3.6.2026 | Friday

The Testing Guide

Item: The Testing Guide
Rating: 3
Author: Kim

category: Book Reviews

tag(s): young adult

0 Comments

book notes

title: The Testing Guide
author: Joelle Charbonneau
series: The Testing #0.5
published: 5.1.2013
publisher: Clarion Books
Source: bought
genre(s): dystopian, postapocalypse
pages: 46
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | BookBub | BookHype | StoryGraph | Goodreads
rating:

| series rating:

the blurb

In the scarred and war-battered United Commonwealth, ten-year-old Cia Vale watches her older brother Zeen dream about being chosen for The Testing. He’s graduated at the top of his class, and being chosen, like his father was before him, means a chance to attend The University and help lead the effort to revitalize postwar civilization. Cia is conflicted—she hopes Zeen is chosen, but dreads him leaving home. She also realizes that one day she too must set her mind on being chosen. But does she realize the deadly path she will have to take? THE TESTING GUIDE is the short story prequel to The Testing, the first novel in the stunning and epic Testing trilogy.

a few notes

POV: 1st person
setting: Five Lakes Colony
keywords/phrases: revitalization, new world
tropes: dystopian world, new world order
spice: 0/5
language: 0/5

my review

This is really more of a bonus chapter than a full novella, as it really couldn’t be included as a part of book one because of it’s 1st-person perspective which is that of a different person than that of the main trilogy. It serves to give a little bit of a look into the world of The Testing, introduces the reader to Cia, and maybe gives a hint of foreshadowing that we may (or may not) see more of Zeen in the future. It does explain enough about the history prior to the time of the novella to give readers an idea of what the world looks like in this time. But beyond that, it’s really more of an aside as to Zeen’s feelings in the moment. Maybe it will prove to offer more insight with future books tying back to it. (I read this before beginning the main trilogy, so I don’t yet know if it will prove to be more insightful having read the trilogy.)

About Joelle Charbonneau

I am a storyteller at heart. I have performed in a variety of operas, musical theatre and children’s theatre productions across the Chicagoland area.

While I’m happy to perform for an audience, I am equally delighted to teach private voice lessons and use my experience from the stage to create compelling characters on the page. I am the author of the Rebecca Robbins mystery series (Minotaur Books), The Paige Marshall Glee Club mysteries (Berkley) and The Testing YA triology (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).