I had never encountered a dystopia that I enjoyed, so when Mrs. Bland told the book club that we were going to read another, I was a little bit wary.  Would I again find the same overused plot where the evil of mankind results in his inevitable damnation and destruction?

The further I read into The Testing, the more I realized that Charbonneau’s book was different.

Instead of solely focusing on the havoc and destruction wreaked upon the world, The Testing focuses on mankind’s perseverance, and how the world is capable of change despite whatever hardships mankind confronts, showing that good in the world will persevere even when there seems to be no room for hope and love.

I absolutely loved the level of complexity that Charbonneau establishes through her themes. She brought a new perspective to human nature I had never seen before, analyzing both the strengths and weaknesses of humans rather than just one or the other.

I had the privilege to interview Charbonneau via email, and she was kind enough to reply:

Do you believe the greatest weakness is to be too trusting, or not trusting enough?
I think that The Testing shows that there is no answer that is right one hundred percent of the time for this question. But the third test provides the best answer and maybe the best test because it is about understanding not only what someone’s skills are, but whether or not they are to be trusted. Life is about taking risks. You cannot live life to the fullest without taking them. Who you trust (whether in The Testing, with a picture of you doing something stupid that could be posted on social media or to help write a recommendation letter for you) is one of those risks.

Speaking of risk, is it better to state your beliefs and be punished, or stay quiet, anticipating an opportunity for change that may never come?
These are tough questions. I believe in picking your moments. And if that moment never comes, you create that moment for yourself. Direct confrontation at the wrong time might get you noticed, but it won’t always lead to you achieving your goal…and that is the point, right? Part of the skill in life is to not only know what you believe and what to say, but when to say it in order for it to be heard in the most positive way.

Leaders have often taken gambles in order to get the upper hand. In The Testing, America’s demise was caused due to leader’s lack of nerve. Do you believe that our country is losing or has lost its risk-taking nerve?

Ah – you take Stacia’s point of view from The Testing in believing America’s demise was caused due to a leader’s lack of nerve. I love it! (Cia may or may not agree with you…she’s still working that out.) I believe that our country is filled with a lot of leaders who have become so concerned with keeping their job that they aren’t doing their job. To me, the biggest risk in life is to have the courage to try something and admit that it failed. To try something with no guarantee of success is brave. Admitting in public that it failed is even braver. And choosing to get back up and try something else is heroic. Our country’s leaders have lost the nerve to admit failure. And maybe the general citizenry has lost the courage to hear and understand that leaders get to fail, too. It takes bravery to admit defeat and to try again. I think the educational system in this country needs a great deal of bravery from our leaders and our citizens in order to fix what is broken. Do I think we have the risk-taking nerve to change it? I’m really not sure. But I live in hope!

The Testing trilogy concludes with Graduation Day, scheduled to release on June 17, 2014.