It has been years since I’ve read The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau, when everyone and their mother already did so. I had to look it up, but it was 2021 to be exact. Back then, I enjoyed the book, but wasn’t fully convinced to pick up the second book in this “The Testing” trilogy, Independent Study, straight away. I didn’t do so until last week when I found it on a hard drive I was cleaning out. I gravitate more towards older young adult books than to the more recent ones, they seem to intrigue me more. Did this early 2010s dystopian novel do the same trick for me as other series from that day and age? Please be aware for spoilers for the previous book.

About the book

Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau
Series: The Testing #2
Published by Clarion Books on January 7, 2014
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9780547959207
Genres: Dystopian, Science fiction, Young adult

In the series debut The Testing , sixteen-year-old Cia Vale was chosen by the United Commonwealth government as one of the best and brightest graduates of all the colonies . . . a promising leader in the effort to revitalize postwar civilization. In Independent Study , Cia is a freshman at the University in Tosu City with her hometown sweetheart, Tomas—and though the government has tried to erase her memory of the brutal horrors of The Testing, Cia remembers. Her attempts to expose the ugly truth behind the government’s murderous programs put her—and her loved ones—in a world of danger. But the future of the Commonwealth depends on her.

My review

I also found a Dutch article I wrote about The Testing back in June 2021. I concluded this with that I enjoyed it, but it definitely has its flaws. Therefore, I wasn’t eager to pick up the second book in the trilogy. Now that I finally did, I didn’t have many expectations. My main concern The Testing was that it was very – and then I mean very – similar to The Hunger Games. I was expecting this series to continue this path in Independent Study and even though it does, it’s still different. So, starting this read with close to no expectations was for the better once again.

We return to the University, where Cia and her fellow candidates have been studying for a bit now to do there huge basic exam. After that, they will be placed in their major. Cia is determined to be placed into mechanical engeneering, as that’s her passion. But nothing is what it seems. Throughout the book, she finds herrself remembering more and more from the tests she had to undergo and is even more determined to bring change to this procedure. In order to succeed in her mission, she has to grow as a character. She did, but not as much as I’d hoped. However, character development wasn’t a huge thing in books back then and moreover, this book is plot driven. Cia’s cleverness and ability to solve the most complex problems is showcased once more. She had some secrets to keep and here she succeeds. Just like in the previous book, Charbonneau introduces many characters. Several make a bigger appearance than others. However, they have in common that you don’t get to know them that well. This doesn’t really matter for a plot drive book, but since I’ve read more character driven books lately it fell a bit flat to me. However, other characters return in one way or another and here I had to think a bit harder about who they actually were and what they did in the previous book.

The writing style is fine. Charbonneau elaborated the tense atmosphere off this book perfectly. Because the students have to undergo a lot under immense pressure, there is a lot of tension. Also, it’s still a game of succeeding and failing and since nobody wants to fail, everyone does everything they need to do in order to decrease chances for their peers/rivals. Therefore, forming frinships is tough, because there’s a lot of mistrust. The chapters are a bit longer than I’m used to these days, so that was something I had to get used to again. This fits the earlier YA books though.

This book picks up where The Testing left off. This way, I could get back into Cia’s story quite easily, even after three years. Charbonneau provides more information about past events when necessary, this really adds up to it. However, this plot doesn’t feel unique to me either, but that’s because of the amount of other YA and adult books I’ve read. I wasn’t 100% intrigued, but I still wanted to know more about the lingering rebellion. The extra tests were interesting, even though quite predictable since there’s another book after this one. I didn’t mind this predictability, because we still get a good glimpse of the world this book is set in. The final few chapters and corresponding cliffhanger make me really curious for Graduation Day, the final book in this series.

For me, Independent Study wasn’t a bad book at all. Yes, it’s definitely not unique and definitely quite a similar vibe to The Hunger Games, but the world and the plot were intriguing enough. It is very predictale, but that didn’t take away the fact I wanted to know more about Cia’s mission and the rebellion that might be happening. The final chapters and the corresponding cliffhanger really convincec me to pick up the final book and therefore finish this series.