A good second book. Our heroine Cia continues to dazzle all with her smarts and her intuition, which saves her and her teammates time and again. Having passed the Testing (Book One), Cia and Will (who tried to kill her in book one) are assigned to the Government specialty department. Cia is selected to lead a team, after solving her first challenge there. Surprisingly, she chooses some local Tosu City ahead of some classmates from her territory. Cia is not trusted, and is saddled with the heaviest course-load and an internship with the President of the Commonwealth. She gets caught in the middle of a political battle, and has to use all of her skills and wits to survive. Not quite as good as the first book, mostly because Cia is too perfect in this one, but I look forward to reading the conclusion. ( )

I liked the book a lot, however, I felt some of Cia's actions were more lucky than logic like the book said it was. I think the book ended too soon, it felt as if it should have gone on more before ending. Overall though, it was a well written book that could keep you on the edge of your seat. ( )

“Independent Study” is the second book in the “Testing” Trilogy by Joelle Charbonneau, a captivating dystopian YA story, that mixes action-adventure, social reflection and coming-of-age tropes into a fast-paced, character-driven plot, set in a future version of our own world, in which the Seven Stages War destroyed the majority of the planet letting only a wasteland in its wake. The remaining former American population has been united under the United Commonwealth.

Cia has successfully completed the Testing, securing her place at the University of Tosu. The horrors of the Testing should have been forgotten, the Government makes sure of it by erasing the memories of the trials from the minds of the surviving contestants, but something has gone wrong, because Cia remembers all too well. Confronted with the reality behind the murderous program, Cia takes on a quest to expose the truth and end the slaughter once and for all, a very dangerous campaign, and the future of the Commonwealth hangs on the balance.

Joelle Charbonneau’s story telling is rich, compelling, fast-paced and still easy-to-read while still offering a high-quality narrative. The world descriptions are fresh, credible, real to the point they come easily alive, the persons could be us, the monster could indeed be lying in wait at the turn of the next corner. War aftermath Chicago is highly recognizable, even to foreign readers. Charbonneau’s explanation for the state of the world is real, scientific and based on facts, that we of course hope never came to pass. This is a fantastic series for older teens onwards, who can be trusted with real (and sometime harsh) facts, information and a story that push the boundaries into the realm of a possible future gone wrong. ( )

Book #2 in Charbonneau's dystopian trilogy. Not as edgy as Divergent or as disturbing as Hunger Games and probably a suitable read for 4th and 5th graders unlike the other 2 series. In this second book, Cia has passed her initial death-defying testing, and has started at the University along with hometown honey, Tomas and a select group of intriguing characters who have also survived Testing. However, these kids are never in the clear and just allowed to study, but must continue to pass tests and challenges that could result in death or Redirection (the University's euphemism for death). Scarred by this, but still standing, Cia becomes part of a plot to end the Testing and depose the evil Dr. Barnes who runs it. The scope broadens with both the government and Cia's family personally involved. Wish I wasn't so hooked on this genre and they didn't read like a crack hit. ( )

This is a solid follow up to the first book. It still feels HUGELY similar to [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1358275334s/2767052.jpg|2792775] and [b:Divergent|13335037|Divergent (Divergent, #1)|Veronica Roth|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328559506s/13335037.jpg|13155899], but that could be really good for a teen who's looking for something in that vein. I still really like Cia, but I also felt like the last third of the book got a bit bogged down in discussion and lost the active momentum it had built up.

It's a quick read, and I'll definitely read the next in the series. ( )