The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau (Deception book)
In all honesty I wasn't a huge fan of this book. It caught my eye because it seemed like it was along the lines of the Hunger Games and Divergent series...which was true. A little too much along those lines for my liking, but with less character development. The main character, Cia Vale, is a strong female protagonist (like in Hunger Games and Divergent) who lives in a Distopian society born out of a post nuclear war America. Charbonneau definitely created a hybrid of the two worlds from Hunger Games and Divergent, but she emphasizes the theme of deception throughout. The testing (per the title of the book) is seemingly an aptitude test that students qualify for during their years of schooling in their colonies. However, this testing is much more sinister than members of the colonies know. This is the first layer of deception that Cia uncovers. From there she goes on to unexpectedly fight for her life over and over again during these tests. The entire premise of the book is based on the words her father, a former testing candidate who "passed" the testing, gave her before she left: "Cia, trust no one." During the next months Cia questions everything around her, wondering if anything can be trusted at face value. More layers of deception are uncovered as secret cameras are found watching their every move, the tests become more deadly and countless testing candidates turn out to not be what they seem as sabotage and murder run rampant through the tests. In the end the final deception comes in the form of a memory wipe, erasing all knowledge of the weeks spent in the testing and all that happened within. Luckily for Cia she was smart enough to keep a digital record of the happenings during the testing which she found after the memory swipe revealing the greatest deception of them all. Cia lives in a society where nothing is what it seems and few find this out and live to tell about it. It was hard reading a book where you felt like you couldn't even trust the characters for fear you would be deceived as well (since this happened often). The only consolation was that since the character development did not, I feel, create much depth in the characters, the deception and betrayal was not felt as deeply by me, the reader, as it could have been. Though the unoriginality of this book threw me off, I still enjoyed the imagination behind the plot and the simple thread of deception that is found throughout the story. It helps, at least, tie everything together to be cohesive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3DvdkO-GYc
This is a book trailer for The Testing that I think gives a good picture of the book but does not give too much away that happens within the movie. I believe this will help people decide whether they would want to read this book or not, based on a portrayal and opinion other than my own.
Despite your disappointment, this book still sounds like an interesting read. What catches my specific attention is that the main character is named Cia--a pun on C.I.A. perhaps? Hmm. I would be interested to see if this novel has any political critiques against our own government, utilizing the Distopian hype in hopes of gaining readers.
It is a shame though, that the novel may be unoriginal. My guess is that just like the Vampire and Werewolf hypes when "Twilight" hit, this novel suffers from the "Hunger Games" hype. Still, I'm intrigued to see what it might have to offer.
I agree with Megan. It sucks that you are disappointed, but it seems like this book really takes you on a ride. I have always found books like this intriguing, and I feel like this would be no exception. Also, I like that you included a book trailer in your post! I'm going to add this one to the bottom of my "Books to Read" list, so I may get a chance to read it before I go blind. Either way thanks for sharing!
Despite your disappointment, this book still sounds like an interesting read. What catches my specific attention is that the main character is named Cia--a pun on C.I.A. perhaps? Hmm. I would be interested to see if this novel has any political critiques against our own government, utilizing the Distopian hype in hopes of gaining readers.
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame though, that the novel may be unoriginal. My guess is that just like the Vampire and Werewolf hypes when "Twilight" hit, this novel suffers from the "Hunger Games" hype. Still, I'm intrigued to see what it might have to offer.
I agree with Megan. It sucks that you are disappointed, but it seems like this book really takes you on a ride. I have always found books like this intriguing, and I feel like this would be no exception. Also, I like that you included a book trailer in your post! I'm going to add this one to the bottom of my "Books to Read" list, so I may get a chance to read it before I go blind. Either way thanks for sharing!
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