Friday, March 14, 2014

Reread #11 The Testing (2013)

The Testing. Joelle Charbonneau. 2013. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 344 pages. [Source: Review Copy]

I had not planned to reread The Testing in anticipation of reading Independent Study. But as I opened the pages of Independent Study, I felt it only fair to begin at the beginning, to go back and experience it in full, to refresh my memory so that I would be more likely to fall in love with this second book. I am very thankful I chose to spend the time with The Testing. It was interesting to see what I remembered and what I had forgotten. It was interesting to see if the same scenes still stood out to me.

For those that enjoy dystopia, I would definitely recommend The Testing. I liked Cia Vale, our heroine. I liked the brief introduction to the Five Lakes Colony. There was just enough mystery to hook me. Her dad and her brother prove even more interesting upon rereading. I liked the four stages of the test. I liked how the horror comes gradually--surely and inevitably, but paced well in my opinion. I liked the twists and turns. Overall, I thought the characterization was good, was interesting. The world-building was good, perhaps not great, but solid enough. Even though it was a reread, I found it hard to put down!


I first read this one in June 2013

© 2014 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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