Graduation Day

March 24, 2014
Charbonneau concludes her dystopian Testing trilogy with this action-packed finale, which sees Cia Vale secretly tasked by the President of the United Commonwealth to remove the officials behind the lethal Testing process that has claimed so many young lives. Caught in an impossible situation, under constant surveillance, Cia must find allies among her classmates, never sure who she can trust. If she fails, the Testing will continue to destroy teenagers in the name of creating future leaders, while the rebellion against the government will likewise fail, betrayed by its leader. Cia must navigate a complex moral gray area, questioning authority and her own motives, forced to utilize her wits at every turn. Charbonneau’s portrayal of a ravaged future America attempting to rebuild itself is gripping, filled with surprises and complicated questions of right versus wrong. As in the previous books, Charbonneau remains focused on philosophical worries and moral tests over spectacle and bloodshed, with multiple layers and twists to keep readers forever guessing. Enough potential threads are left dangling to leave room for future stories. Ages 12–up. Agent: Stacia Decker, Donald Maass Literary Agency.

April 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Cia Vale, the girl who survived the Testing, vows to join the rebel alliance fighting against the United Commonwealth. But who will follow her? And who can be trusted?

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2014
After discovering in Independent Study (2014) that the rebellion is secretly controlled by the administration it purports to act against, Cia must choose whom to trust.It's up to Cia to end the Testing and prevent a civil war that's a setup for slaughter. When she brings the conspiracies to the attention of the United Commonwealth president (whom Cia works for as a student intern), President Collindar concludes that her own office has been infiltrated so thoroughly that none can be trusted. Rather than relying on one of her other underlings, Collindar gives Cia a hit list of strategic targets-Dr. Barnes and various officials connected to the Testing-to assassinate in order to put control of the Testing firmly into Collindar's hands and to prevent civil war. But Cia knows this task is impossible for one person to accomplish: She must recruit others and, harder, trust them. But she doesn't have long to evaluate-or test-her friends for loyalty and belief in the cause. Professor Holt and Cia's other enemies close in on Cia with the goal of Redirecting her out of the University. Once and for all, Cia will prove if she has what it takes to lead or not. Twists and reveals are plentiful but not gratuitous, and the series' loose threads are tied up. Readers who have been with Cia from the beginning will not be disappointed.Conspiracies, counterconspiracies, lies and double crosses: It's quite a ride. (Dystopian thriller. 12 & up)

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June 1, 2014
Grades 7-10 New university student Cia overhears a plot that will not only strengthen the controversial testing that permits students entry to the university but also will result in the government's overthrow. When she shares details with United Commonwealth President Collindar, she is tasked with killing 12 important government officials to stop the plot. But is it the right thing to do? Although this first-person narrative is burdened with repetitious introspection, it also builds to a satisfyingly tense climax before a final clever authorial twist subverts the story. Readers should start with The Testing (2013) and Independent Study (2014) to get the necessary backstory for this series ender.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2015
The resistance movement against the brutal, Hunger Gamesesque Testing system of education has been infiltrated, and a group of elite students, led by protagonist Cia, must figure out whom to trust to thwart a fake rebellion and end Testing for real. Plentiful action; thorny intrigue; moral ambiguity; and complex, troubled characters keep the plot flowing toward stake-raising developments.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)