Independent Study (The Testing, #2)

by Joelle Charbonneau

[inlibrisveritas]

When the first book came out a lot of people compared it to The Hunger Games and complained it was too similar, while I agree it shared some similarities I also think it’s worth looking into if you enjoy dystopian novels that go by a quick pace. Independent Study works to set aside those similarities and stand on its own.

Independent Study picks up a few months after The Testing ended, with Cia now enrolled at the University. She has worked hard to stay alive and make it to the University so she might continue with her dream of studying technology, even though her dream now seems like a nightmare. She doesn’t remember the events of The Testing, but she is aware of what happened thanks to the recording she left herself and it was interesting to see her weigh in on people she befriended as someone who doesn’t know what their capable of and as someone who has seen them at their worst. As you can guess from the cover she doesn’t quite get into the program she was hoping for and suddenly there is far more pressure on her than ever, and the University has proven to be just as deadly as The Testing.

I love the fast paced flow of the book, how there are no flowery moments to stop the action. Cia is in danger and there is far more going on than she originally though, not to mention she now has classes to handle. This book didn’t bring back any good memories from college that’s for sure, I remember studying like my life depended on it and in this book it actually does. However the danger is much more subtle in this book, but it still looms large in the background. There is plenty of action to get the blood pumping and plenty of intrigue to wrap your brain around, so much so that I finish this book in a few sittings and was ready for book three. I love that Cia goes between wanting to change things to wanting to pretend she knows nothing and get on with her life. She doesn’t want to save the world necessarily, nor does she really think she could but when faced with the very real possibility of doing nothing and she chooses to act. She is forced into it only to a certain extent and I liked that she consciously makes that choice to step over the line of safety.

This is one of those rare cases where the second book is better than the first! I think this does the series a big favor by proving this is NOT the Hunger Games and that Cia is not a mechanical MC simply there to upset the status quo. I can’t wait to read Graduation Day.