In the future, your test results are life and death...

Every year the United Commonwealth reviews the achievements of the graduates in all eighteen colonies. The top students from that pool of graduates are brought to Tosu City for testing to attend the university. Being chosen is an honor. The graduates of the university are our greatest hope -- the ones we are all counting on to help regenerate the earth and improve our quality of life. They are the future scientists, doctors, teachers, and government officials.  YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TESTING.

Like the setting of The Hunger Games, the world that student Cia Vale lives in is a dystopian society. But for her, survival and success mean conquering the arena of standardized testing in the first in a trilogy of books by author Joelle Charbonneau -- The Testing. A private vocal music instructor, Charbonneau observed her students going through the application process of testing and auditions, which inspired her to envision a future where students are put through the paces of a series of devious exercises meant to identify those with superior leadership skills. Yes, this is set in the future. And Charbonneau said she set it in the future in order to justify a testing world where the results are life and death. Because even if you feel that way in this day and age, your ultimate result is much milder. Oh, and you can take the ACT or SAT again -- you won't be transferred to a new colony.

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