The Testing Guide

By Joelle Charbonneau

In the scarred and war-battered United Commonwealth, ten-year-old Cia Vale watches her older brother Zeen dream about being chosen for The Testing. He’s graduated at the top of his class, and being chosen, like his father was before him, means a chance to attend The University and help lead the effort to revitalize postwar civilization. Cia is conflicted—she hopes Zeen is chosen, but dreads him leaving home. She also realizes that one day she too must set her mind on being chosen. But does she realize the deadly path she will have to take?
 
THE TESTING GUIDE is the short story prequel to The Testing, the first novel in the stunning and epic Testing trilogy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: May 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9780544084780

Joelle Charbonneau

Joelle Charbonneau has performed in opera and musical-theater productions across Chicagoland. She is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Testing trilogy and the bestselling Dividing Eden series, as well as two adult mystery series and several other books for young adult readers. Her YA books have appeared on the Indie Next List, YALSA’s Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, and state reading lists across the country. Joelle lives in the Chicago area with her husband and son. www.joellecharbonneau.com

Book preview

TODAY IS THE DAY.

I lean against the trunk of a thin, healthy tree and watch the sun crest over the horizon. Thirty feet from where I sit, I can see where green grass meets cracked earth. Brown, scraggly plants. The twisted branches of trees that fight for life in the corrupted soil. An area where my father and his team have yet to ply their revitalization efforts. But they will. My father is hoping I’ll be here to help. I have different plans. Today will determine whether all of the studying, pushing myself to learn more, will pay off. It has to.

The wind catches the edges of the papers in my hand and pulls my focus back to where it belongs—studying. If I am selected for The Testing today, I need to be prepared. Being ranked first in my colony’s graduating class and being chosen to go to Tosu City will mean nothing if I am not prepared enough to pass The Testing and continue on to the University.

I touch the words on the cover of the booklet in my hands: THE TESTING PREPARATION GUIDE. A knot of guilt forms in my gut as I think about the head teacher of Five Lakes Colony, Mrs. Bryskim. Just yesterday she was saying how proud she was of me for graduating first. How proud my father must be to have his oldest take after him. I wonder if she’d express that same pride if she knew I stole this booklet out of her desk drawer?

Not that I wanted to. Stealing is not the Five Lakes way. But what choice did I have after Mrs. Bryskim refused to let me borrow it? I thought she understood how much I need to be chosen. To succeed. That I have to get out of Five Lakes colony and make my mark on the world. I don’t want to work for my father for the rest of my life. I need the chance to make my own mark on revitalizing our damaged world. To do that, I have to be selected for and pass The Testing. This booklet will help me grab hold of the future that is waiting for me.

I flip to the opening page and read the first question: Describe each of the Seven Stages of War.

Easy.

In my head I list the stages—the first four stages of man-made warfare that started on the other side of the globe and tore apart civilization as people knew it. Then the next three stages, when the earth, corrupted by radiation and biologically engineered weaponry, fought back. Windstorms. Tornadoes. Earthquakes. Hurricanes. Until finally the earth quieted and the rebuilding process could begin.

I smile as I consider how far we’ve come in more than a hundred years. Then I move on to the next question. Explain kinetic theory and write the formula that best explains how to determine the temperature of a gas. It isn’t a difficult question, but not as easy as the first. Pulling a piece of chalk and a black slate from my bag, I get to work. Though I would prefer to write on paper, I can’t. Not for this kind of practice. Paper is precious. In school, paper is used only for the most important tests. Once the test scores are determined, the paper is immediately sent off to Ames Colony for recycling. Trees are too precious to waste on frivolous things.

Zeen.

My head snaps up at the sound of my name coming from our dwelling’s kitchen window. I’m out here, Mom, I yell back, and go back to reading the next question.

You’d better be in here in the next five minutes or you’ll be late for graduation.

I start to yell that I have plenty of time, but then I notice the position of the sun in the sky. Damn. I shove my chalk, slate, and the booklet into my bag, sling it over my shoulder, and head for the house. I will have to study later. Mom is right. Graduation is important. I don’t want to be late.

My mother fusses over every detail. I let her even though the way she frets and fiddles makes me want to scream. No matter how I brush my hair, it’s not right.

Reviews for The Testing Guide

[myntop · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What I'm guessing is just a peek into the world that I'm about to learn about in The Testing. I actually hopped on GR to show someone the series I was about to read and learned about this little novella. So I clicked the link and got it for my Nook. We learn about who I've learned is the main character of the series' big brother and what happened at his graduation and shortly after. We also get to see what his relationship with his sister was like. Only a bit though because the novella really was just a little sample of what was to come. I'm anxious to see how The Testing goes now that I've had this little taste.