Book: Independent Study

Independent Study

by Joelle Charbonneau

Length: 310 pages

Format: Hardback
Price: checked out from the school library

Author Website: http://joellecharbonneau.com/

Basic Premise: Having passed the testing, Cia finds herself at University in a program she did not choose with a class load she did not want and an internship she did not seek.  She has inadvertently marked herself as an enemy among many of her peers and, it seems, her professors, but none of that would matter if she could discover a way to end The Testing, and she thinks she can.

My Take: 7.5 out of 10 (scale here)
I wish I had reread The Testing or read this one sooner.  I just couldn't remember some of the finer details of the first book, and this is definitely an author who depends on her reader's knowledge of the first book.  This contributed to some confusion for me.  I liked it, but as with so many 2nd books, it's a bridge from book one, where everything starts, to book three, where everything ends, so it's never quite as good.  Bearing that in mind, I still really liked it.  I read it in small pieces - not the way I like to do books - but with my current schedule, it really couldn't be avoided.  Even so, it felt like it moved very fast - like I was barely keeping up.  I could have used a bit more from some of the supporting characters (namely one) and a bit more back story on a few of the new ones.  The ending was a complete shock, but now, looking back, I can see there were little clues littered along the plot line that might have clued me in had I not been reading in such short segments.  Either way, I was on the edge of my seat at the end and immediately got online to see when Graduation Day, the final installment of the trilogy, will be released.  June.  Ugh.

I told Rick he needed to listen to The Testing audiobook on his way to work.  He's halfway through it now and likes it.  I also had a student come find me in EO yesterday to tell how much she loved that book and she just started this one.  She picked it up because I recommended it.  Makes a reading teacher's heart happy. :)