Week 30 Review: The Test

From Goodreads:

Britain, the not-too-distant future.

Idir is sitting the British Citizenship Test.

He wants his family to belong.

Twenty-five questions to determine their fate. Twenty-five chances to impress.

When the test takes an unexpected and tragic turn, Idir is handed the power of life and death.

How do you value a life when all you have is multiple choice?

My Review:
Oh, this story! This is really different from his two series thus far, no aliens, and it's mainly contemporary, though set not too far in the future. And oh, was it a great story! I loved how we were introduced to this guy who was taking the test-and then we learned what was going on, and then alternated between those perspectives! 

Idir is a gentle, kind person, a dentist, a loving husband and father. Basically the perfect candidate for citizenship. But then his test room got stormed by terrorists, and he's forced to make a series of really difficult choices.

Then we find out what was going on there, and oh, that put a different perspective on things. We got a brief mention of why the test is in place, what was really going on, but the main focus was on Idir taking his. I felt so bad for him! 

And oh, was the test brutal. And kinda biased. I could see some flaws in their reasoning, like the cop one, that is a generalization, which doesn't apply to all individuals. That ending, though, and why it came out, that was shocking and hard and made that last chapter so hard to read! 

This was a really great read, and I can't wait to read more by Sylvain Neuvel! 

Author: Sylvain Neuvel
Read: July 28th, 2023
Source: Ebook.bike 
Reason Why: Love his writing, and it sounded great, and it's a SAC 2023 Book! 
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: February 12th 2019

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars