A review by asigler03
Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau

2.0

I read this series when I was in late elementary school (probably too young for it but whatever) but only had a physical copy of the first book. So I really didn't remember anything from Independent Study or this book. I finally decided to reread the entire series and truthfully... I was very disappointed. The first book was obviously written in the dystopian craze that followed the Hunger Games, and it shows. However, it was entertaining in its own right. Independent Study I enjoyed but I was able to brush over the plot holes because I just assumed they'd get resolved in this book... they did not.

Overall, a series that started with a bang and ended with a whimper.

[MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD]

Spoiler

I can't leave this review without talking about the ending. With the twist that Dr. Barnes, who had seemed like the perfect proponent of the testing, actually being against it, there could have been so much more to explore. But with his quick death, all of the potential is lost. I would have preferred for this twist to have come at the mid-way point, instead of at the very end.

Also, Thomas is so boring to me in this book! His relationship with Cia in the first book was very good but he faded kind of into the background in book 2. In this book, all he was was the "perfect boyfriend." His personality from the first book was completely lost. For most of the second book and this entire book, she had so much more chemistry with Raffe, who was a much more compelling character