Book 23 - The Testing

Joelle & I :)

I was blessed - yet again - to meet another brilliant author. This is Joelle Charbonneau, a mystery author who's recently published a young adult, dystopian novel. While Joelle's mystery novels have been in my to-read pile for some time now, I haven't had a chance to read her work until I picked up The Testing. Joelle is such a great author and a great person. She is fun, down-to-earth, and genuinely enjoys interacting with her fans. I'm so glad that a good friend of mine (again, THANKS, Shelly!) invited me out to meet Joelle. Having a book of hers is a HUGE addition to my own personal library!

*Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL has some GREAT author events taking place this summer. They have multiple events each week, so there's always something going on there. I highly recommend Anderson's.



Book 23: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau



The Testing
(click here to purchase)

Description: 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. [GoodReads]

 

Joelle explained that she feels honored to have her new series compared to The Hunger Games (even though it upsets me because she has established her own, unique story within The Testing), but she does so with good reason. While I am not a huge fan of THG, I fell in love with Joelle's characters and storyline. Even though there are some similarities, these novels are two different worlds. (And because they are both young adult, dystopian stories, referring to Joelle as "taking" some of her ideas from THG is like saying that Janet Evanovich borrows ideas from Agatha Christie because they are both mystery writers.) I just wanted to mention THG now so that I do not have to mention it again throughout the rest of my review.

From page one, I was taken into the story! The Unites States is still recovering from the Seven Stages War, and Tosu City (the government home) requires that the remaining colonies be willing to send off their best high school graduates when they are requested. Malencia Vale's dream is to be accepted into The University so that she can learn the skills she needs to aid in the reestablishment of health and peace across the country. She looks the part and has the grades, yet her family is devastated when she is called to Tosu City to partake in The Testing, the initial requirements that weed out the poor from the best when deciphering which students may move on to The University.

The story seems innocent enough - what high school graduate does not want to head off to college now-a-days? But Malencia's dreams are shattered when she begins seeing her friends and classmates gruesomely killed while trying to complete simple, every day tasks. There are four tests to complete: the first is a simple comprehensive exam which tests the candidates on basic English, math, science, and history; the second test asks students to complete tasks (such as purifying water and then drinking that water to be sure that it really is safe to drink) with dire consequences; the third test judges how well the candidates work in groups; and the fourth and most horrifying test requires students to be dropped off over 700 miles away from Tosu City in a remote area and told to survive the rough reality of a destroyed world in order to return to the country's Capitol.

Through Malencia's experiences, she is not only faced with the harsh reality of her surroundings - she also discovers that love, true love, between two people, can get you through even the darkest of days.

 

I give this novel 5/5 stars. I've even emailed Joelle asking if she could send me an ARC (advanced reading copy) of the second in the series because I simply CANNOT wait to see what's next in story for Malencia.

 

 



Joelle signing my book!!



 

Meet the Author: "I am a storyteller at heart. I have performed in a variety of operas, musical theatre and children's theatre productions across the Chicagoland area. While I'm happy to perform for an audience, I am equally delighted to teach private voice lessons and use my experience from the stage to create compelling characters on the page. I am the author of the Rebecca Robbins mystery series (Minotaur Books), The Paige Marshall Glee Club mysteries (Berkley) and The Testing YA trilogy (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)." [GoodReads]



To visit Joelle, follow these links:
Joelle Charbonneau SITE
Facebook

UPCOMING BOOK: What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang
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