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A review by tbeaumont223
Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau
3.0
While my first impression of The Testing Series was a dim impression of The Hunger Games (read my review of The Testing for me details), my second impression solidified by Independent study is a dim impression of Divergent. Here is why:
~Visible fears. Cia has a dream where her fear becomes visible and tangible in the form of a box she is trapped in. While this only happened once in the book, it was a strong enough resemblance to scenes in The Divergent Series that I was immediately disoriented.
~Just like in Divergent where the factionless gathered and grew strong unbeknownst to those in control and the general population, so, too, do those who live in the unreplenished areas in Charbonneau's story.
~Tris in the Divergent Series willingly goes into enemy territory, risking her life, in order to save those she loves and for the betterment of her society. So, too, does Cia. While this could easily be overlooked, especially since Cia was already in enemy territory when she discovers they are the enemy, coupled with all the other similarities, it stands out.
~From the first book, The Testing: Truth serum. This isn't a theme throughout the book, but again, it seems blatantly borrowed from the Divergent Series.
~Also from the first book: Both Divergent and The Testing start out with the lead female character in front of a mirror with her mother doing her hair before they walk as a family to a colony-wide gathering where teenagers' futures are determined.
This book, like the first, had great potential. However, I didn't feel like there was enough character development. We don't learn anything new about any of the main players and the new characters that are added are shallowly developed due to Cia's distrust of them. While the story does develop regularly and you never feel as if it stagnates, the developments seem forced at times and not fully believable. I never found myself dragged into the story, unable to put the book down. I did want to see in which direction the story went so I kept reading, but not out of any deep love for the book or its characters. On top of that, the story's similarities to other authors' work was a pretty big downer for me.
If you like The Testing, I suggest you keep with the series, if for no other reason than to not give up. But don't expect to be wowed.
~Visible fears. Cia has a dream where her fear becomes visible and tangible in the form of a box she is trapped in. While this only happened once in the book, it was a strong enough resemblance to scenes in The Divergent Series that I was immediately disoriented.
~Just like in Divergent where the factionless gathered and grew strong unbeknownst to those in control and the general population, so, too, do those who live in the unreplenished areas in Charbonneau's story.
~Tris in the Divergent Series willingly goes into enemy territory, risking her life, in order to save those she loves and for the betterment of her society. So, too, does Cia. While this could easily be overlooked, especially since Cia was already in enemy territory when she discovers they are the enemy, coupled with all the other similarities, it stands out.
~From the first book, The Testing: Truth serum. This isn't a theme throughout the book, but again, it seems blatantly borrowed from the Divergent Series.
~Also from the first book: Both Divergent and The Testing start out with the lead female character in front of a mirror with her mother doing her hair before they walk as a family to a colony-wide gathering where teenagers' futures are determined.
This book, like the first, had great potential. However, I didn't feel like there was enough character development. We don't learn anything new about any of the main players and the new characters that are added are shallowly developed due to Cia's distrust of them. While the story does develop regularly and you never feel as if it stagnates, the developments seem forced at times and not fully believable. I never found myself dragged into the story, unable to put the book down. I did want to see in which direction the story went so I kept reading, but not out of any deep love for the book or its characters. On top of that, the story's similarities to other authors' work was a pretty big downer for me.
If you like The Testing, I suggest you keep with the series, if for no other reason than to not give up. But don't expect to be wowed.