Review: The Testing

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

The Testing captured my interest right at the beginning and kept it until the very end.

Cia, like many other graduates before her, is hopeful that she's chosen for The Testing. Unfortunately no one from Five Lakes colony, where Cia lives, has been chosen in years.

This year, that changes. Cia and 3 fellow graduates are chosen. They're informed that they have 24 to pack and say their good-byes. Its during the goodbye with her dad that Cia becomes aware that The Testing may not be what she has expected.

Fellow graduate, Tomas, is one of the 4 chosen. Cia and Tomas develop a friendship and more during The Testing. (There are some very sweet moments)

The Testing takes you into a world where the unthinkable will happen, where you ask why and how. There are moments of shock and disbelief, sadness and relief, terror and love throughout the book.

Considering this is the first of the trilogy, its ends with a cliffie, but not a drastic one... just enough of one to leave you wanting more immediately!

Thank you to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing a copy of the book. Thank you Joelle Charbonneau for writing this great book!

View all my reviews

Review: Pushing the Limits

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I should probably take a couple of days to digest this book, but I won't...

Echo Emerson - something so terrible happened to her that her own mind has blocked the memory. Something so terrible that there's a restraining order against her own mother. Echo wants to remember and she'll do just about anything to get someone to tell her what happened on the day that left her with scarred arms; what happened on that day that took her from popular status at school to a freak.

Echo's home life is a mess; her brother, Aires, was her rock, her strongest supporter, but he died in Afghanistan after joining the Marines, her dad is controling and her pregnant step-mom (who used to be Echo's babysitter) likes to be the center of attention.

Noah Hutchins - he lost his parents in a house fire and lost his 2 little brothers to the foster system that he doesn't trust, with good reason! Noah portrays a typical bad boy; tats, a stoner, uses girls, etc, but oh man... once we see a little deeper into his true persona, he makes you swoon; hard! He LOVES his little brothers and will do anything for the 3 of them to be together as a family again.

Mrs. Collins - the school's new clincial social worker and a character that I adore! And not just because she sort-of forced Echo and Noah together through tutoring, but because this woman is AMAZING! She's sympathetic, personable, caring, passionate, strong, supporting and a freaking genious!

When Noah and Echo's relationship begins... these two are passionate about each other and helping each other. The love they share; you can feel coming of the pages in the book. The kisses and touches they share will make you melt!

I really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh and cry, smile and pout, snicker and gasp. It captured my attention at page one and never once lost it (my lack of sleep can prove that!)

If you love strong characters, romance and drama then I definitely recommend reading this book!

View all my reviews