Hello/The Testing

Hello everyone in the blogosphere. I don't expect anyone to ever find this blog but in case someone randomly clicked on this sad page because they were bored, or high, or whatever, I guess I will say Hi! :)

Some generic facts about me is that I love books and reading. I excel in English classes which is why I have began this blog. If not only to get my thoughts out about YA Fiction books, but to make sure that my writing does not go downhill in the sad excuse of an English class they are forcing onto me at the local community college. Just so you know how sad that English class is, the hardest assignment I have received is accurately placing commas in various sentences. Pretty pathetic. So until I can move on to a higher level class that will actually teach me something useful, I thought I would put my talent to use and start a blog.  (And yes, I am currently procrastinating writing an essay for that class.)

A blog about YA Fiction is the only natural choice for me because
A) I don't like talking about myself and
B) I have a little black book (actually its pink and sparkly) filled with various novels I have read over the past year and a half.
 With exactly 99 reviews written in between its little covers I believe this will be a easy, and FUN, route to take.

So onto actually reviewing a book. I have chosen a book that I believe will become quite big. I have faith that this author will go on to write other fantastic novels. So for my debut review, I have chosen...

           The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau.

The Testing takes place in a post apocalyptic world where society has raised hell on itself, and the Earth has quite literally fought back with earthquakes and tsunamis. In the not so distant future, Malencia Vale, also known as Cia, wants nothing more than to follow in her fathers footsteps and be chosen as a candidate for The Testing after she graduates from school in her small colony. The capital takes the best and brightest students from all the colonies every year to participate in this event, that if they pass will set them on a path to higher education and become one of the societies leaders. When all of her dreams come turn, Cia soon realizes that The Testing is far more dangerous and deadly than she was led to believe. With power hungry candidates and Testing Officials who will gladly put the candidates in harmes way to obtain results, Cia must decide who she can trust, or risk her life in the process.

I have always been a fan of dystopic novels like The Hunger Games and Divergent. So when I read this novel it was no surprise that I could not put it down and got a few paper cuts from flipping the pages too fast. From the first words till the last, Joelle Charbonneau creates a world so vivid you feel as though you are living inside of it. I would have liked to know where the capital was before the ending of the book. I was constantly confused while the candidates were in their last round of testing as to where they were traveling. It was revealed but I just wish it was revealed a smidge sooner.

The characters however, were kind of perfectly written. I loved seeing the drive that Cia had to not only complete The Testing herself, but to help as many others as she possibly could finish as well. This showed that she was the typical heroine that you would expect to see in this kind of novel. Thomas as the male lead, and Cia's love interest (as to be expected), is the boy-next-door type that many girls fantasize about ending up with. He's tall, handsome, extremly smart, and has the charisma to put anyone at ease. There is a dark side to him that has only been partially revealed and I look forward to seeing more of in the next installment (is that weird of me to want to read that? yes? oh....)

There were many unanswered questions at the end of the book leaving plenty of room for the sequel, The Testing: Independent Study, to branch out on when it comes out in early 2014. I would list my questions but I don't want to give any spoilers away incase someone does wander across this and decide to take my recommendation and READ THIS NOVEL.

So if you have not gotten what I am trying to say about this book, it is brilliantly written by a talented author. It is definitely worth the time, effort, and money if you do purchase it. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed novels like The Hunger Games. If you don't know what The Hunger Games is, you have been living under a rock and I suggest you start living.

-Shawnee Smith