Review of "The Testing"

"According to law, not presenting oneself for The Testing is a form of treason."

     Joelle Charbonneau's The Testing takes every student's fear of school to the extreme. When no one in her graduating class is selected for The Testing, Malencia "Cia" Vale is crushed. Now she'll have no choice except forge a simple life in Five Lakes Colony, the tiny community eking an existence out of the ruined land surrounding the former Great Lakes. Then government official Michal Gallen arrives to escort her and three of her classmates to Tosu City, the United Commonwealth capital, for Testing. What Cia doesn't know is that The Testing isn't only probing her knowledge of history and art--they're testing her survival skills and her ability to make decisions under extreme stress. Her fellow students are nothing more than competition. If she is to survive The Testing, Cia must choose who, if anyone, to trust. And according to Testing rules, if she chooses incorrectly, the punishment is death.

     The Testing is built on a relatively strong premise. Hundreds of years ago, the world went through Seven Stages of War that tore the planet apart. Now, a handful of small colonies under one government are all that is left of civilization, at least in North America. With resources so limited, only a select few are allowed into the University, where they are trained to make the world better. In order to decide who is accepted, competitors are tested on their knowledge, problem-solving skills...and ability to kill. For some reason, the United Commonwealth has decided that great leaders must be willing and able to eliminate their competition by any means necessary, all but encouraging candidates to resort to sabotage and acts of violence to rise to the top. The reasoning behind this is never fully explained, leaving a gap in the worldbuilding that is, at times, difficult to overlook.

     Often, it is the author's writing style that makes or breaks a book. Sadly, Charbonneau's short, usually comma-free sentences dice her story up into choppy bits that are too small to allow readers to enter her world. The Testing's setting is intriguing, its characters even more so: a pair of boisterous twins; a shy, artsy girl; a childhood acquaintance who wants to be more than friends; and a strong, capable protagonist who is determined to succeed. Thanks to brief sentences and a surprisingly small amount of dialogue, these great characters are left almost completely undeveloped by the time the story is over.

     Cia and her friends may be wrapped up in a life-or-death school exam, but that doesn't make them monsters. Cia is polite to everyone, even her enemies, and very rarely allows a curse to slip past her lips. That doesn't stop others from hurting her or those around her, or prevent the countless deaths that are constantly narrowing down the Testing pool, though. Candidates participate in tests that are sure to make readers think, and run into chilling creatures that shouldn't exist, as the story progresses. Each encounter results in greater injuries than the last, but there is little in the way of gore.

     I would recommend this book to teenagers interested in a battle for survival narrated by an extremely capable protagonist who always thinks one step ahead. Cia and her fellow candidates are smart and relatable teens living in a fascinating world where education is a future worth fighting for. If it weren't for the jarringly terse prose and lack of dialogue, this could be a great tale. As it is, Joelle Charbonneau's The Testing stands at three stars.