The Testing, Book 3
Juvenile Fiction
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2014
304
In book three of The Testing series, the United Commonwealth wants to eliminate the rebel alliance fighting to destroy The Testing for good, and though Cia is ready to lead the charge, will her lethal classmates follow her into battle? 75,000 first printing.
Review:
I absolutely loved “The Testing”, and while a bit disappointed in “Independent Study”, I still enjoyed it. I wish I had stopped before I read “Graduation Day”.
The one redeeming factor of “Graduation Day” is the action, so I will begin there. The action sequences were intense and real page turners. Unfortunately, there was not enough of it.
It all seems like the author is trying too hard to put in plot twists. Some of it came nowhere and made no sense. Characters made decisions not in line with what had been established about them previously, and at some point Cia became just as cold and uncaring as those she was trying to overthrow. The ending made her seem like she cared about no one but a cause- the same way of thinking that created the testing in the first place.
I wanted to love this book, or to even just “like” it. Neither of those are possible. There are barely even any resolutions to the multitude of problems in their society. It was enough of a letdown to make me regret reading past the first book.
Content Warning:
Language, Violence
