Starred review from April 29, 2013
Making the jump from adult mysteries to YA, Charbonneau (the Rebecca Robbins series) launches a dystopian trilogy reminiscent of the Hunger Games. Cia Vale is one of four teens chosen to represent her small colony at the annual Testing, an intensive mental and physical examination aimed at identifying the best and brightest, who will go on to the University and help rebuild their shattered world. Forewarned not to trust anyone, Cia nonetheless forms a tentative partnership with resourceful Tomas, with whom she shares an unexpected emotional connection. As the Testing pushes its candidates to the breaking point and beyond, the body count rises, forcing Cia and her friends to fight for survival. The rising tension, skillfully executed scenarios, and rich characterizations all contribute to an exciting story bound to capture readers’ imaginations. However, it’s the last-minute revelations, a cliffhanger laden with potential, and the intriguing status quo of Cia’s world that will bring readers back for the next installment. Charbonneau works action, romance, intrigue, and a plausible dystopian premise into a near-flawless narrative. Ages 12–up. Agent: Stacia Decker, Donald Maass Literary Agency.

May 1, 2013
There are no grades in this dystopian future--only survival. It's graduation day for 16-year-old Malencia "Cia" Vale, and she's hoping to be selected for The Testing in Tosu City, a necessary prerequisite to attend the University. She is, along with three other Five Lakes colony teens. Embarking on the four-part series of challenges, Cia will learn whom to trust, even as she falls in love with Tomas, one of her fellow Five Lakes colonists. Cia must pass multiple-choice exams, hands-on survival tests and team challenges before facing the final test--a wilderness trek back to the University to prove her abilities as a leader. With a gun, compass and water in her bag, Cia will trek from the ruins of Chicago back to Tosu City, depending on her wits and her trust in Tomas. Charbonneau jumps into the packed dystopia field with a mashup of Veronica Roth's Divergent (2011) and Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy, but she successfully makes her story her own. Cia's mechanical abilities are an unexpected boon to the overall character development, and it's refreshing not to have a female protagonist caught up in a love triangle. There's a nicely developed relationship between Cia and Tomas and genuine suspense surrounding another candidate's motivations and intentions. Between the ruined world and the mutants, there's plenty of threats to keep the pages turning. Though genre elements are in place, this page-turner earns an A for freshness. (Dystopian adventure. 12 & up)

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July 1, 2013
Cia is honored to have been selected for The Testing. She can't imagine anything she wants more than to pass the mysterious tests and be permitted to attend University so that she can become one of the elite few helping to rebuild the world after the Seven Stages War. Her dad's ominous warning to trust no one, delivered at the last minute, shakes up her firm convictions, however, and she sets off for her Testing wondering whether she will even survive. Her fears turn out to be valid, as cheating, ruthless power-grabs, and even murder seem to be as much part of the tests as physical agility, intelligence, and creativity. Along the way, Cia falls in love, struggles to define friendship versus alliances, and tries to keep a core of decency. A lightning pace and a vividly described setting compensate for occasional dialogue that feels like exposition rather than actual conversation. The plot twists (and there are quite a few) are well integrated and will keep readers on edge awaiting the next volume in this projected trilogy. april spisak

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2013
Cia wants to pass the mysterious Tests and become one of the elite few helping to rebuild the world after the Seven Stages War. Along the way, she falls in love, struggles to define friendship versus alliances, and tries to keep a core of decency. A lightning pace and a vividly described setting compensate for occasional dialogue that feels like exposition.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

May 15, 2013
Grades 7-12 Mystery writer Charbonneau throws her hat into the YA dystopian ring with this series opener that bears more than a slight resemblance to The Hunger Games. Sixteen-year-old newly graduated Cia Vale is selected to take part in The Testing, a process that offers the only chance at a college education and training to become part of the next generation of leaders. Cia has spent years preparing for thisit's her chance to help the United Commonwealth recover from the devastating Seven Stages War. Cia's father, who took part in The Testing himself, warns her to trust no one. Charbonneau is treading familiar ground as she sets her young heroine against a government machine that is focused, brutal, and duplicitous. Though the story moves quickly, readers might be confused as to the reasons behind the government's methods. Why the brutality against students? There is no indication that the citizens are oppressed, and they're unaware of how gruesome The Testing is. The ending will ensure interest in the next installment, but hopefully book two will deliver some answers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

June 1, 2013

Gr 7 Up-Like almost every 16-year-old in the United Commonwealth, Cia Vale hopes to be called for the Testing, her ticket out of rural Five Lakes Colony and into the University in Tosu City. Cia's father was selected, but only vaguely remembers the experience in nightmares. Her four older brothers were passed over. Just when she has resigned herself to life as a mechanic or farmer, she gets word that she is one of four students selected from Five Lakes and is expected to board the skimmer to Tosu City the next day, most likely never to return. The bulk of the book is taken up with the Testing-devious exercises to identify those with superior leadership skills as society has suffered through Seven Stages of War and desperately needs to repair the damage to living creatures and the environment. The mental and physical trials will weed out 80 percent of the candidates, leaving several maimed or dead. Cia teams up with Tomas for both practical and romantic reasons. She is independent and smart for the most part, and Tomas seems almost too good to be true. There are double-crosses, mutant life-forms, and booby traps to navigate before 20 hearty souls receive word that they have passed. Cia's story is expected to span a trilogy. The influence of The Hunger Games is obvious, and The Testing will satisfy readers who want similar dystopian adventures.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX

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