Heaven forbid electronics work right for me. This review was scheduled to be posted last July. Can you imagine! I’m so sorry you lovelies had to wait for so long for this review! But after fifteen minutes of trying to edit a photo in here, I’m here to tell you, the wait is over. The review for one of the coolest books ever is ready to go. I cant wait for you to read it yourselves! Lets go!
Book description: The world has been at war since before Max O’Brian was born. And he’s becoming a part of it, just like his brother. Max has waited a long time to join the Mind and Matter Academy, a training base designed for kids like him, with above-average abilities of speed, strength, and intellect. He’s passed all the testing to get this far, but a stubborn willed cadet may try him more than anything else. From sabotage to an impending attack, and everything in-between, Max soon learns that if he and his newfound friends don’t pull together, they’ll have lost the war before they’ve even joined it. Even at a training base in the middle of nowhere, you can’t escape the war raging across the solar system.
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Readers be advised- some spoilers may be in the following review.
I have never been one for sci-fi style books, so I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive when starting this book. However, my attention was grabbed right away. I was smart this time and gave myself a whole day to read this book. But it still only took me a few hours to read it. This time however, I waited a few days before I did a second read. And let me tell you…it was better the second time around!
Favorite character:
Honestly, Aidan was my favorite character in this whole book. Being one of the main character, I did kind of expect this. However, his development as a character was beautiful.
My least favorite character:
Harris was my least favorite with Kozlov a close second. To me Harris was just whiny and manipulative. When I got to his “purpose” in the book (and yes, Im intentionally being vague) lets just say I wasnt surprised. But i definitely enjoyed how P.D. brought him out.
Kozlov was just a bully. And if there is one type of person I cant stand, its bullies. He was a well detailed character, but honestly, everytime I read his words I felt myself getting angry.
My absolute favorite scene:Warning, high alert for a spoiler
I love love LOVE (have I mentioned love) Max and Aidans bonding moment in chapter 12. P.D. did an incredible job showing Max’s anxiety with heights. It was clear and not overly dramatized. And seeing Aidan switch from playfully arrogant to concerned is so much like you would see in real life scenarios. And when Aidan showed his fear, my heart ached for him. It was an absolutely perfect scene. Very well done.
For the cons,
None that I can recall. a big A+ here !
Content Concerns
There was quite a bit of violence- but thats for the scenes. It seems that war should be a common threat within this book. The scenes were very tasteful and the descriptions were not to graphic. But just throwing this out.
All in All
Fabulous. Absolutely amazing. I can honestly say, the moment I finished the digital copy, I bought the paper back. Then waited an agonizingly long time for the rest of the series to come out. Ok…so it wasnt that long…but it was long for me. It passed the second and third read test. 5 Stars!
Please let me know if you guys do decide to purchase this book on your own. If you read it, I’d love to hear your feedback. Im sure P.D. would too. Have a great day and I will see you next time on the path to Penlightenment!
Please be advised- I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. All thoughts and comments listed above are my own opinions.
Author Bio and websites
Check out P.D’s blog at http://pdatkerson.blogspot.com/
Buy it yourself- https://www.amazon.com/Testing-Stars-P-D-Atkerson/dp/1534757570/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=testing+of+the+stars&qid=1678760608&sr=8-1
penlightenment.quest 