book notes

title: Graduation Day
author: Joelle Charbonneau
series: The Testing #3
published: 6.17.2014
publisher: Clarion Books
Source: Kindle Unlimited
genre(s): dystopian
pages: 291
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | BookBub | BookHype | StoryGraph | Goodreads
rating: | series rating:

the blurb

She wants to put an end to the Testing
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.

Who can Cia trust?
The stakes are higher than ever—lives of promise cut short or fulfilled; a future ruled by fear or hope--in the electrifying conclusion to Joelle Charbonneau's epic Testing trilogy. Ready or not…it’s Graduation Day.

The Final Test is the Deadliest!

a few notes

❗trigger warnings: ❗

• graphic:
• moderate:
• minor:

POV: 1st person
setting: United Commonwealth
keywords/phrases: trust, survival, corruption, new world order
tropes: dystopian world, new world order
spice: 0/5
language: 0/5

my review

Like the previous book, this one just fell flat to me for a variety of reasons. One, the lack of intensity and connection. Two, the level of suspended belief required. Three, the weird dichotomy of technology.

#1

This book felt far less intense than the first book, which was my favorite by far. This feels like an odd thing, considering this served as the conclusion to the series. It was much more introspective on Cia’s part, which made it much more difficult to really form the same level of emotional connection to the characters as I did with the first book.

#2

Young adults/children being the saviors in a dystopian world is not a new thing, but I had a difficult time with it in this book. It’s not something I normally mind, so I think it’s the way it was used here that didn’t work for me. In other popular series, young adults/children are not purposely put into the roles of saviors; it happens organically. But here, it is the adults in charge who put these young adults/children in the roles. And the suspension of belief necessary for that was too much for me. In dystopian literature, what makes it terrifying is the recognition of our own world in it, the possibilities and connections between the two. But in what situation would a national leader actively recruit a young adult/child in charge of a mission like the one Cia is responsible for? Never mind the fact that this leader is also a product of the very system Cia wants to rebel against, so why would she have any trust in her anyway? Honestly, the whole rebellion became less believable though this book and the previous. Why was it necessary? I find it hard to believe that just spreading the truth wouldn’t have taken care of it. I highly doubt most within the new world order would see the sense in purposely killing off so many of their most intelligent children, just to weed out those that, frankly, have sociopathic tendencies.

#3

The technology of the world was confusing throughout the series, although it was most apparent in this book. The availability and usage of it seemed rather contradictory. On one hand, they have high-level tech available to them in the form of the hovercars and in science. And Cia has access to enough component to build weapons and communication devices. Yet no one has recreated mass communication that would allow access to other colonies. That seems unlikely.

All of this, combined with a relatively unsatisfactory ending, left me wishing for more.

Rating Report
the story
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Overall:

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2026 52 Books Reading Challenge

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