The Testing Audiobook By Joelle Charbonneau cover art

The Testing

The Testing, Book 1

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The Testing

By: Joelle Charbonneau
Narrated by: Elizabeth Morton
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Buy for $22.02

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The story in which a 16-year-old is chosen by her government to undergo The Testing, which decides if she gets to go to The University. The University is for the country’s best and brightest teens and puts the rebuilding and future leadership of the United Commowealth in their hands. During The Testing, extreme psychological and physical trials pit them against one another to determine which teens have what it takes to become a leader.

©2013 Joelle Charbonneau (P)2013 Recorded Books

Accolades & Awards

Anthony Award
2014
Anthony Award Science Fiction Literature & Fiction Dystopian Difficult Situations Action & Adventure Science Fiction & Fantasy Romance Fantasy
Engaging Dystopian Plot • Intriguing Testing Concept • Distinct Character Voices • Strong Protagonist • Unexpected Twists

Highly rated for:

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Only half-way through listening to this book and I'm not sure I will finish. The narration is awful. The narrator is so slow and deliberate that it sounds like she's at "read to me" day at Kindergarten. Please tell me it gets better.

Narration is ruining this for me

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Would you consider the audio edition of The Testing to be better than the print version?

No

Would you recommend The Testing to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes with reservations. I would recommend they read rather than listen.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I didn't care for the narrator used for the audiobook. Her male voices were terrible, but the female was not great either. I definitely plan to physically read the future books if the same narrator is used.

Any additional comments?

I liked the concept of this book and did enjoy reading it. However, there were many things that irritated me. I found at times that many things/plot points/decisions seemed too perfectly laid out for the character. For example, it seemed that out of a large group of brilliant people, Cia was the only one capable of making rational decisions. It seemed that she just jumped to the correct conclusion every time and just knew what had to be done.

On the other hand, so many things were just too random. The main character Cia was singled out as special from the very beginning by an official who had never met her. It almost seemed that the author was trying to make a Katniss out of Cia but without having any reasoning. (No televised interviews found in the Hunger Games, or even the entire first Hunger Games which was what made Katniss a symbol of revolution.)

I liked the adventure of the story, and found especially the 4th stage of testing to be very interesting. The reason I rated it as highly as I did was that it maintained my interest. I wasn't overly fond of any of the characters, and thought they were all too inconsistent. One of the only major questions presented goes completely unanswered. (this is why I'll continue reading the series) It does have potential, and I'm hoping things improve in the second book.

Liked the concept, but many things irritated me

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If you liked the trilogies Matched or Divergent, you’ll love this book, the first in another dystopian trilogy.

Great book, an enjoyable listen!

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I first read this series. Later I found the Audible version. I frequently put this book on to hear the story again.

Great Entertainment

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I really enjoyed this book! The story was great and I like that it features a strong and believable female protagonist (that has believable flaws). It puts you in the mind of "The Hunger Games", but it is not a ripoff. The only thing that bothered my was the narration. I couldn't stand the reader's voice. It was too childlike. Listening to the book at x1.25 speed made it tolerable. Unfortunately this same reader performs all three books in this trilogy.

Great story, subpar narration

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