Well, what to say? The Testing was so good! Independent Study was fine. Graduation Day, the third and final book, was just…okay. I listened to this entire series via audiobook. Maybe the narrator didn’t help either. I didn’t like her voice acting, and she read s l o w l y that I had to speed up the narration!
Title: Graduation Day (The Testing #3)
Author: Joelle Charbonneau
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release date: June 17, 2014
Genre: Young adult, dystopian, sci-fi
Length: 304 pages (U.S. hardcover)
Synopsis: (from Goodreads) “In a scarred and brutal future, The United Commonwealth teeters on the brink of all-out civil war. The rebel resistance plots against a government that rules with cruelty and cunning. Gifted student and Testing survivor Cia Vale vows to fight. But she can’t do it alone. This is the chance to lead that Cia has trained for – but who will follow? Plunging through layers of danger and deception, Cia must risk the lives of those she loves – and gamble on the loyalty of her lethal classmates.”
Well, to say I’m disappointed with this finale but be an understatement. It was just so boring and dull. I had high hopes! Cia is a smart, resourceful character, which–yay! That made me excited but other than that… Nothing exciting happened. Everything was very methodical, and I simply wasn’t convinced of Cia’s reactions to the events throughout the book. I was also never convinced her romance with Tomas and I’m still not!
The president of the United Commonwealth has given Cia a dangerous task, one that could change the future of the Commonwealth. And while Cia is reluctant to follow through with the request, she accepts in hopes that others will not have to go through the same Testing procedures she did in order to be where she is today. Cia recruits a handful of her “friends” to help her complete the task, and while we’re with Cia as she questions where exactly her friends’ loyalties lie, I’m simply not as thrilled about anything at all anymore.
Nothing left me on the edge of my seat. I didn’t feel an emotional attachment or strong connection to any of the characters, and while I like Charbonneau’s writing style and Cia’s depth of character, I was ready to be done with this book long before it actually ended. Truthfully, I’m not sure I understand why it ended the way it did. It seemed as if there are some loose ends that I don’t think will ever wrap up, especially in terms of the Testing.
Overall, this book series started out as well for me. I gave The Testing 4 stars, but as the series progressed, I liked it less and less.
You can purchase Graduation Study from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository (U.K. edition), Indie Bound, and other major booksellers.
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