopian it is a lot better than most that I have read and has a really great overall story that sucks you in. I can't wait to read more and find out what happens next.

I was itching for something light, fun, quick, and adventurous to read so I settled on this. It was a good book--though at times it reminded me of the hunger games. However, rest assured that this is different. Although I'll admit it has reminded me of several other books in this genre (I read this genre A LOT so forgive me). But don't let this deter you. If you have time on your hands and are looking for a good distraction this book will do. Just give it a chance!

I could tell just by looking at the cover that this book was going to be a total rip off of the Hunger Games, and it was. That being said, I still really enjoyed the book. It was different enough that I didn't feel like I was reading a cheap knock off and well written enough to keep me from being annoyed at the more obvious similarities. I look forward to reading the remaining books in the series.

The Testing was one of my more anticipated dystopian reads for 2013. And while the book has promise, most of the read felt like it was holding back.

One of the big taglines for The Testing was 'for The Hunger Games fans,' or something along those lines. If you liked The Hunger Games, then I am sure that The Testing will be a pleasing read for you. But bottom line, The Testing is no The Hunger Games.

The Testing starts off innocently enough. Readers are introduced to Cia and her town. A town that has students with plenty of potential to be selected for the Testing, but never are. Or at least, have not been for the last ten or so years. Cia was a likeable enough character. Although, readers know early on that the Testing is not quite what it seems, you cannot help but want Cia to be chosen for the Testing.

Once the Testing got underway, that is when The Testing's problems really began. The Testing itself is divided into four parts. Three tests of basic knowledge to test your skill set, then one real-world type experience. While I enjoyed the first three tests, the fourth is really where the action is. Also, where most of my problems occurs.

Although Cia is a likeable character, I had a hard time relating to her and her struggles. She was just so damn perfect.

Character: Oh look, we found water.
Cia: Wait, this doesn't feel right.
Character: No, everything is fine.
Cia: I don't think so.
Cia: NO!!! Get out of here. / Move... something along those lines.

Then surprise, something bad happens.

There were so many examples of events like this happening throughout The Testing that it became annoying. Whether it was a trap or how to take care of something, Cia seemed to just magically know everything. Yea, ok, that works.

Final Verdict:

The Testing wasn't a bad read. In fact, I actually liked it. But there were a lot of elements that never fully lived up to what I thought it could be. The Testing comes close to falling into the 'it was trying to be like another book, but failed to be original in its own right' category. There is plenty of original content in The Testing. But overall, I felt like I had been there done that almost from start to finish.

Will I read the next installment:

Eh. I am open to giving it a try.

This was an interesting, engaging, dystopian story in the vein of Divergent and Hunger Games. In fact, more than once, I was reminded of those two stories, but there is more than enough unique material in this story to give it creds of its own.

Read the full review here:
https://ermareads.wordpress.com/novel-novels-2/the-testing/

Wow! I was expecting yet another Hunger Games clone, while there are some similarities, it was surprisingly great. I loved Cia, the main protagonist. In most of these YA series the female protagonist tends to be obnoxious or annoying. But this was a main character who had nice qualities without being to righteous. The love interest Tomas was awesome. I really felt the love developing between the characters. Some of the plot twists were surprising and I couldn't wait to see what happened. If you are a fan of YA dystopian I don't see how you could dislike this. I actually preferred this to Divergent.
Is it similar to other current popular series? Sure, but is that such a bad thing? Sometimes when you finish something you really like (Hunger Games, Divergent), you are itching for something similar. Highly recommended.

While this was definitely an enjoyable entry into the Hunger Games/ Divergent post-apocalyptic dystopian genre, it offered no real surprises or excellence.
If this is your cup of blood-thirsty tea, you know what you're in for- an unjust government, a violent winnowing process presented as opportunity, and a spunky heroine who challenges the system.
I enjoyed it very much (hence, the 3 stars) but it was in no way unique.

This book wastes no time in capturing your attention! From the get go I was in love with Malencia Vale and her strong and intellectual personality. This series was complicated yet easy flowing. I never felt lost. And I was constantly trying to guess what would happen next or ... Who would die next. I cannot wait for the last book to come out!!

The Testing is a great, fast-paced dystopian YA novel. It centers around Malencia "Cia" Vale as she graduates and is selected for the testing. What she doesn't know is that the testing is nothing like what she's been dreaming of all these years. It's brutal and she'll have to do things she never dreamt of in order to even make it through the testing alive.

Great writing, great characters - this book is a winner.

OK all you Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner and Legend fans-get ready for a new favorite! And you would be advised to get books 2 and 3 at the same time as this first installment because you will not want to wait any time between them. FYI for parents/readers/librarians-lots of messy death and destruction, but no profanity or sexual content.

Where the smartest survive. Fans of the Hunger Games and the Maze Runner, along with the Divergent series will find themselves loving this new trilogy filled with action, futuristic drama, and a hint romance. Five stars.

The Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins did not invent the story of a person who must undertake a "test" a contest or a game in order to survive/find themselves. So knowing that I went into this without any prejudice or comparison, because there are still amazing stories to be told you just have to know how to tell them.

Joelle Charbonneau , in my opinion, does not.

The Testing: Set in a future time, in america when the great lakes are not the "five lakes" Cia Vale is chosen for "the testing" The characters are not even one dimensional or ..to my mind...easy to read (pun intended) I couldnt get a grasp on this plot, or mythos, or history or what anything looked like. Descriptions were vague and seemed rushed...to get to this "testing" hing that is supposed to be terrifying but it wasnt. There is supposed to be a romance, I didnt see it..ok I saw it but it was flimsy. As far as dystopian goes, this can be left on the shelf.

Fans of the [Hunger Games] will enjoy [The Testing] by [Joelle Carbonneau]. The characters are of similar ilk and drive the plot. The hidden twists within the plot keep it going at a good pace. It comes down to the idea "be careful what you wish for you may just get it."

I really enjoyed this first book! I found both the plot, theme, and characters all so very intriguing that I found myself reading more and more. I can't wait to start book two later today, hopefully it's as good as the first one! If you like Hunger Games, Divergent, or the Legend series, you will enjoy this book! Happy reading.

Cia Vale lives in a dystopian world ravaged by war. The environment has suffered greatly and the colonies call graduates for The Testing. Those that make it get to be better educated so that they can be leaders, innovators, scientists, etc. All trying to reverse the damage to their world. The book is reminiscent of The Hunger Games but it is well written and I enjoyed it.

I love this book. I highly recommended to any Hunger Games fan. It's one of those books you just can't put down until you finished reading. There are some similarities to the hunger games, but the story is very interesting. The book has action and suspense and it will have the reader rooting for Cia and Tomas all the way to the end.

LOVE this book! If you liked the Divergent trilogy, and the Delirium trilogy (lesser known but even better), you will really enjoy this book. Heard about it from my 8th grade daughter's ELA teacher. My daughter and I both read it and loved it.

The Testing, unfortunately, turned out to be a much safer, tamer, and less interesting novel to the ones it was compared to, The Hunger Games and Divergent. I expected to be horrified, to see things without any sugar coating, and to have an emotional connection with the main protagonist as well as scenes that cause my heart to go on overdrive. However, I got the baby of those two novels, because The Testing had a lot of similarities to both novels, but it fell flat in comparison. We have the tests, which in theory remind me of Divergent, however the first test was them completing written tests then a few unexplained deaths here and there, but what annoyed me is that no one questioned them, and I think that was my biggest problem with the characters in this book. Then there are tests 2 and 3 which are pretty much forgettable, and lastly test 4, which is very similar to the game in THG. However, again, we get pretty uneventful scenes. I just wanted more, however all I got was a few tiny bursts of a would be horrific scene but then the author quickly masks it and I'm like: but.. I want to know more, I want more action, I want more depth from these characters, but unfortunately the author only scratched the surface with the plot and the characters. So, The Testing was a disappointment in the end and I honestly am not invested enough with the plot and characters to pick up the sequel.

If you liked Divergent and The Hunger Games, you'll enjoy this. It's got its own twist to the dystopian world and the characters suck you in. I read it very quickly... just couldn't stop! Thank God the next books are already out; I can't wait to see what happens next in this world!

War & Waste have ravaged the planet. United Commonwealth struggles. Each year the best & brightest are chosen for the Testing for University - future leaders, teachers, & scientists.
Cia worked hard to be chosen for The Testing - like her father.
But all is NOT as it seems.
Looking forward to next installment.

This book was very suspenseful. But it just seemed like a remake of the Hunger Games. Though the hunger games was good, it is not a story to read over again. I like the memory thing thou, that was good!

Couldn't lay The Testing down. It is a story that pits young characters against each other, learning who you may trust is similar to The Hunger Game trilogy which I have enjoyed in novel form and in movie form on s regular basis. It will be a misstep if The Testing isn't made into a movie!

Fans of young adult dystopians, get ready for a new series to obsess over. Charbonneau’s The Testing is an incredibly engaging story with a wonderfully strong main character. The Testing’s fast pace and intriguing world building will make readers race to the end and anxiously anticipate the next book in the trilogy.

This book is very addictive and suspenseful. I couldn't put it down! The plot is very similar to two or three other popular books, but the book still holds its own. It is post-apocalyptic fiction at its best, with a little romance and mystery tied in as well. Loved it.

This is one of those books that I completely enjoyed despite all evidence pointing to the contrary!

I've been on a huge Young Adult/Post Apocalyptic kick for over a year now and have not tired of the genre. I do however expect that each book I read will have something unique to offer, regardless of the fact that they all tend to follow the same formula. It's that unique "something" that allows each book to stand on it's own and be enjoyableand hopefully memorable.

It did not take me long to realize that The Testing was pure Hunger Games. The plot, the romance...there were so many parallels that honestly it felt at times like the same story only unfortunately...of a slightly subpar level.

I really had trouble finding any genuinely unique element or twist that would make this book stand out in the crowd. The characters were likeable but didn't wow me in any way. I found it hard to truly connect to any of them though I certainly empathized with them and rooted for them as the novel progressed.

That said, depite all odds, I was completely enthralled with this book. I could not put it down, I needed to know what would happen next, how it all would end...and I truly can not wait to get my hands on the next book in the series! Perhaps it is due to the authors incredibly engaging writing style? Perhaps due to the mood I was in when I picked this one up? I don't know. All I do know is that somehow a total Hunger Games copy still managed to completely engage me and make me want more.

Guess you'll each just have to judge this one for yourselves!

NOTE: Review Copy received from Publisher in exchange for an honest review

I am wondering why someone hasn't made this into a movie?!? This was a great read, one that I could not put down actually, and I can't wait to read book 2! I do kinda hope someone in Hollywood reads this, it would make a great movie!!

Well written combination of hunger games and divergent. If you've read those and are looking for something to scratch your dystopian itch, then this book may do the trick. Cia is a like able protagonist who has a knack for making the right snap judgement. Maybe she's too lucky. But it's still a good read.

I came across this book at a book fair with the description: Hunger Games meets SATs. I thought I'd give it a try, and I was blown away. The Testing brings together the different stories, pasts, and mysteries of a diverse cast of characters, leaving questions to be answered and intrigue to solve in subsequent novels.

The complicated plot, introducing more twists and turns whenever there could be a lull, kept me turning pages. Cia is a compelling heroine who makes mistakes but also brings some necessary skills to the table. Her responses to events seem appropriate and she doesn't turn into the whiney, sloppy, emotional-wreck teenager-heroine of so many YA distopia novels that I have read recently.

I look forward to the next installment with great anticipation.

I've never been a huge fan of dystopian novels, but there are some good ones out there. The Testing is okay. It's nothing new, and most of it is very generic. While the plot and premise are both interesting, the characters aren't developed very well. The writing lacks a distinctive voice, and most character interactions feel forced. I am not in love with the book, but I don't hate it either. It falls right in the middle for me. That being said, it is still a well planned novel that most dystopian fans will enjoy.

Content: violence and disturbing scenes.

The Testing is a fusion of my favorite books, The Hunger Games and Divergent. It's without a doubt a page-turner and a suspenseful adventure. It's also about finding love in an unlikely place. The Testing is amazing. I look forward to reading the second one.

Fantastic story. Sometimes a little too much detail. This would be more appealing to girls because of the over detailed of some parts, but being a guy it let me understand what girls are thinking (they can be so confusing, now I know why and also why they talk so much)

I dont know how this book escaped my attention before, but aftrr finding it last week I couldnt dtop reading untill i finished the trilogy. Best books i have read thid year, these books would make a great movie!

It was really well written, I could visualize the events! It's a textbook definition dystopian novel with compelling powerful characters, it's been three days since I finished it and I'm already reading the third book!

This is one of the best books I have read. It is like the hunger games but with more relocatable characters. Its also just a bit like clue, you're figuring things out with the characters, but the lead character is much smarter than you.

I'm an avid dystopian reader, and I've fallen for many female heroines such as Tris Prior and Katniss Everdeen, and now I've fallen in love with Cia Vale. This is the perfect book for someone who craves another series that is as captivating and beautiful as the Hunger Games. Cia and Thomas exemplify perfectly rounded characters that are easy to relate to and easier to cheer for. This book quickly made it's way to my all-time favorite books, and I'm sure other lovers of the Hunger Games and Divergent would agree!

the testing is so much like the hunger games. it is a thrilling novel. it has its ups and downs. just overall it was my favorite dystopian novel. ( utopan=perfect world dystopian= imperfect world that is very corrupt).

I have a stack of "to be read" books that I am dying to finish, but I recently was gifted a Kindle and didn't want to re-buy all of the books I own in paper and hardback. After a bit of searching, I settled on The Testing.

Initially, I thought this book seemed suspiciously like Matched, which was too slow for me (I was never able to finish the 3rd book in the trilogy). However, the book took some different (better) turns and was able to hold my interest while keping me emotionally invested in the characters and their relationships. I would say that this book has many similarities in plot and world building to Divergent, Hunger Games, and Matched, but it has plenty of its own unique aspects as well, making it an exciting and enjoyable read. A few of the plot points were a bit easy for me to figure out before they were revealed, perhaps due to foreshadowing or maybe because I've read so many YA dystopian novels. Either way, I flew through this book and am looking forward to finishing the trilogy!

I loved this book after the first 70 or so pages. I liked the the book in the first 70 or so pages. I would give the testing 4 and a half stars because of the beginning.

To all the people who read the one star reviews: The testing is NOT exactly like the hunger games. I think some people just think that whatever dystopia comes after the hunger games is coping the hunger games. The Testing is original! Go Joelle Charbonneau!!!!!

While the rising crase of dystopian novels are very vivid in this era, finding similarities in these books is a constant. I was not truly able to enjoy this book until i stopped comparing it to others, and boy did i enjoy it. It's the perfect combination of action, romance and drama, however I gave it a rating of a 4 because I felt it was missing something I can't quite put my finger on. Nevertheless this is still a must read!!!!

I felt it took a long time to get the story going. The premise was laid out as to what was going to happen in the very beginning of the book, but the author took you down another path before what was laid out at the beginning finally started to happen. This made it tough for me to really get into the story, but once I did, I enjoyed the book and will finish the series.

I don't mind that this was a transparent attempt to cash in on the Hunger Games' success...HG lovers are, ahem, hungering for more. But everything Suzanne Collins did right, this book fails at. With spare prose Collins drew us into a richly imagined world with intriguing characters, giving us a sense of the oppression that led to revolt. This book is flat, unimaginative, and aimless. If you just want another story of a young woman facing tough choices in a post-apoc/dystopian world, go for it. If you're interested in good writing, move on.

This is one of the best books I have read. It is like the hunger games but with more relocatable characters. Its also just a bit like clue, you're figuring things out with the characters, but the lead character is much smarter than you.

I'm an avid dystopian reader, and I've fallen for many female heroines such as Tris Prior and Katniss Everdeen, and now I've fallen in love with Cia Vale. This is the perfect book for someone who craves another series that is as captivating and beautiful as the Hunger Games. Cia and Thomas exemplify perfectly rounded characters that are easy to relate to and easier to cheer for. This book quickly made it's way to my all-time favorite books, and I'm sure other lovers of the Hunger Games and Divergent would agree!

the testing is so much like the hunger games. it is a thrilling novel. it has its ups and downs. just overall it was my favorite dystopian novel. ( utopan=perfect world dystopian= imperfect world that is very corrupt).

I have a stack of "to be read" books that I am dying to finish, but I recently was gifted a Kindle and didn't want to re-buy all of the books I own in paper and hardback. After a bit of searching, I settled on The Testing.

Initially, I thought this book seemed suspiciously like Matched, which was too slow for me (I was never able to finish the 3rd book in the trilogy). However, the book took some different (better) turns and was able to hold my interest while keping me emotionally invested in the characters and their relationships. I would say that this book has many similarities in plot and world building to Divergent, Hunger Games, and Matched, but it has plenty of its own unique aspects as well, making it an exciting and enjoyable read. A few of the plot points were a bit easy for me to figure out before they were revealed, perhaps due to foreshadowing or maybe because I've read so many YA dystopian novels. Either way, I flew through this book and am looking forward to finishing the trilogy!

I loved this book after the first 70 or so pages. I liked the the book in the first 70 or so pages. I would give the testing 4 and a half stars because of the beginning.

To all the people who read the one star reviews: The testing is NOT exactly like the hunger games. I think some people just think that whatever dystopia comes after the hunger games is coping the hunger games. The Testing is original! Go Joelle Charbonneau!!!!!

While the rising crase of dystopian novels are very vivid in this era, finding similarities in these books is a constant. I was not truly able to enjoy this book until i stopped comparing it to others, and boy did i enjoy it. It's the perfect combination of action, romance and drama, however I gave it a rating of a 4 because I felt it was missing something I can't quite put my finger on. Nevertheless this is still a must read!!!!

I felt it took a long time to get the story going. The premise was laid out as to what was going to happen in the very beginning of the book, but the author took you down another path before what was laid out at the beginning finally started to happen. This made it tough for me to really get into the story, but once I did, I enjoyed the book and will finish the series.

I don't mind that this was a transparent attempt to cash in on the Hunger Games' success...HG lovers are, ahem, hungering for more. But everything Suzanne Collins did right, this book fails at. With spare prose Collins drew us into a richly imagined world with intriguing characters, giving us a sense of the oppression that led to revolt. This book is flat, unimaginative, and aimless. If you just want another story of a young woman facing tough choices in a post-apoc/dystopian world, go for it. If you're interested in good writing, move on.

I think if I had read this book when I was twelve I might have enjoyed this book, because it seems like a twelve-year-old wrote it. The characters don't make sense, "shy" characters are more out-going than the main character, and she's supposed to be '''heroic''' and ''''''''brave'''''''. There's more description of food, clothing, and setting (the author doesn't believe her readers have much of an imagination and can't think of what a steak dinner looks like without at least ten adjectives) THAN ACTUAL CHARACTER PERSONALITY/DEVELOPMENT. I wish there was more character development than, "I can't believe I killed a mutant human. Oh no, everything I stand for is a lie." in this book. Maybe then I would have understood why one character took her life, for no apparent reason. That would have been nice. Can't make heads or tails of the romance either. They kinda-of had feelings for each other before/were childhood friends, but he's only slightly mentioned in chapter two. We get more information about a side character with a sad backstory (abusive mom, suicidal tendencies, absent father, its like watching the nameless secretary die for five whole minutes in Jurassic World). When Cia and Thomas talk to each other the dialogue seems like something a teenager wishes Harry Styles would say to her, and when he's not around, the dialogue (and the writing) are just okay. Unfortunately, they are together and alone for most of the testing. And the point for the testing doesn't have any reasoning to it either. In books like the Hunger Games and Divergent, the governments are openly oppressing the people, in this book they're trying to build new lives for the children of nuclear wars. WHY WOULD THEY KILL THE INTELLIGENT KIDS WHO CAN HELP RE-BUILD SOCIETY???

But enough about the worthless plot, here are some ACTUAL lines from the book (no more spoilers you could have figured out from the book jacket, I promise):

"Red. I'm wearing red. No more pink. I am an adult."

"Mechanical things I fix. Plants I kill."

"Who would turn down the honor of being chosen for The Testing" (yes 'The Testing' is capitalized for some unworthy reason)

"but Lyane and I have a connection, which is why I invited her today." (duh, it's your graduation party)

I found her....Looking over the edge of a raven, preparing to jump. Only, I wouldn't let her. Instead, I made her talk. (like an interrogation, if only all suicide prevention's were this easy *foreshadowing*)

" 'the set of your mouth, the worry in your eyes. I know your face Cia. I can tell when something's wrong.' " (because that's how you tell someone that you're concerned for them)

" 'Personally I think you're too good for any of us, Cia' " (because that's never been said unironically before.)

And my personal favorite: " '...The act of killing is simple. Living with it . . .' He looks off beside me and sighs.

This book truly is a riot from start to finish, but it's nothing close to the good kind.

If you like constantly being told where you are, who is saying what, and the internal conflict of being in love with a lifeless pillow while trying not to get killed for no apparent reason, than this is the book for you.

This book was awesome, it had an original plot and deep characters. The descriptive language made it so that I repertoire l thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I wished I could have experienced this new way of life for my self sounds awesome