I had a hard time caring about the main character this time at least in the beginning. I didn't find Matt all that interesting for quite a while. He wI had a hard time caring about the main character this time at least in the beginning. I didn't find Matt all that interesting for quite a while. He was just like a dear in the headlights and that is not the most exciting thing to watch. About half-way through it got better. I loved the reader for the audio and the interview at the end between the reader and the author. The reader didn't exaggerate the accents, but did include some. He also helped to keep the tension present throughout the book. There were quite a few stand out characters that helped make the book way more interesting. Listen is fabulous and Cienfuegos is also pretty amazing. The Mushroom Master was another very unique character. The book grew on me as it went, but I am not sure that I would have finished it if I was reading the hard copy myself. The one thing that is a negative about having listened to it was that the appendix isn't on the CDs so I missed the extra things at the end. ...more
It was fun, but a bit difficult to believe. The two main characters are a little too perfect, but the story was full of action and was interesting. I It was fun, but a bit difficult to believe. The two main characters are a little too perfect, but the story was full of action and was interesting. I liked it enough to want to read the next one. I listened to it on audio....more
The Testing has a premise that has been used before - after horrible wars, the government needs to rebuild and wants to find the very best of the bestThe Testing has a premise that has been used before - after horrible wars, the government needs to rebuild and wants to find the very best of the best to help create the new nation. To do this, they choose young people and run them through some tests. It is a survival of the fittest type of situation. This is no Survivor reality show though. It is the real deal and there are life or death choices to be made. Such an idea is not completely unique, but Charbonneau did keep it interesting for the most part and filled it with plenty of action and suspense. She managed to fit in a few surprises along the way including machine guns, betrayal and a few assorted predators.
Though some of it felt like a repeat of recent popular dystopian novels, Cia was not just a copy of the others. She is impressive from the very beginning. She's intelligent, cares for and respects her family, and has some serious mechanical skills. She has a girl-next-door appeal. There is no doubt that she's tough, but she also manages to stay warm and open. That made it very easy to root for her. Cia's character is the strongest part of the novel.
Dystopian fans will likely enjoy it, but there isn't a lot about it that stands out from the rest of the crowded shelves.
Loading...
