Her entire life Cia Vale has dreamed of attending The University. When the day of graduation arrives and she hears that an official from Tosu City will attend the commencement ceremony, she is elated and dreams of being chosen for The Testing. It has been years since a candidate has been chosen from The Five Lakes Colony and Cia dreams of following in her father’s footsteps. Yet when the official fails to show up for the graduation and no candidates are announced, her dreams are shattered. Defeated, she spends the next morning trying to imagine the direction her life will take when her brother finally finds her to tell her she has been summoned to meet the Tosu City official who has arrived one day late. This is it…the moment she has spent her entire life working for: a chance to try for University placement.
The time she has left to spend with her family is short and not all members are as happy as she is to be chosen for the Testing. As she packs her bag she tries to take items that will remind her of her family. It isn’t until her father takes her aside to talk with her about his time at the Testing that she begins to understand why her father never encouraged any of them to be chosen. With her father’s warnings in mind, Cia leaves with other members of her graduating class to begin the first stage. As they travel to the city, Cia notices a camera within the skimmer they are traveling in and begins to realize the wisdom of her father’s advice to trust no one.
Armed with the knowledge that every act is being watched and recorded, Cia builds a tentative alliance with one of her childhood friends, Tomas Endress, and confides in him that not everything is as it seems and shares her father's warning. But nothing can prepare Cia for the four stages of the Testing where everything she was taught to believe is questioned.
One cannot read this book and not think about The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Both are written about a dystopian society after a tragic event has left the world fractured. Both follow a young woman whose beliefs and courage are tested all in an attempt to survive. Where I believe The Hunger Games failed, The Testing has succeeded.
The Testing follows Malencia Vale, known as Cia to her friends and family. She is an intelligent, kind and caring individual whose only wish is to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a University graduate. University graduates receive the best education and a chance for a remarkable future in rebuilding their society and ultimately healing the land around them. Her motives are altruistic and she is trusting nearly to a fault. Yet throughout the book, her character remains strong and never strays from her core values. Too often in today’s young adult novels, the main character is weak willed and flat out idiotic. The decisions they make are often out of character and it becomes a chore not to root for the heroine’s demise as the plot unfolds. This is not the case with Cia and The Testing. Throughout each phase Cia remains strong and uses her intelligence and caring nature to work through the problems she faces. She is a heroine worth following and the reader is easily drawn through the pages as Cia tries desperately to not only survive but also help her fellow candidates.
Knowing this book was part one in a trilogy I was not surprised when the story ended as it did but it also left this reader wanting to read more. The Testing will be available to purchase June 4, 2013 with the second book being released sometime in the fall of 2013. I for one will be waiting in anticipation to find out what happens next for Cia…
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