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    Graduation Day
    Graduation Day
    Graduation Day
    Audiobook9 hours

    Graduation Day

    Written by Joelle Charbonneau

    Narrated by Elizabeth Morton

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    She wants to put an end to the Testing In a scarred and brutal future, The United Commonwealth teeters on the brink of all-out civil war. The rebel resistance plots against a government that rules with cruelty and cunning. Gifted student and Testing survivor, Cia Vale, vows to fight. But she can't do it alone. This is the chance to lead that Cia has trained for - but who will follow? Plunging through layers of danger and deception, Cia must risk the lives of those she loves--and gamble on the loyalty of her lethal classmates. Who can Cia trust? The stakes are higher than ever-- lives of promise cut short or fulfilled; a future ruled by fear or hope--in the electrifying conclusion to Joelle Charbonneau's epic Testing trilogy. Ready or notit' s Graduation Day. The Final Test is the Deadliest!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJun 17, 2014
    ISBN9781490624853
    Graduation Day
    Author

    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

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    Reviews for Graduation Day

    3.5/5

    212 ratings18 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Inhaltsangabe:Malencia Vale, von allen Cia genannt, ist schockiert. Dr. Barnes, der Leiter der Universität von Tosu-Stadt und der Auslese, plant offenbar die Rebellion, die er selbst angezettelt hat, um die brutale Auslese zu stoppen, mit seinen eigenen Leuten niederzuschlagen. Es droht ein Bürgerkrieg.In ihrer Not wendet Cia sich an die Präsidentin Collindar, die ihr nach einer kurzen Überlegung eine Liste mit zwölf Namen gibt, die sie binnen nächsten Tagen töten soll. Nur so sei die Rebellion zu stoppen und die Abstimmung im Parlament durchzubringen, um die Auslese endlich zu beenden.Doch Cia erschrickt bei den Namen – alles hochrangige Offizielle von Tosu-Stadt und der Universität. Sie sind Dr. Barnes und der Auslese nahe. Dr. Barnes steht selbst auf der Liste – ganz oben! Sofort fühlt sie sich überfordert und glaubt es nicht zu schaffen, denn das die Auslese beendet gehört, steht für sie fest. Es gab schon genug Tote.Wird sie es mit ihren Freunden schaffen? Ist Dr. Barnes tatsächlich der Mann, der er zu sein scheint? Und was hat Präsidentin Collindar wirklich vor?Mein Fazit:Der dritte Teil der „The Testing-Reihe“ geht nahtlos über vom Vorgänger-Band. Auch wenn Cia in ihren Erzählungen ein paar Erklärungen einfließen ließ, so musste ich doch etwas nachdenken und mich erinnern, was zuletzt geschehen war! Nach den ersten 50 Seiten war ich aber wieder drin und Cia erlebt in wenigen Tagen unglaubliche Dinge.Mehrere Gruppen fühlen sich bedroht von ihr: Da ist die Gruppe von Dr. Barnes, die Cia von Anfang an stark unter Beobachtung stellten. Wie sich herausstellt, war sie eigentlich in der Auslese durchgefallen. Dr. Barnes hatte sie aber doch bestehen lassen. Während Dr. Barnes sein undurchsichtiges Spiel weiter führt, muss Cia sich stets bei den Professoren neu beweisen.Und da ist noch die Gruppe der Rebellen. Sie wollen die Auslese endlich beenden. Eine Abstimmung im Parlament von Tosu-Stadt steht kurz bevor, aber der Ausgang ist unsicher. So planen die Rebellen einen Angriff, so schnell wie möglich. Die Gruppe sieht in Cia eine mögliche Gefährdung ihrer „Operation“ und hetzen einige Campus-Mitglieder auf sie. Das ihr Bruder Zeen als Rebell unter ihnen ist, wissen sie nicht.Präsidentin Collindar führt offenbar auch ein eigenes Spiel und es ist bis zum Schluss nicht klar, was sie mit allem bezweckt. Sie macht Cia weiß, dass sie die Auslese beenden will, aber am Ende kann man sich da nicht sicher sein!Cia, eine 16jährige, wißbegierige Studentin mit außerordentlichen technischen Fähigkeiten, sieht sich mit Aufgaben konfrontiert, die sie kaum zu bewältigen glaubt. Aber sie gibt nicht auf. Viele Zweifel begleiten sie während der nächsten Tage, die für das Leben des Staates und der Menschen entscheidend sind. Es droht ein Bürgerkrieg und sie will es verhindern, ist sich aber der Toten, die bislang ihr Leben „pflasterten“, durchaus bewußt und sie trauert um jeden auf ihre eigene Art und Weise.Die Liebesgeschichte zu Tomas, die bislang ja nicht so prägend war in der Reihe, kommt nun etwas deutlicher zum Vorschein und ich finde die Dosis durchaus angenehm. Tomas steht unerschütterlich an ihrer Seite und hilft ihr, wo er nur kann. Seine Liebe lässt Cia ungeahnte Kräfte entwickeln. Ihre Liebe und auch die Persönlichkeiten des Paares haben sich durchaus weiter entwickelt, was ich als gut gelungen empfinde.Die Reihe hat mit diesem spannenden dritten Teil ein würdiges Ende gefunden. Das Ende ist etwas ungewiß, aber das ist auch normal, weil manche Prozesse eben auch Zeit brauchen. Es gab immer wieder Überraschungs-Momente und auch Szenen, wo ich unbewußt den Atem anhielt. Spannend und mitreißend, ganz klar ein fünf Sterne-Buch!Anmerkung: Ich habe es als eBook gelesen!Veröffentlicht am 05.06.16!
    • 4/5
      Finally, I feel u was slightly short changed here. You can definitely tell a difference in Mrs. Charbonneua's writing when comparing from this series to Diving Eden. This, I feel, is geared toward a more younger (6th grade ) group than that of Diving Eden. I lived Diving Eden, but I felt that there was too much "trust and distrust" going back and forth. I just felt that I shouldn't believe anything that any character says, even Valencia. Over all, okay story, cool premise, but lacking in the development of characters.
      SPOILER: The ending is lackluster and I dont agree with Valencia's choices.
    • 3/5
      Cia made it through The Testing and her induction into the University but now she faces her greatest test of all. After discovering Symon wasn't who everyone thought he was, Cia finds herself in a precarious position. Faced with many more lives on the line, Cia must decide who she can trust and how far she will go to put a stop to The Testing. I was shocked by this third and final installment of The Testing trilogy. This book took a turn I was not expecting, or ready for. When she spoke to the president, I was floored. As a whole, this book was unexpected but good. I liked how thought out everything was. It was nice to see that Cia had retained her strategical way of thinking. I was also happy to see that characters, besides Cia, retained their personality characteristics that I had grown to either like or dislike in the first two books. I did not like how willingly Cia gave up some of her character traits and beliefs that I was really attached too, I liked her all the more for them, and though she did struggle a little bit with the decision, it seemed like she gave it up too quickly, especially since she had been raised to think that way. I was surprised by the turn of events that involving a request president Collindar as well as a modified recording device. However, I cannot say anything more without adding spoilers. As a whole, I thought this book was okay. I have very mixed emotions about it. The ending was satisfactory if not satisfying, It was just that the plot twists, yes more than one, were a bit extreme and I still don't know exactly how I feel about them. As a whole, I liked this series. I would recommend it to anyone who loves dystopian, action, fantasy stories as well as fans of The Hunger Games. I would definitely say it was a good series.
    • 3/5
      The final installment of The Testing series left me a little let-down. We wrap up the conspiracies, double-crosses, triple-crosses, and rebellions we found in Independent Study, and get a small glimpse of the new future. I can't quite put my finger on why I'm disappointed, though. There was a lot of telling us what Cia was doing, her gathering things for her magical bag of holding, and thinking through her plans. But action? Not a ton until the end.

      And Tomas? After the build up in book one about their love, we left it behind in books 2 and 3. He was barely a footnote in either book. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't looking for heartfelt declarations of love or constant mooning, but Cia struck me a robotic at times. I swear, she took a page out of Katniss's book and took it to a new level. I liked Tomas, and wanted more page time with him.

      Overall, I still recommend the series, and I did like the ending. It felt true to character. But I expected a bit more from what could have been a dramatic conclusion. I would love to read a novella 10 years in the future letting us know how the rebuilding is going and what has happened with each character. Joelle, are you listening?
    • 2/5
      Last in the trilogy. These things never end well. Having passed the Testing and survived, these teenagers face further winnowing as potential future leaders which includes more death and sorrow and angst. Cia's Final Exam so to speak is to become the assassin of the current leaders of the University. She has to devise ways to trust her classmates, dispatch her enemies and save humankind. Lot to place on an impulsive 16 yr. old's shoulders. So while the characters you want to survive make it, they are scarred and damaged and haunted by what they endured.I have to wonder about the timing of the author's ideas and publication because it seems very derivative of Hunger Games and Divergent, yet potentially she could've had her ideas first, which kind of sucks.
    • 4/5
      Finally, I feel u was slightly short changed here. You can definitely tell a difference in Mrs. Charbonneua's writing when comparing from this series to Diving Eden. This, I feel, is geared toward a more younger (6th grade ) group than that of Diving Eden. I lived Diving Eden, but I felt that there was too much "trust and distrust" going back and forth. I just felt that I shouldn't believe anything that any character says, even Valencia. Over all, okay story, cool premise, but lacking in the development of characters.
      SPOILER: The ending is lackluster and I dont agree with Valencia's choices.
    • 5/5
      Very good series. Ended way to quick.
    • 4/5
      It's been a while since I read this, so it was hard pulling apart where book two ended and this one began. This one got into the nitty-gritty of the final steps and it wasn't my favorite, although I was eager to see what happened and how it would play out. The ending was a big surprise, but an interesting twist, too.
    • 2/5
      In book three of the Testing series, the United Commonwealth wants to eliminate the rebel alliance fighting to destroy The Testing for good. Cia is ready to lead the charge, but will her lethal classmates follow her into battle?

      Goal number one, put an end to the Testing
      In a scarred and brutal future, The United Commonwealth is on the brink of all-out civil war. The rebel resistance plots against a government that rules with cruelty and cunning. Gifted student and Testing survivor, Cia Vale, vows to fight.

      But she can’t do it alone, but who can be trusted?
      Finally Cia gets the chance to lead, this is what she trained for. Plunging through layers of danger and deception, Cia must risk the lives of those she loves–and gamble on the loyalty of her lethal classmates.

      The stakes are high, but The Testing must end.
    • 5/5
      First of all, I must say thank you to the GoodReads first reads program which awarded me a copy of this book.

      I don't think I could have anticipated how this series would finally end. As with any dystopian book or series there were losses and they were felt deeply. There was a frantic quality to this book that makes the reader super engaged and racing toward the finish. There were tough choices to be made by both the main and supporting characters. And there was a shocking revelation toward the end that turned everything we thought we knew upside down. I found myself truly invested in the characters and their world and hoping that Cia was making the right choices to save those she loved. I think my favorite part of this series is that the ending left possibilities open...there wasn't a clear cut happily ever after, or even a clear vision of where the world would go next. Just a hinted at view of where Cia would go and what she could do from here on out. All in all I loved this series and would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre.
    • 4/5
      I was a little scared to finish this trilogy because of bad experiences in the past (Mockingjay and Allegiant) but I'm glad I did. It was a fitting conclusion, if a little neat and clean. The only disappointing part was that again Charbonneau neglected to include females in the "saving" other than our larger-than-life-and-best-at-everything-narrator and Stacia (constantly described as cold, calculating and not trust-worthy). Also, based on the roles that the "boys" had in this final installment, I wonder why Cia stuck with her first love (Tomas) when he came across as the weakest in her little band of rebels. I liked Raffe much more.

      I will still recommend this trilogy to my customers before The Hunger Games or Divergent and look forward to reading more by this author. Hopefully she will invest in female characters a little more in the future.
    • 3/5
      I absolutely loved the first two books in this series and was looking forward to this one so much! This book disappointed me a little bit. I don't know, maybe I had extremely high hopes for this one and that is why I was let down a bit.
      It took me way too long to finish this short ending to a series because I constantly found myself losing interest, becoming bored, and easily distracted. It didn't really hold my interest until the last hundred pages. I just had so much more hope and expectations for this book. I wanted so much more from it then I received. For me-this book was just ok.
    • 4/5
      This is the third book in the testing trilogy. Cia has uncovered more information about the inner workings of the government, the testing and the rebellion. Unsure who to trust, Cia is forced to make life or death decisions and become a leader. I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy and this book. It felt fast paced and kept me reading more. I thought the characters were interesting and I enjoyed watching Cia grow and learn. This book did take place over a smaller period of time, but I don't think it was slow or lacking. I hope that the author writes more in this universe. Overall, highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed everything about book three except the ending. Is the series finished, or will there be more. I'm pretty done with it, but I can see the potential for another book. Sometimes I think publishers and authors just get greedy and that can really RUIN a series. Overall, I enjoyed book one the most.
    • 4/5
      A satisfying addition to the series. Cia is determined to end The Testing, but she has to move carefully and figure out who to trust in order to get the job done. She also has to figure out the lengths she is willing to go to for justice and to protect future generations of students. When the President, gives Cia a task to help support her education bill, Cia must use her wits, strength, and intuition. People are not always what they seem, and Cia must be careful whom she trusts. A page-turning thriller.
    • 3/5
      The final book in the Testing series is finally here. I have grown close to Cia throughout these books. I was so looking forward to reading this final book. Even though I knew it would be bitter sweet because the series was ending. I found myself struggling to get into this book. I started it and it took several tries for me to stick with it. The problem is that there was so much action in the second book with the "testing" that when I got to the final book, it was more talk then it was action. Don't get me wrong as there was some action but it did not happen until really the last half of the book. Until then, it was just Cia and her friends talking about what needed to happen. Also, Cia seemed like she was unsure of herself and had to ask others for advice before she did anything. The ending was alright. Overall, this book was not my favorite in the series but I still can't wait to see what the author has in store for the next book or series.
    • 5/5
      Graduation Day begins in high tension, right where Independent Study left off, but within the first few pages author Joelle Charbonneau manages to weave in a review of the previous two books in the series without diminishing the tautness or velocity of this final entry in The Testing trilogy--very helpful for readers like me who have had a wait between volumes to finish the story. Cia has just discovered a shocking truth about the rebellion meant to bring down the Testing--a ruthless elimination process for future leaders of their post-global-disaster society--but when she brings that information to the President of the United Commonwealth hoping to discharge her responsibility, she is instead given a terrible but crucial task, one she’s not sure she has the heart to accept.At the beginning of the first book (The Testing) Cia is living with her family in The Five Lakes Colony of the United Commonwealth--the area that before the Seven Stages War was the Great Lakes region of the United States--but she’s proud to have been chosen to go to the capital city Tosu (formerly Wichita) for Testing, an “honor” so brutal and deadly that candidates who survive have their memories of it wiped afterwards. In the second book (Independent Study) Cia attends the autocratic university designed to train society leaders, and while there is less overt violence in this part of the story, pervasive threats and power struggles between students mean there is no less tension. The second book is more thought provoking than its predecessor, spending time on the relative merits of big government vs. a libertarian society, and this final book of the trilogy combines the strengths of both previous books. It has the ramped up action of the first book, but it doesn’t leave the deeper issues of the second book behind--making it a great finish. If you’ve read The Hunger Games you’ll notice some similarities, but I’ve enjoyed Carbonneau’s series more. The premise makes more sense to me--instead of sadistic surrender terms, the horrific trials young people go through are meant to winnow out the weak while selecting future leaders, and though Cia wants to eliminate the Testing she’s sometimes torn because in spite or maybe because of its brutality the Testing has been largely successful at its mission. War and environmental catastrophes wiped out most of humanity and almost destroyed the planet, but leaders selected through the kill-or-be-killed Testing process have proven they can make the tough decisions needed for survival. I love vividly written, the post-catastrophe Midwest setting of The Testing trilogy and the detailed history and science of the world building. Cia is both capable and caring--she’s a tinkerer and good with the stripped down tech of her world so she makes a great main character. In the first book too many of her actions were influenced by a budding romance for my taste, but though that relationship has continued in the second and this third book Cia’s decision making process has (fittingly) matured. I’ve been assuming this is a trilogy, but I would love to read a continuation of the story.
    • 4/5
      Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau is the final book in The Testing trilogy and will be released in June of 2014.The novel starts just where the last ended. Zeen is with the Rebels and Cia and Raffe are trying to hide that they killed Damone. She quickly goes to visit the President to let her know what is truly going on with the Rebels and the people in charge of the Testing. At this visit, the President agrees to help, but Cia has to complete tasks for the President that test Cia's morality against reality. Upon returning to campus, she is questioned as to where she has been because the campus was locked down in order to search for Damone. The campus is locked down for the rest of the novel. It's a tight novel, in that everything takes place quickly. Cia must assemble a team because she can't accomplish what needs to be done alone, but she also doesn't know who she can trust besides Tomas. She follows her instincts and develops tests to see how others react in order to test their loyalties. The trilogy explores the ideas of sacrifice, patriotism, leadership, love, and duty. When in power, how much sacrifice must one accept of himself and how much should he force on his people? Is it every citizen's duty to acknowledge the questionable activities of a government even if there is progress because of these acts? What actions are expected of citizens and how can love exist and thrive amidst duty to others? Many people comment on the similarities these novels have to The Hunger Games and it's true. There is a similar message, but I like Cia's ending in some ways better than Katniss. I would explain, but it would give away the ending of this novel. I also like Tomas and his similarities to Peeta; they are both gentle souls who prefer love and goodness but are capable enough to survive in extreme situations even though it scars their souls. I like the trilogy and recommend it.