So thatās Graduation Day. Thatās The Testing Trilogy. They did it.
Thoughts. Well. I liked Graduation Day more than I thought, but to be fair thatās in part because I had fairly low expectations to begin with. The intensity and energy is really compelling, and the characters still really resonate for me.Ā
There are a lot of buts.Ā
For one thing, itās just... slow. I saw it pointed out in a review when I was looking up the relative publication dates of the different books, and I have to agree. Nothing really happens for most of the book; itās all just talk and planning and explaining and recapping and wondering and worrying. It sort of works, since the emotions still hit throughout, the tension holds, but it just builds and builds and builds as we wait for something to happen.
And then the follow through just... doesnāt really hit. Some of it does. But the talk with Dr. Barnes just feels... disappointing, honestly. Like. Where did it come from? It makes a certain sort of sense, but itās never really seeded, so the payoff is more confusing than shocking. Itās not that I donāt buy it. I just donāt feel satisfied by it. It feels like an afterthought pieced together in post rather than a planned twist.
And where did Cia go? Sheās not cold-blooded, obviously, but sheās practical. She was practical enough to kill Damone. She was practical enough to kill Kerrick and Marin. But not Dr. Barnes, who has been a primary antagonist throughout the story, who needs to die in order to end The Testing and its child-murdering, who she literally came to kill?Ā
Iām not sure what to make of Stacia and Will, either, or Ciaās assessments of them. Will goes from confident and sometimes cruel, willing to do what it takes to succeed -- to betray his teammates in the third round of The Testing, to shoot and kill in the fourth, to sabotage the skimmers during the Induction -- to doubting those choices, thinking The Testing is wrong, wanting to help Cia end it. Cia chooses not to test Staciaās loyalties, instead relying on knowing her motivations, and it blows up in her face when Stacia is (repeatedly) disloyal.Ā
Maybe theyāre supposed to show that even Cia, the main character and a natural born leader, can still make mistakes? That she will trust people who are not loyal to her, that she will turn away from people who may prove critical allies? That someoneās history is not their present? But it just feels... sloppy.Ā
It feels like this book was written with a hella deadline and the focus was on finishing it, not making it good. It does well for the pieces it has. But the pieces just donāt feel like they belong. They feel like they were a surprise to the author too, and not in anĀ āI didnāt expect my characters to do that, they have a mind of their own!ā way but in anĀ āOh shit I only gave Cia three allies but now I need another person to take care of the bombs uhhhh WILL GET IN HEREā way.Ā
I donāt know that Iād recommend this book generally -- for someone who likes dystopias or puzzles or political manoeuvrings, sure, but I donāt know that itās a general read. Iād recommend the first book (great!), and the first 15 chapters of the second book (excellent!), but everything after that is meh. The climax is just... well, anti-climactic. The fancy, twisty, shocking, complex ending she tried to pull just... didnāt work. Like a gymnastics routine, you can throw in all the fancy flips you like, but if you fall off the balance beam, you probably wonāt place.
I do love this series. Itās a fairly different style of dystopia, and I love the cleverness and brainteasers and political machinations. It hits a lot of my buttons. But it just doesnāt bring it home in the end.Ā
Anyways, Iāll start First Test either tomorrow or Sunday. Kel is another very talented leader in a situation that does not want her to be. I wonder if thereāll be some interesting opportunities to contrast?