Independent Study

By: Joelle Charbonneau

Narrated by: Elizabeth Morton

Seventeen-year-old Cia Vale survived The Testing, as has Tomas, the boy she loves, and they have both gained admission to the University. She has a promising future as a leader of the United Commonwealth and no memory of her bloody testing experience, thanks to a government-sanctioned memory wipe. Cia should be happy but is plagued by doubts about the past and future.

Determined to find the truth, she embarks on a path of study forbidden by the government delving into the Commonwealth's darkest secrets. What she finds is the brutal reality lurking behind the friendly faces of her classmates and the unbearable realization that leaders chosen to protect us can be our greatest enemy.

©2014 Joelle Charbonneau (P)2014 Recorded Books

More twists and turns than the first!

I very much enjoyed the developments in this novel! I wasn't sure if I would read the third book, but now I definitely will! The new characters and plot developments are much less predictable and keep the reader guessing...

Decent Follow Up

Independent Study is not a bad book per se; however, quirks that didn't bother me as much with the first book became problematic by the second. Yes, Cia is a bit too smart and figures everything out. But ultimately, that the characters talk like textbooks with very few colloquialisms made the story and characters feel very artificial to me. This was exacerbated by a narrator on Audible who also couldn't make the words sound natural and instead felt like she was reading off a card, with odd breaks in the overly wordy dialogue.

Story: Cia has passed the testing but now faces the challenges of induction. She's been chosen as a leader for government and her life is just as perilous and decisions just as critical as during the Testing. Lives will be lost, she will face betrayal, but she will also be given hope for the first time. Cia will have to learn quickly: for every mistake she makes, someone will die.

Unlike most dystopian books, the government isn't all evil nor populated with moustache twirling bad guys. Characters are good and bad and each have their own motivations for what they do. While this book did not peg my implausibility meter quite as frequently as other dystopians, there were still some questions about why the government is so stupid/allows Cia the chances she gets to learn more about them. The old "hiding behind an object just in time to overhear incriminating words from the bad guys' was more than a bit too much.

As noted before, the dialogue here became very stilted by book two. I didn't mind it as much in book one - I greatly appreciate a character who acts with maturity and thoughtfulness. But when every character seems to be the same way, it does lead to monotony. I began to wish for a character who would actually speak in sentences less long than an entire paragraph. It's the type of writing that sounds good in your head but when said outloud, you soon realize how stilted and unnatural it sounds. On the audible version, it really became problematic.

I will continue to read the series through to the last book. I've read some really poor YA dystopians lately and this is definitely not among them. But at the same time, I would have liked this better without the endless textbook dialogue or supernaturally gifted main character.

Awesome follow up book to The Testing..

Awesome follow up book to The first book, The testing...can't wait to read book 3.

Not as good as the 1st - picks up in the last 1/4

What did you like best about Independent Study? What did you like least?

I have to state that I did enjoy this book, it wasn't as good as the first one but it was okay. I feel that its biggest downfall is in the main character. She seems almost too perfect. She is able to do just about anything and never seems to falter. Cia, doesn't seem to have any flaws, she figures out all puzzles put to her with little effort and knows a little bit of everything, its barely a struggle.

This world actually seems a little more devious and brutal than some of the other dystopian novels I have read. In this world life is a more dangerous and not so obvious.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Left me wanting to pick up the final installment. Not sure I would have without this ending.

Would you be willing to try another one of Elizabeth Morton’s performances?

I am still struggling with the narrator of these books. Her voice is very bland and almost monosyllabic with occasional inflection thrown in making it easier for my mind to wander or me to zone out while listening.

Do you think Independent Study needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

yes, you are left dangling.

Chilling

More twists and turns abound. Who is your enemy? Who is your Ally? Why would the people in Charge choose to repeat History? Why make the Testing so murderous and will the President be able to stop it all? And here we thought getting into University was tough!

Better than the first book

What made the experience of listening to Independent Study the most enjoyable?

The politics behind the testing is better explained and feels more plausible than in the first book. I like that Cia is her own person that makes her own decisions based on what she thinks is right.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Independent Study?

The part in the old zoo was interesting.
I saw most of the ending coming but there was still a part of the ending that was unexpected.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Elizabeth Morton?

No. I don't think that she was a good choice for this series. Most voices sound the same.

Any additional comments?

This book is more developed and interesting than the first. Thomas is not in this book as much as in the first one, which is a good thing in my opinion. He is too perfect with few character flaws, which makes him uninteresting.

PERFECT cliff hanger!

I love the first 2 books! It is a perfect marriage of Divergent and the Hunger Games!

The Testing is Awesome!!

Read the book. It is definitely worth your time! But your going to have to read " The Testing" first! After all it is the first of three!!

The narrator may ruin the whole series

I took a break from the series after I read the first book and forgot about the terrible narrator when I bought the second one. She has no inflection, has a terrible arsenal of "voices" for different characters, doesn't whisper, laugh, breathe correctly or do anything to indicate that a character is experiencing anything other then monotony. She also sounds like a twelve year old in a reading support class.
The story itself is reminiscent of The Hunger Games trilogy and the Divergent series with a heroine being better than everyone else and somehow being chosen to overthrow the government. It's aight.

Unbelievable

Unbelievable you have to read too grasp just how good this book/series is. It’s full of passion for what’s right, the determination to change the sadistic system. Yet the passion and corruption on the other side, to keep things status quo. It’s unthinkable what these students are put through when excepted to go off to college for their education. They first need to go through a test of wits, bravery, pressure, problem solving, will to survive, compassion and when to have no compassion.

Once they finish this test the ones who make it go onto college. What a relief right....wrong they never stop being tested. It’s a test of wills and intelligence throughout, between the teachers, a rebel group that isn’t what it was supposed to be, students and a President who seems to be trying to do what’s right!

I’m onto the next book in this amazing series. I can’t wait to find out what happens between these different fractions. Who will have the smarts, patients, tenacity, and be able to out wit the other fractions? I can’t wait to find out. This book and the others in the series are, sit on the edge of your seat, eyes bulging in disbelief, emotional rollercoaster, unpredictable, ride. You’re just not sure if it’s to hell, or salvation.