Joelle Charbonneau continues her hot streak and ends The Testing trilogy on a high, surprising note. I really hope that more people get to read this series–it’s a decently paced and interesting dystopic fiction series.
Graduation Day picks up where Independent Study left off–Cia has just found out some deadly information that changes all she knows about the rebellion that is planning to overthrow The Testing. She has tried to remain true to her dad’s advice–trust no one–but finds it an impossible to keep. If she is going to take down The Testing and the individuals responsible for it, she must keep a cool head and demonstrate why she belongs in Tosu City at the University in the first place. But can she trust anyone? Her boyfriend Tomas? Will, the classmate who double-crossed her during The Testing? President Collinder? The story twists and turns as Cia’s world becomes increasingly complex, leaving the reader wondering how it will all resolve in the end.
While this narrative is also set in first-person, Charbonneau avoids the meandering, fragmented voice that Suzanne Collins used in Mockingjay. Granted, Katniss suffered severe PTSD and Cia never does, but still. Charbonneau manages to keep the novel succinct but filled with action and mystery. It’s overall not better than the Hunger Games trilogy, but it avoids a lot of the mistakes found in Mockingjay.
If you liked The Hunger Games, I think you’d like this. I was satisfied with the ending–it felt right, and it was original and unique. I hope they decide to make a movie out of this, though the teen market is probably feeling a bit saturated, right?
