Kindle Book: The Testing

THE Testing

by Joelle Charbonneau

Length: 344 pages

Format: Kindle Book
Price: $2.99

Author Website: http://joellecharbonneau.com/

Basic Premise: After the 7 Stages of War have rendered the world stagnant and stripped of all its former glory, those who remain are attempting to reestablish a flourishing community and country by appointing leaders, but only those who can pass The Testing.  But no one seems to know much about what actually takes place in the testing, as the only ones who return are those who pass, and they can't remember.

My Take: 9 out of 10 (scale here)
I really really really liked this book.  I liked the writing style, the unpredictable plot, and, most importantly in my opinion, the characterization.  I liked the protagonist.  Like so many dystopian protagonists, she is female.  But unlike so many, she is extremely intelligent, not at all cocky, knows her own heart and mind, and is and in no way involved in a love triangle.  All pluses in my book.  There was the perfect amount of depth to the characters - enough that I felt I knew them, but not so much that I could anticipate their moves.  I got to the end and was immediately desperate to know when the next book would be released.  A 10 second Internet search told me January 7, 2014.  Only 9 more days.  Good.

I told my husband about this book.  Immediately he asked, "Is it as good as The Hunger Games?" Ugh.  I get why he asked, and why my students will probably ask when I tell them about this book.  Probably, the answer is no, though I did read a few reviews that disagreed.  There are many things about this book that make it Hunger Games-ish, but I think it's important to acknowledge that, while The Hunger Games has sort of become the icon of dystopian YAL, it's not the only book, and nor should it be.  There are lots of other books out there that are really really good. And while I don't want to compare the two books, there are many similarities between the circumstances under which I read both:

1. They were recommended at the same book conference by the same woman, though 5 years apart.
2. Both books were appealing to me because I could see the faces of kids in my classes who I knew would like these books.
3. This same woman said both books were very good and would grow quickly in popularity.
4. I finished both in under 48 hours.

I shared my list of books that I wanted to read after attending the conference with some of my high readers on the Thursday before break.  The next day, one of them came to me and said she had purchased this book, was already several chapters in, and was hooked.  I can't wait to talk to her and see what she thought.  I also can't wait to get a hold of some copies for my classroom!