Independent Study

Today’s post is on Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau. It is 320 pages long and is published by Hmh Books for Young Readers. It is the second her The Testing series. The cover is green with emblems on it and the one highlighted has a lightning bolt and the scales of justice. The intended reader is someone who has read the first book, likes young adult novels, and dystopian stories. There is mild foul language, no sex, and violence in this book. The story is told from first person perspective of the main character Cia. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the blurb provided on Cloud Library- Seventeen-year-old Cia Vale survived The Testing, as has Tomas, the boy she loves, and they have both gained admission to the University. She has a promising future as a leader of the United Commonwealth and no memory of her bloody testing experience, thanks to a government-sanctioned memory wipe. Cia should be happy but is plagued by doubts about the past and future. Determined to find the truth, she embarks on a path of study forbidden by the government delving into the Commonwealth's darkest secrets. What she finds is the brutal reality lurking behind the friendly faces of her classmates and the unbearable realization that leaders chosen to protect us can be our greatest enemy.   The much-anticipated second book of the dystopian THE TESTING series is another blazing and intense story, packed with twists, romance, unexpected alliances, betrayal, and the heart-racing reality that your life is a test that begins right now.

Review- A strong second book in a trilogy that gives the reader more of the world but still leaves too many questions. Cia has no memories of the Testing just a recording she left herself of what happened. At the beginning of the book, she is not sure what she should believe but she knows that she cannot trust anyone anymore. The university is not a safe place either with student still being tested by the professors and now the older students are doing it too. Cia has nowhere to go but she is not going to back down. Charbonneau continues to use the world in a similar way that she set up in the first novel with students competing with each other for everything and sometimes killing each other to get to first place. But Cia is being watched very carefully by the head of the Testing. We get more of the same from the first novel so if you loved the survival and traps of the Testing, you will enjoy this novel. But if you wanted something else like more world building or different ways that the students are tested then you may be disappointed with this novel. I enjoyed it and I look forward to seeing how everything is going to play out.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library’s ebook service.