The Testing - January 26, 2015

Prompt: Discuss why you like or dislike your reading.

SWAG

Synopsis:
     The Testing takes place in a post-apocalyptic Earth. An Earth that has gone through Seven Stages of war. Five stages of war made by man, and Two stages of war created by nature. Those seven stages brought the world to destruction, to a world where communities use technology for everything. Technology to biologically create edible plants, technology to create clean water. They are forced to live in a world with much harsher conditions.

     The communities believed that the Seven Stages of happened because of the incapable leaders. The communities believed that our countries' government didn't have the qualities needed to become a leader. They created The Testing, to make sure that they don't make that mistake again.

     Malencia Vale, known to the reader as, Cia, is the main character of this story. She is a testing candidate, a player, for The Testing. She will now undergo tough trials, both physically and mentally to pass The Testing.

I have not found anything I love about The Testing.

The Story:

     The story is just not unique. The Testing takes place in a dystopian society which uses a horrifying system to find capable leaders. To do such things, they force their candidates to survive in the wastelands of the broken world. This puts the characters in a situation that is exactly like the Hunger Games. They were put in a wasteland and are forced to kill each other. 

     While some might think that books similar to the Hunger Games are great, I have grown quite tired of it. I end up witnessing and reading things that I already have. I understand that this may be very bias, but it's my blog. So for those who have already read the Hunger Games, you will most likely feel the same way I do about this book.

The Characters:

     The reader will not get to know any of the characters well. The author doesn't show us the character's personality, at all. There are some moments of the book where the author literally describes to us what their personality is like. That's. Does. Not. Work. 

     You can't describe someone's personality just by telling us, "He's wearing a plain t-shirt, has blonde hair, and he's also kind" (Not real lines from the book). That's horrible. You have to create actions that make the reader believe that they're truly kind. You must create situations where a character throws away their life for another. Actions such as that makes the reader really understand the character's feelings.

The Writing:

     The author's writing style is really plain and boring. He uses sentences that have no complexity at all. It feels like you're reading a book made for little kids. Just add graphics and there you go!

     The author doesn't use transactions between the sentence. They all feel so separate and do not mix with each other. Read this small excerpt as an example,

"We talk about it a bit and then concentrate on eating. I give some of my extra food to Malachi, who has definetely added on pounds since coming here three days ago, and shoved a sweet roll into my bag. I don't know if we are supposed to take food from the dining hall, but I figure if someone on the camera side objects, they'll stop me. No one does."

     The first two sentences just makes it feel so rushed. "We talk about it a bit and then concentrate on eating". How long is a bit? Why did you just move onto a different topic?  It makes me just want to yell out, "Explain! Explain to me god darn it!" I want to know what happens in between the time. The word, then, won't cut it. I want to know what you said while you conversed. What I do not want is for you to skip time!

     Now look at the last 2 sentences. Self-explanatory. You skipped time. I don't like that...

The Verdict:

Don't go for it. If you want to read a better version of this book, read The Hunger Games.