**A Dystopian Tale Like No Other: A Review of "The Test"**

This dystopian novel takes place in the year 2052, in a future India where decades of gender selection have resulted in a ratio of five women to one man. The outcome of this imbalance is that women are now a highly prized commodity, and instead of selling their daughters to the highest bidder, they have taken matters into their own hands. A series of tests has been devised, where four or five men will compete for the right to marry one woman, who will then choose her husband based on his performance in the tests.

The story follows Sasa, a young girl who does not want to be married, and Kieran, a boy who is also competing for the chance to win her hand. Sasa's parts of the book are told in verse, which adds a unique twist to the narrative. The use of poetry brings a sense of beauty and lyricalness to the writing, making it stand out from other dystopian novels. However, this poetic style may take some readers by surprise, as they adjust their expectations for what a dystopian novel should be.

The author's decision to use verse in Sasa's parts of the book is particularly noteworthy. The language is clever and creative, with words that "act out" what they're saying, adding an extra layer of depth to the narrative. For example, when the text says that the word itself is sitting, it creates a vivid image in the reader's mind. This poetic style makes the story even more engaging and immersive, drawing the reader into the world of the novel.

One aspect of the book that may appeal to readers who enjoy poetry is the way it uses verse to tell Sasa's story. The use of poem-like language adds a sense of intimacy and immediacy to Sasa's character, making her seem like a real person with thoughts and feelings. Kieran's parts of the book, on the other hand, are told in prose, which makes him seem more like a traditional protagonist.

Despite its unique style, "The Test" is not without its flaws. The plot may be a bit dry at times, with too much repetition of the same events. However, this does not detract from the overall impact of the story, which is both sad and heartbreaking. Readers who enjoy dystopian novels will find themselves invested in Sasa's journey as she navigates the challenges of her world.

One thing that sets "The Test" apart from other dystopian novels is its ability to evoke a sense of hope and resilience in the face of adversity. The characters, particularly Sasa, are strong and determined individuals who refuse to give up even when faced with impossible odds. This makes for a compelling and inspiring read, one that will stay with readers long after they finish the book.

Overall, "The Test" is a unique and thought-provoking novel that will appeal to fans of poetry and dystopian fiction alike. With its beautiful prose, memorable characters, and haunting themes, this book is sure to leave a lasting impression on anyone who reads it.

**Recommendation**

My main recommendation when reading "The Test" is to approach it with an open mind and no preconceptions. The use of verse in Sasa's parts of the book may be jarring at first, but trust me that it is worth adjusting to. Be prepared for a story that will challenge your expectations and take you on a journey through the complexities of human nature.

I also want to warn readers that "The Test" may not be what they expect from a traditional dystopian novel. The plot is relatively straightforward, and the book does not have the typical happy ending that many fans of the genre crave. However, this is precisely what makes it so compelling – the author's willingness to subvert expectations and take risks with the narrative.

In terms of characters, I think Sasa is a particularly interesting protagonist. She knows exactly what she wants and isn't afraid to stand up for herself, even in the face of adversity. Kieran, on the other hand, is more of a cipher – we don't get to know much about him beyond his complaints and frustrations. While this may make him less relatable, it also makes him more mysterious and intriguing.

**Rating**

I gave "The Test" four out of five stars. The book's unique style, beautiful prose, and memorable characters all contribute to its high rating. However, the dry plot and limited character development prevent it from being a perfect novel.

Overall, I would highly recommend "The Test" to fans of poetry and dystopian fiction. With its thought-provoking themes and haunting narrative, this book is sure to stay with readers long after they finish reading it.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey everyone it's haey and today I'm going to be doing a spoiler-free review for 5 to one by Holly Boer so I was sent an arc of this in exchange for a review from penguin random house so thank you so much penguin Random House for sending me this I was so excited for this book when I heard about it because it has like kind of complicated but like really really cool synopsis and the cover is just absolutely gorgeous so this book comes out on May 12th I will probably be putting this review up on like May 9th or 10th kind of close to it so then you can get an idea of if this book sounds like it would be for you so this book is a dystopian taking place in the year 2052 in India and after Decades of gender selection the ratio of men to women is now no women to men is now 5 to one so there are five women for every one man and obviously for reasons of like procreation and all that now women are a a very very pricey commodity so now instead of selling their daughters to the highest bidder women have decided to take the power into their hands and they have made this series of tests that there will be five or four men that will be competing for this one woman and she gets to choose who wins the most tests and who ends up being able to marry her so in this book we have Sasa and Kieran Sasa is is the girl who does not want to be married but she is going through the test and choosing her husband and Kieran is a boy who is one of the contestants in the test and he really doesn't want to be a husband so it's basically the Journey of both of them through this test and how they're going to deal with the Fate that they have been handed now with dystopian it's really hard to find unique dystopians but this one is completely like blew me out of the water unique it's different than anything I've ever heard of so for one it takes place in India and it has that whole like kind of gender selection thing which is kind of playing off of present day events um and for another thing parts of it are told in verse so um sasa's parts are told in verse and the language is just very very interesting because um even and then kieran's Parts cuz it's told in dual perspective kieran's parts are old in Pro but the verse Parts the writing of them is just so beautiful now I'm going to show you an example so see here we have sit and there's actually arrows and then it's like the word itself is sitting and just that whole aspect of having the words act out what they're saying just added so much to the writing and it it was just really really beautifully written and I think taking a dystopian in making it poetic and very lyrical made it just so intriguing because you're expecting to be reading this beautiful poem but it's actually a really really sad and heartbreaking story my main recommendation when going into this book is to forget everything you're expecting forget every other dystopian book you've read every other book you've read and just go into it and just enjoy it because I think if you do have expectations you're probably going to be disappointed because it's just so unique and so different and it's really not at all what I was expecting but I did still enjoy it I think I gave it four out of five stars but I can see how you kind of have to like adjust your perspective in reading this book because it really isn't the typical ya book because it's so poetic and so lyrical that it just kind of takes you into that world and it's just really really beautiful the plot I did have a couple of issues with I felt like the plot was a little bit dry I did like the whole idea of the plot but it only takes place during the tests like this book just follows the test you don't get to see what happens after and I was expecting to see what happens afterwards so that kind of threw me for a little bit of a loop but I did still enjoy it I thought it was an interesting turn that it took um and really what you expect to happen does not happen like nothing I expected to happen happened in this book and I did really enjoy kind of being surprised by that characters were interesting uh Sasa I think I liked more as a character she knew what she wanted and she knew what was wrong with the whole situation that she had been forced into and she did kind of stand up for herself but I think my main issue with the characters was they were all kind of vague uh Kieran you don't really get to know much about him they're all kind of not very introspective characters they're very much one-dimensional um and Kieran you don't really get to like I said you don't really get to know much about him and he really just kind of complained and complained about the same things but I can also see where that was coming from and he did have a little bit like you do get to know a little bit about him but I wish we had known more so yeah overall I would recommend this book if you guys are looking for something completely unique and different I did really enjoy it I gave it four out of five stars and yeah so I hope you guys enjoyed this book comes out on May 12th if you are interested did and I will see you guys in the next video byehey everyone it's haey and today I'm going to be doing a spoiler-free review for 5 to one by Holly Boer so I was sent an arc of this in exchange for a review from penguin random house so thank you so much penguin Random House for sending me this I was so excited for this book when I heard about it because it has like kind of complicated but like really really cool synopsis and the cover is just absolutely gorgeous so this book comes out on May 12th I will probably be putting this review up on like May 9th or 10th kind of close to it so then you can get an idea of if this book sounds like it would be for you so this book is a dystopian taking place in the year 2052 in India and after Decades of gender selection the ratio of men to women is now no women to men is now 5 to one so there are five women for every one man and obviously for reasons of like procreation and all that now women are a a very very pricey commodity so now instead of selling their daughters to the highest bidder women have decided to take the power into their hands and they have made this series of tests that there will be five or four men that will be competing for this one woman and she gets to choose who wins the most tests and who ends up being able to marry her so in this book we have Sasa and Kieran Sasa is is the girl who does not want to be married but she is going through the test and choosing her husband and Kieran is a boy who is one of the contestants in the test and he really doesn't want to be a husband so it's basically the Journey of both of them through this test and how they're going to deal with the Fate that they have been handed now with dystopian it's really hard to find unique dystopians but this one is completely like blew me out of the water unique it's different than anything I've ever heard of so for one it takes place in India and it has that whole like kind of gender selection thing which is kind of playing off of present day events um and for another thing parts of it are told in verse so um sasa's parts are told in verse and the language is just very very interesting because um even and then kieran's Parts cuz it's told in dual perspective kieran's parts are old in Pro but the verse Parts the writing of them is just so beautiful now I'm going to show you an example so see here we have sit and there's actually arrows and then it's like the word itself is sitting and just that whole aspect of having the words act out what they're saying just added so much to the writing and it it was just really really beautifully written and I think taking a dystopian in making it poetic and very lyrical made it just so intriguing because you're expecting to be reading this beautiful poem but it's actually a really really sad and heartbreaking story my main recommendation when going into this book is to forget everything you're expecting forget every other dystopian book you've read every other book you've read and just go into it and just enjoy it because I think if you do have expectations you're probably going to be disappointed because it's just so unique and so different and it's really not at all what I was expecting but I did still enjoy it I think I gave it four out of five stars but I can see how you kind of have to like adjust your perspective in reading this book because it really isn't the typical ya book because it's so poetic and so lyrical that it just kind of takes you into that world and it's just really really beautiful the plot I did have a couple of issues with I felt like the plot was a little bit dry I did like the whole idea of the plot but it only takes place during the tests like this book just follows the test you don't get to see what happens after and I was expecting to see what happens afterwards so that kind of threw me for a little bit of a loop but I did still enjoy it I thought it was an interesting turn that it took um and really what you expect to happen does not happen like nothing I expected to happen happened in this book and I did really enjoy kind of being surprised by that characters were interesting uh Sasa I think I liked more as a character she knew what she wanted and she knew what was wrong with the whole situation that she had been forced into and she did kind of stand up for herself but I think my main issue with the characters was they were all kind of vague uh Kieran you don't really get to know much about him they're all kind of not very introspective characters they're very much one-dimensional um and Kieran you don't really get to like I said you don't really get to know much about him and he really just kind of complained and complained about the same things but I can also see where that was coming from and he did have a little bit like you do get to know a little bit about him but I wish we had known more so yeah overall I would recommend this book if you guys are looking for something completely unique and different I did really enjoy it I gave it four out of five stars and yeah so I hope you guys enjoyed this book comes out on May 12th if you are interested did and I will see you guys in the next video bye\n"