In the series debut The Testing, sixteen-year-old Cia Vale was chosen by the United Commonwealth government as one of the best and brightest graduates of all the colonies . . . a promising leader in the effort to revitalize postwar civilization. In Independent Study, Cia is a freshman at the University in Tosu City with her hometown sweetheart, Tomas--and though the government has tried to erase her memory of the brutal horrors of The Testing, Cia remembers. Her attempts to expose the ugly truth behind the government's murderous programs put her--and her loved ones--in a world of danger. But the future of the Commonwealth depends on her.

Cia Vale is now seventeen and has everything she ever dreamed of: a boy she loves, a place at the University and a future as one of the leaders of the United Commonwealth. The Testing should be nothing more than a blank space in her mind; an achievement to be celebrated, and then forgotten. But Cia remembers. As further evidence of the government's murderous programmes comes to light, Cia must choose whether to stay silent and protect herself and her loved ones, or expose The Testing for what it is. Above all, the University is a dangerous place, and Cia must remember the advice her father gave her: TRUST NO ONE. Second instalment of this critically acclaimed futuristic trilogy.

It's graduation day for sixteen-year-old Malencia Vale, and the entire Five Lakes Colony (the former Great Lakes) is celebrating. All Cia can think about--hope for--is whether she'll be chosen for The Testing, a United Commonwealth program that selects the best and brightest new graduates to become possible leaders of the slowly revitalizing post-war civilization. When Cia is chosen, her father finally tells her about his own nightmarish half-memories of The Testing. Armed with his dire warnings ("Cia, trust no one"), she bravely heads off to Tosu City, far away from friends and family, perhaps forever. Danger, romance--and sheer terror--await.

In the electrifying conclusion to the Testing trilogy, 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?

Sixteen-year-old Malencia (Cia) Vale rebels against her government's grueling and deadly testing process, a fight that puts her and her loved ones in danger.

“Wow! Shades of Fahrenheit 451 and Orwell’s 1984. Painfully real and urgent. Read this book.” —Michael Grant, New York Times bestselling author of the Gone series Bestselling author Joelle Charbonneau’s eerily timely, high-stakes page-turner is destined to start important conversations at this particular moment in our history. Meri Beckley lives in a world without lies. When she looks at the peaceful Chicago streets, she feels pride in the era of unprecedented hope and prosperity over which the governor presides. But when Meri’s mother is killed, Meri suddenly has questions that no one else seems to be asking. And when she tries to uncover her mother’s state of mind in her last weeks, she finds herself drawn into a secret world with a history she didn’t know existed. Suddenly, Meri is faced with a choice between accepting the “truth” or embracing a world the government doesn’t want anyone to see—a world where words have the power to change the course of a country and where the wrong ones can get Meri killed.

This work provides a thought-provoking account of how medical treatments can be tested with unbiased or 'fair' trials and explains how patients can work with doctors to achieve this vital goal. It spans the gamut of therapy from mastectomy to thalidomide and explores a vast range of case studies.