Test

by William Sleator

Summary:
Every student knows that they need to do well on tests in order to do better in the long run, to help them get into a good college and get a good job.  But what if one test was what decided your whole life?  What if you only had one chance to make it in this world, and if you failed you're only path was a lifetime of dangerous minimum wage jobs and struggling to make ends meet. As Ann finishes school and prepares to take the test which will decide her future, she stumbles onto a scandal which just might be able to stop the testing forever, provided she can avoid the guys who are trying to kill her for finding out.

Review:
While Test has an interesting premise, on the whole the book was poorly written and not very engaging.  Sleator doesn't really develop any of the characters well, and the relationship between Ann and Lep just seems to happen without any sort of explanation.  He presents a world where this test has become the be all and end all of a student's life, as well as a way to sort out any potential criminals, but no one outside the students know how important it is.  Perhaps a good read to recommend for those really into societal control or conspiracy theory books, but on the whole there are better books out there on a similar topic.

Genre: Futuristic Fiction
Age Level: 6th Grade