Independent Study: The Testing, Book 2 (The Testing, 2) Hardcover – January 7, 2014

So many dystopian YA books these days are simply… out there They all keep trying to raise the bar as far as shock value, dire situations, action, intensity and romance. Gone are the days when the dystopian novel focused on the political or personal outcomes of a deranged society. I remember the horror I felt in my belief that the simple life depicted in 1984 by George Orwell – which presented a world where all hope was lost - might actually happen. There was very little fanfare and barely any action, but the book delivered in what it intended to do. That being said…The Testing series by Joelle Charbonneau and INDEPENDENT STUDY, the second book in the dystopian tale, is one that I can highly recommend with no reservations. This dystopian rings true and sits comfortably among 1984, the Article 5 series by Kristen Simmons and, yes, even The Hunger Games. Oddly enough, fans of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling may also take interest in The Testing and INDEPENDENT STUDY – at least when it comes to the manner in how the author tells her story. The flow and ebb of the story – which is largely based in a school setting both similar to our own and even more dangerous than the creature-filled landscapes both inside and out of Hogwarts – puts the characters through “tests” or trials in an almost serial-esque way. Chapter by chapter, the story twists and turns in different ways as the main character, Cia, explores her world and takes each test. Really, the closest I have ever felt while reading (as far as story style) was while I was reading Harry Potter…But this is Harry Potter toward the end of the series, kids. The body count is high, and the odds are not in the student’s favor. Humanity and morality is a big focus of the plot, and the characters don’t always do what we would consider the “right” thing. In a world where competition is the name of the game and failing is the difference between life or death, we see what different people might do when “put to the test”.I highly respect Cia as a character. She comes from a small town where respect and teamwork is instilled in all children. This shows in how she tackles each test. While, at times, she seems to be the only truly intelligent and most “humane” person in her school of supposed intellects, we really only see a small sect of a very large community. INDEPENDENT STUDY also shows us that Cia isn’t the only one around who is questioning the processes that the University imposes.While the first novel may have been a more fast-paced thriller, we received very few answers about the goings-on in Cia’s “intellect reigns” society. But in INDEPENDENT STUDY we get to see much more about the politics of her world as well as more of the suspense that made The Testing so good. While the world-building may slow down the plot a bit, INDEPENDENT STUDY gives us a much larger picture of the what’s and how’s of the world itself. I really do love good political drama. Plus, we get to explore the streets of Tosu City and the lands surrounding the area. So much has been hidden from the reader up until now, and even more questions arise because of what we discover.I am so impatient to see where Joelle takes her story in book 3, GRADUATION DAY.Luckily, we won’t have too long to wait to find out.

Cia made it through the Testing, but that doesn't mean her life is easy. In Independent Study, Joelle Charbonneau takes Cia's accomplishments to the next level: her studies.After the Testing, the people who passed had their memories wiped. The people who didn't... disappeared. But Cia managed to hold onto her memories through the recording device she has hidden. Her memories were wiped, but from the recordings and the flashes of memories that weren't erased, she knows the government is doing dangerous things with the testing. Now, a University student, she must go through initiation. Just when she thought she had survived the worst ordeal of her life, she is forced to join forces with people she doesn't know and doesn't trust and go on an expedition for her initiation. Whenever the government gives them a test, it is clear they aren't afraid to risk their lives as well.Finally, Cia is given her course load and an Independent Study location. What she doesn't expect is to be swamped with nine class when everyone else has six, given the hardest independent study, and most importantly, picked by the Government as its only intern. There are people out there who want to see Cia fail because they fear the bravery and will to protect people she harbors. To them, anyone willing to stand up to the establishment, even if in the smallest of ways, such as being able to figure out their tricks too easily, is a threat. And there is nothing more dangerous than being on the threat list of the government. But Cia has bigger things to worry about. With a rebel army amassing and Cia caught in the middle, she doesn't know who she can trust. In order to survive, however, she is going to have to learn to trust someone...I thought this was a really interesting next step in this series, but I also found the beginning of the story with the initiation to be a lot more exciting than the parts after the initiation. The initiation was very similar to the actual Testing in the first book. They had a small quest with different deadly obstacles and such a desperation to pass that students would do anything to be first- even hurt each other. After that was over, it became more of a psychological thriller. Cia spent a lot of her time pondering the thought processes of the government, ways they were trying to trick her, and how to counter their moves. She also spent a lot of time skulking about campus trying to get information. I found it a little unrealistic that these crazy masterminds would be having these serious conversations full of important details in places where a girl in a hallway could hear them, but oh well! It was interesting!This is a good series for anyone who likes dystopias and corrupt government stories. Again, I am glad to see a strong female lead who actually wants to do something to stop a corrupt government, not a reluctant hero who just wanted to be left alone. I like a hero who actually fights for what she believes in. There is some obvious brutality and violence in this story, but this one less so than the first book. Still, it isn't a story for young middle readers. More made for young adults. Lucky for all of us Charbonneau is pumping these books out every 6 months! Next one is right around the corner!

This is a good second installment in The Testing triology. I really enjoyed the first hunger games style book but his second book veers away from that style and instead becomes more focused on the politics of having survived the Testing and how to overthrow the rulers that have allowed it to become so deadly. There are still more tests and challenges within this book that create a bit of action, so it isn't all just about politics, which is good because it could have made for quite a dull read otherwise. A couple of characters from the first book reappear but otherwise this book focuses on the development if new characters and the political leaders in charge of these decisions.

This was definitely an interesting development from the first book. I really loved The Testing; most of all for Cia's intelligence, and after reading lots of negative reviews for this sequel I really was dubious about what I might think of Independent Study. But I guess I'm the minority, because I thought this was a solid middle book.This second tale takes place immediately after the events of The Testing and shows Cia, Tomas and Will embark on their journey at the University. There are more tests to determine who is smart enough to stay, pass Induction and progress through an Internship in their chosen field of work. But of course, there are lots of twists and turns including the introduction of students from Tosu City. The students who haven't had to struggle through The Testing, killing their comrades and the poverty of smaller cities.I liked that the testing element remainded. Although it's really typical, and as such hugely unoriginal, for this genre, I think this author does a good job of making the tests pretty exciting. You just don't know if they're going to be brutal tests, tests of genuine competence or tests within tests. What I like so much about such an overdone concept in this case is that Cia is such a fantastic main character that she's just miles ahead of me, figuring stuff out and narrowly escaping nasty situations by outwitting her murderous assessors. I think intelligent characters are fantastic - so much better than the lucky, boring heroes that seem to be commonplace at the moment. She's definitely earning her stripes as a strong female lead.I also enjoyed the fact that this author chose not to make the romance between Cia and Tomas a big deal. It's barely touched upon, they're rarely depicted making sickeningly sweet comments to each other and actually it's a really slow, believable relationship that takes a massive back seat. I much prefer this to being smacked in the face with romance and forgetting about anything and anyone else in the plot.It's great that you don't know who and what to trust in this book. I was constantly wondering what to believe and wanting Cia to investigate more for me. I'm the kind of reader who gets bored quickly and there just wasn't time for this in Independent Study!I definitely recommend this book, however there are some flaws. Whilst the ideas aren't original, I really felt that Charbonneau could have changed the direction of this book from the norm. It's apparent from the start that this is going to take the typical rebel group road in which the main character gets tangled up in being instrumental in bringing down a big bad guy corrupting society and murdering innocents. It's been done, and I just hoped there was more to this story. I did see flashes of this towards the end so maybe there's still hope!Overall a strong middle book, not suffering from middle book syndrome at all, that kept me turning the pages long into the night. Don't be put off by the negative reviews like I was.

In the follow up to ‘The Testing’, Cia has made it to the University. Having taken the exams that will determine the future of their careers in the United Commonwealth, Cia and the other successful testing candidates now have a whole new set of challenges to face.Cia’s memories of her first Testing have been erased, but as she prepares for her initiation into her class, disturbing flashbacks make her question the University and all it stands for. With her dreams full of suspicions about what happens to students that fail to live up to the University idea of its ideal candidate, she is thrown into a dizzying round of intense studying, ruthless initiation processes and cut-throat competition.When she learns about a group of rebels working against the government officials in charge of the University, Cia has to choose whether to risk her life, and the lives of the people that she cares about, by joining their cause. But who can she trust? And who is doing everything they can to make sure she’ll fail?When a series gets off to such a strong start, I’ve often found that I’m a little disappointed in the sequel. Here, the author manages to recreate the same world with just as much tension and suspense. Yes, the pace is a little slower and events don’t take quite such as deadly a turn as in The Testing, but that makes the things that do happen even more shocking. It does also suffer a little bit from middle book syndrome – where we’re clearly building up to a larger storyline but we have to wait until the final instalment for the main action to kick off.Despite this though, it still gets a 4/5 from me. I actually like the way that this novel is set against an academic background, although still in a dystopian world. I always think that it’s a little unrealistic when books are set in a world where law, systems and order have completely gone out of the window in just a few short months. It seems entirely plausible that society has set up a system like this to help them rebuild. Having characters rely on their intelligence to get ahead, rather than fighting, also marks this series out from a lot of the other books in this genre out there at the moment and I found it a really interesting read. I’ll definitely be buying the third one in the trilogy when it’s released!

An interesting tale with lots of detail. Wanders into the academic side of the students lives quite deeply. Exciting moments and a good read. Not as good as the first book but books rarely are. I recommend it.

Very much like the first in this book, it's quite predictable, and very "hunger games" styled.That being said it was a good book where you do want to keep reading, as it is a easy read book.The down fall I did really find in this trilogy was the amount of information they talk about the destroyed world (presidents, phases of destruction etc) that seemed to go on ad on and end up being quite irrelevant overall? I understand you need to set the scene of what sort of a place they now live in and the reasoning to why the testing is in place, but it's a bit far fetched and boring to read after a while.