Independent Study (2014) is the second novel in Joelle Charbonneau's The Testing trilogy. It resumes the story of the protagonist, Cia, where the first novel left off: at the start of Independent Study, "Cia is a freshman at the University in Tosu City with her hometown sweetheart, Tomas—and though the government has tried to erase her memory of the brutal horrors of the Testing, Cia remembers."
In addition to being a YA author, Charbonneau works as a voice coach. According to her website, the trilogy was inspired by "[her] work with [her] voice students": "For years, [she has] worked closely with [her] private voice students as they navigate the testing, application and audition process required to be accepted into college" and, over time, she has noticed the process becoming more brutal and its effects more keenly felt by her students. However, out of the protagonists in Charbonneau's various novels, Charbonneau seems to relate to Cia the least: she writes that "Cia is about to turn 17. So I probably had more in common with her back in my high school days. However, I would like to think that I am loyal to my friends and want to believe the best in people. As for her mechanical skills—well, let’s just say she has me totally beat in that area."
The The Testing trilogy was completed in 2015 with its third installment, Graduation Day. Although Independent Study received decent reviews from critics, Kirkus Reviews points out that it "feels at times a bit too much like an extended setup for the final installment." However, in describing her writing process in an interview with Hypable, Charbonneau said that "[she]’d love to say [she] knew where the story was going, but mostly [she] knew what the final scene would be. The rest was really a surprise. And when [she] revised the book with my editor, there were even more surprises."
Deadline and Cinema Blend reported in 2013 that film adaptation rights to The Testing had been picked up by Paramount pictures, but there have been no major updates since then.
