The Testing

Charbonneau, Joelle. The Testing. 2013. 336p. ISBN 978-0547959108. Available as an eBook on Overdrive. Book 1 of the Testing series

Cia is one of the smartest students at her colony school, and she looks forward to being chosen for the testing, the yearly competition which selects incoming University students and future leaders of the United Commonwealth, the government that emerged out of the biological and chemical ravages of the Seven Stages War. But her father is concerned. Her village has not sent candidates for the last several years, because the tests are rumored to be brutal and even deadly. Her father remembers bits and pieces of the test, all of them involving death.

When Cia is selected, she’s happy to be going with others from her school, including her best friend Tomas. In the capital, Cia quickly realizes that she is participating in a series of challenges designed to kill those who fail. With this competition designed to select the 20 best candidates, whom can Cia trust to survive this ordeal? Cia's story continues in Independent Study.