The Testing is, like, really bad and dumb, I guess

[@StarSquishie]

You know what's a great idea? Taking your society's best and brightest minds, the people who could potentially contribute the most to society throughout their lifetimes, and shooting nails into their eyes if they can't fix a radio.

[@thechroniclegamer4285]

Lol

[@Mecharnie_Dobbs]

Depends. Maybe your society is perfect, you don't need any new ideas. You don't want too many people with leadership skills vying for control. You could justify it. Maybe you don't need any new inventions, using up resources.

[@StarSquishie]

@@Mecharnie_Dobbs That only makes sense in a completely stagnant world. Think about the pandemic we're experiencing - what would happen if we didn't have any scientists able to create the vaccine? Or to even understand what the virus was?

[@MasterofFates]

Thats sorta how we already do things here in America. "Shoot nails in their eyes" is Being poor, being not straight, being any other color than white. Pretty hindering usually.

[@QJ89]

For those of us with such low self-esteem and confidence that doing anything less than perfect is worthy of self-punishment, we would never wish something like this upon any-one else.

[@marah.7528]

Hunger games actually has a naming system that I respect. The rural districts are often named after facets of their daily lives, such as Thresh for an agricultural district or Wiress for a district that manufactures technology. Katniss and Primrose are named after plants since their father met their mother harvesting medicinal herbs. The names in the Capitol are just straight up Roman, which makes total sense for the whole overindulgence, “bread and circuses” angle. This, on the other hand, seems like the author was typing normal names but blindfolded

[@fyrefrost1898]

That actually sounded like a fun idea for coming up with names so I decided to give it a try Kaitlyn -> Kaithly Chris -> Chrus Tyler -> Tyaler Albert -> Alberyt Sophie -> Soie Jennifer -> Henbuiffer Got my cast of my new YA dystopia series ready

[@isortofyoutube]

@@fyrefrost1898 I scanned this comment quickly before getting into the video properly and genuinely thought they were the names in this book 🤣

[@VideoMask93]

@@fyrefrost1898 Henbuiffer 🤣🤣🤣

[@Sentralkontrol]

@@fyrefrost1898 this is actually what sort of already happened for English names, and most names in general lol

[@nohintshere]

@@fyrefrost1898 i got kaitlyb, chris, tyler, albert, sophor, and jrnnifer

[@CTheng]

I think one of the things that differentiate The Hunger Games from the clones is that Hunger Games is written by an older woman. Because of this Katniss is not much of a wish-fulfilment self-insert main characters like most of the clones that is written by younger people.

[@NinHawAssassin]

The Hunger Games were also written by someone who has experience in writing.

[@MrHawkelement]

@@NinHawAssassin Joelle Charbonneau also has experience in writing. Granted, I've not read their other books so maybe those are better. They both have experience though.

[@operation_turtle]

@@MrHawkelement she did an author talk at my library since she lives in the area, she has experience with cozy mysteries about a glee club. very very very different genre.

[@newsystembad]

I remember reading her Gregor the Overlander series long before she ever hit it big with the Hunger Games. She's got a great head for worldbuilding, but she also killed off a bunch of main characters at the end of that one too. And separated the main couple, at that. Maybe she just doesn't care for happy endings or something...

[@reptilesarecool6739]

Hunger games was also an original idea, so it has a certain sincerity that seems to be completely missing from other books in that genre

[@robertgronewold3326]

My niece got me these books as a Christmas present one year. Somehow she still remained my favorite family member afterward. lol

[@some_condiment]

we can only hope it was ironic

[@moderatecanuck]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@DieNibelungenliad]

At this rate, she may as well have given a lump of coal

[@user-ez9ng2rw9c]

My siblings gifted me fifth sorceress once and kept me going through it till I figured out it was a prank.

[@NotoriousLightning]

@@user-ez9ng2rw9c That's amazing! Think I might do that this Christmas.

[@DragobAttack]

My head canon for why the teens are killing each other, is they read "The hunger games" and just assumed that's how things work.

[@kendra_t]

"Why are they killing each other?" "I have no idea. They were supposed to collaborate." "Are you SURE we brought the genius kids this time?"

[@uhoh20yearsago61]

genius. let’s get this version published

[@LittleMissLounge]

The credulity about no one coming back because they're going to the colonies for new jobs has the same energy as a parent accidentally killing their kid's hamster while they're away at summer camp, and then explaining its absence with, "Oh, they went to the Hamster Farm to live with the other hamsters."

[@scepticalhyenas5750]

Or when a kid loses a toy and they're told the toy has just _"gone off on an adventure"_

[@rachelppython]

I mean, the serial killer known as the candy man got away with a ton of murders by making people think their young teenage sons had just left town to go work elsewhere so some people are indeed willing to just believe that. I guess in that case he was having the boys write the letter themselves but still 🤷

[@raywilson641]

It might have been touched upon but if the government is looking for the best scholars to fill their ranks then why put them through trials that include death? It takes years to raise up a child and have them be inclined to take on a profession. Anyone can make a mistake, doesn't mean you aren't fit for a job. It would be more reasonable to fail them and have them try again next year or whenever the selection process starts. Imagine all the good doctors, scientists and scholars we wouldn't have if they had to duke it out in a battle royale.

[@AlexG-kp8sv]

In re 36:00 Just once in my life I want a character to be introduced as mechanically inclined and then they have to fix a radio or something and say "shit this is electrical I don't know this I just do engines". It's totally reasonable for someone to have both skills and I know plenty of people who do, but they are different skills and fiction ignores that a lot.

[@Evelyn_Rose1151]

Did you find this in some sort of playlist?

[@PhileasLiebmann]

Not really. For one there's a not insubstantial amount of electrical engineering in most engines anyway (no modern motor functions without electric spark plugs) and visa versa with most "household" electronics and radios specifically really aren't that complicated. Not to mention that if you have any meaningful education in engineering you will have been trained to do both mechanical and electric engineering in some capacity anyways, even if you specialise in one. I understand what you are trying to get at, but this is really not a good example of that issue.

[@vivianadelatorre7267]

he could even figure it out because hes clever and likes problem solving but yeah the difference is rarely acknowledged

[@jakerockznoodles]

@@PhileasLiebmann For me, as a software developer, I find a bigger issue in fiction is all techy people being "generally good with computers". Like, some people are generally good but plenty of IT folks are not great at coding (despite often *thinking* they are) and many software bods like me cannot do more than the bare minimum in troubleshooting when it comes to tackling your computer or network issues.

[@erangoldstein9932]

​@@PhileasLiebmann While most engineers know some electrical and mechanical engineering, being able to fix a product that you've never seen the inner workings of before is by no means trivial if you don't have a lot of relevant experience.

[@rhorynotmylastname7781]

They should just make a dystopian book that is basically the SAT or ACT.

[@JamesTullos]

That's what this series is, except stupider, somehow.

[@rhorynotmylastname7781]

@@JamesTullos to be fair, higschool is basically a dystopia

[@keyboardstalker4784]

@@rhorynotmylastname7781 "high school is LITERALLY 1984!!!!!"

[@martinsriber7760]

@@rhorynotmylastname7781 No, it isn't.

[@johannageisel5390]

It would make sense if such a series commented on the hyper-competitive university entrance tests they have in South Korea, China or Japan.

[@HereticalKitsune]

Punishing mistakes with death is taking away actual learning and comprehending and just makes them repeat the right things without understanding them.

[@notsteve5927]

Welcome to general education… well, minus the death part. You just need to say and write right things to pass, understanding them is commendable but strictly optional.

[@Mario_Angel_Medina]

A fascist would say that is not the job of the population to comprehend things. That's why fascist are idiots doom to faillure (and I ain't even sure the goverment in these books is supposed to be authoritarian or just idiotically evil)

[@teslashark]

@@notsteve5927 you won't die - you will eternally live in a trailer or ghetto!

[@HereticalKitsune]

@@notsteve5927 I know, sadly. Daring to ask "why" something has to be done a certain way can really throw things off, teachers, fellow students and the system. But it's also very entertaining to do, and will be a good learning experience for everyone involved.

[@eldrichnemo9312]

look up evangelical christianity homeschooling programs like ABEKA and prepare to be enraged

[@leahj5247]

i will forever defend the hunger games, with it’s faults ofc. imagine writing a book series so good and encapsulating that there’s still clones of it being made after over a decade.

[@noelcrist7109]

Will you defend twilight because it created a huge trend of paranormal romance books?

[@leahj5247]

@@noelcrist7109 i’ve never read twilight but i’ve heard the writing is atrocious so probably not lmfao, but hey, impact is impact

[@nm9688]

@@noelcrist7109 well, Twilight was definitely filling a niche some how. I read the first book and its not as terrible as people say, and more interesting than the Testing or other such copycat books.

[@nithbell]

@@nm9688 yeah as bad as twilight is, a lot of its copycats are far worse

[@cam4636]

@@nithbell That's the point, the first one changed the culture and as a result a bunch of other creators made worse versions of it. The argument is whether you'd defend Hunger Games when its knockoffs suck but not defend Twilight because its knockoffs suck.

[@alexb6318]

I started listening to this review deeply annoyed he’s dissing a book series I like. I am now even more annoyed because I can’t refute any of his points. I first read these when I was young. Rose tinted goggles are a powerful thing.

[@Engineersdayoff]

It's fine to like a book despite its flaws or despite it being objectively bad book because of what it means to you. There are many books that rereading I see flaws or even presently reading somebody brings up flaws I just didn't notice when I was absorbed in the magic of reading.

[@snickeringpigeon4370]

@@Engineersdayoff That's me with the Sarah J. Maas books. They're not anywhere close as bad as this book but I pretty much have to avoid all reviews on her books (especially her ACOTAR series) because I know there are lot of flaws, but I just picked up on a few by myself on my first read as a teen and watching these rant reviews would probably ruin the the books for me. I watched half of one of these reviews, agreed with most points and abruptly stopped watching. Hearing criticism on books I know are excellent is fine with me (because I either agree and it's a small flaw I can look over or I disagree and can easily make an argument), but criticism of my guilty pleasure books from my teenage years hits differently.

[@QuantumBoogaloo]

@@Engineersdayoff I also have a soft spot for this series. It was the third sci-fi/speculative fiction series I ever read (1 and 2 being the hunger games and divergent). This and Divergent might be objectively bad books, but they got me into sci-fi. Now, I really like stuff like Arrival and The Exodus Trilogy. I love sci-fi now and I wouldn’t have found it without some terrible books. I still un ironically like them, even though they are objectively bad.

[@naomisoltesz9890]

​@@Engineersdayoff There's no such thing as an objectively bad book. Bad by modern, western standards of literature, sure, but that's not /objective/. I keep seeing this notion, that art can be judged objectively, pushed by certain people, and it's both false and damaging.

[@io.nebulae]

@@snickeringpigeon4370 Im obsessed with Acotar hahaha I'm 28 and I eat it like it's the best meal. Such a good escape! 🤷😝 Rhysand is amazing and Feyre is so cool.

[@DieNibelungenliad]

I think if the author just made 3 big changes, the story would be better: - show, not tell. Narration and inner monologue is unnecessary. - this could easily all be one book. This is the publisher's fault I believe because they really want more money. - the writer should really ask themselves: what is the lesson this story wants to tell? This is the purpose of writing and publishing a story other than making money. Personally, I think one could make an interesting dystopia where a test decides one's fate in life because this already exists in Korea, Japan, and China and causes much stress, addiction, sleep deprivation, mental health problems, self harm, and suicide.

[@StarSquishie]

The beginning of the Poppy War handles the "test determines your fate" idea very well. I agree that would have been a way more interesting path for this novel to take, especially since they included Ryme's suicide.

[@Nostripe361]

There is no need to do the test. Seemed like most people were fine when not taking this test. I think it would be way better to have it be like schools in Asia. Where not being good in school, or even just being average, can sentence you to terrible prospects as an adult. This world Needs to be far more competitive for this test to make sense.

[@juliacas3002]

@@StarSquishie completely agree with u!!! especially since her motivation is different from many protagonists in the ya dystopia genre

[@timfrank7461]

See the sad thing about this story isit could have been cool wjqt if this testing was complete randome who got taken and who nor

[@Elsenoromniano]

I think a thing that does this idea way better is the Brazilian tv show 3%, because there the tests are there to basically select a very small part of the population (the 3% of the 3%) to enter in a kind of "perfect utopian society", while failing the test means basically you live in squalor in a polluted and desolated world, so the stakes both make sense and are very high, so you understand why people would risk their lifes

[@abrador49]

Long critiques like these are really good as background noise when drawing, I noticed. It's like music but it makes you feel smarter while you're working. Plus, James has a very nice voice

[@nerdywolverine8640]

I'm pretty sure the author just meant that she's bad at growing and caring for plants, not bad at remembering them.

[@johannageisel5390]

Yes, that's the only gripe I had with James' rant. You can know edible plants while being unable to grow them.

[@nerdywolverine8640]

@@johannageisel5390 yeah, exactly. i do still understand the complaint about there being no real weaknesses though lol. except it's that the one weakness she apparently has doesn't even come up in the plot.

[@johannageisel5390]

@@nerdywolverine8640 Yes.

[@lunab541]

I agree but also that comes across as weak writing if the character is introduced as being bad with plants and then faces a plant-related challenge that she can pass easily. And apparently she never has to face her actual weakness

[@elianaslivia4405]

Yeah, I don’t do woodworking but I could probably identify at least a few of the most common ones just because my family does, and they talk about it

[@bielpr2009]

Stuff like this reminds me of how, despite recieving a lot of shit for spawning a milion clones, the Hunguer Games series was pretty decent fiction

[@boiyado6717]

With an actually competent writer, the memory loss could actually be done pretty interestingly with the scenes you’ve described. Instead of immediately gaining it back, have the memory loss last into book two. That scene with the mirror at the start would become much more interesting, as Cia looks at her scars, wondering how they got there. Have this sense of unease she feels grow more and more as she goes about her life, she could be more sensitive to loud noises, be more observant and cautious of her surroundings, be much more cagey when meeting new people, etc. As readers we know all of this is due to the trauma she gained during The Selection, but she’s terrified of this due to her memory loss. This might also help with the romance, as the two talk they find they experience similar symptoms. Their bond develops and they grow closer by learning the cause of these symptoms, leading to them getting their memories back. This would also be a greater motivator for their fight against the government, wanting revenge for everything that has happened to them Of course, a lot of the story would have to be re-written to accommodate for this new plot line. A few plot holes like why only these two experience these symptoms would have to be addressed as well, but at least this is a much more interesting hook and plot that isn’t just standing in front of the mirror.

[@rottencandy2675]

to explain why they can somewhat remember it, there could be a traitor to the United Lakes or whatever its called and the traitor gave them a lower dosage of the memory loss drug.

[@marl3ymarl3y86]

I feel like the testing scenario could work by removing all the smart people who could theoretically oppose the government, though in the end they just make smart people hate the government, and they overthrow it anyways. Really screwed the pooch on that one.

[@Megafreakx3]

If Squid Games could make a Death Game based off the f recess games, then I guess it should work for school work. I mean The Exam made it work in a way

[@LittleGoblinBoi]

Two hours of James talking? My day has just been made 10 times better!

[@kousetsuhana]

right?? I listen to his essays on my walks, they go like a breeze I'm so enthralled

[@j.w.-]

Loved this shit. Sarcasm Jesus with glasses and persona 5 merch talks about book is gotta be one of my favorite things

[@Doomcharger]

"Sarcasm Jesus" That's funny. Have my upvote.

[@Bhubnipz]

“A representative from Tosu city, named Michael” Coming after the bit about everyone’s weird names, that shit caught me off guard and I busted out laughing

[@AliceClow]

It’s spelled Michal tho, because of course it is

[@shadenox8164]

@@AliceClow Still technically a real life spelling of Michael. So not the strangest name.

[@katsurakureha998]

to be fair, knowing facts about plants and taking care of plants are two very different things. I dont't think her killing off plants she touches but knowing which plants are poisonous is necessarily a contradiction

[@io.nebulae]

Facts. I'm a florist who also studies plants. I can't for the life of me(them) take care of even a spider plant. 🤷😂

[@gysoran]

"If mistake = death, then that means no one takes any risks" TRUE, but this was handled well in Squid Game imo. partially by adding in time constraints (which are automatically gonna make people mess up), but also through putting contestants into situations where their competitors' actions can directly impact their own chances of staying alive. it leads to situations where even if a contestant isn't taking risks, there's no guarantee they won't get sabotaged anyway--either out of maliciousness or frustration. (Squid Game also handled the "i didn't know it was going to be a death game" thing pretty well too, though it doesn't seem like SG's handling of it would apply here as cleanly.)

[@jacobellis5822]

I guess a difference would be that in squid games the purpose was just entertainment for the rich so they really could just kill them off without a second thought. But in the testing they're being screened for some greater purpose

[@gysoran]

@@jacobellis5822 true! i just meant that there are ways to make "mistake = death" be interesting

[@JuMiKu]

Wait. Squid game was a thing two years ago?!

[@gysoran]

@@JuMiKu squid game released in 2021, yeah

[@kendra_t]

So there's an unlimited amount of "winner" spots, they get three items each, and they're all supposedly the brightest kids in the nation? There's literally no reason most or all of them wouldn't coordinate supplies to make the journey easier and travel as a group the entire way. But it's also just plain stupid for the government to recklessly murder a huge percentage of their top academics every year. The whole Hunger Games part of the book made no damn sense either way.

[@sarahamira5732]

I feel like it would make a little more sense if it was more along the lines of The Thinning (awful movie with one of the Paul brothers). Where instead of sending all the smart kids to the testing they send the slackers and delinquents. And make them compete for life I guess, "if u get to the finish line u live" type thing. It would make more sense from a societal standpoint and also the inclusion of delinquent types could contribute (a little, at least) to the amount of bloodthirsty candidates we see in this book.

[@treekangaroo.7691]

why did they name her central intelligence agency?

[@martinsriber7760]

Because they wished she was centrist, intelligent and had had a lot of agency.

[@welephantsoup]

bc shes an idiot

[@Evergreen2219]

The hovercraft thing only being able to hover 15 feet just sounds like almost every “land” vehicle in Star Wars which is probably what the author was going for so I think getting hung up on that is a bit much haha

[@cthulhutheendless1587]

Fifteen feet is pretty high tho. You could break your neck falling off a vehicle. There’s honestly no point to an air vehicle that can’t go very high and doesn’t stay very low to the ground, either

[@nicole7884]

Ok so there's this series called Uglie's. It's ok but the one point I like was they had magnetic hoverboards and had iron tracks all around the city so people could float like a foot off the ground. And I don't know why but I was annoyed by the skimmers becuase I'm like if your going to do hover boards then give us hover boards. if you want floating space cars, give us that. This is the pettiest thing I have ever been irate about.

[@JamesTullos]

Could you tell I had a cold while filming this?

[@_eleana]

Nein überhaupt nicht

[@Notfallkaramell]

Nope. But I hope you get (or got) better (by now), James.

[@quintustheophilus9550]

Nope. But I hope you get better

[@doughjoe1023]

I can tell that you marathoned Ghost Stories while editing

[@TrafficPartyHatTest]

I didn't, your voice sounds good to me

[@rtv1039]

This author whent to my school to talk about her book and she talked about it in the most corporate way

[@NotoriousLightning]

What did she say?

[@tVt2000]

WHAT DID SHE SAY @RTV 10

[@cvanceter]

"BUY BOOK, OR BE ASSIMILATED. BEEP BOOP."

[@Mecharnie_Dobbs]

This product is an ideal purchase for yourself, or gift for a sibling. If you have enjoyed reading a book before, you may find this similar. Reading for pleasure is both relaxing and keeps your brain healthy.

[@StarSquishie]

It literally wasn't until you said Brick's name that I realized I had read this novel before years ago and just 100% erased it from my memory. What a bland pile of garbage.

[@johndoe-wd9fh]

I read these in middle school and thought it was the best series ever. I wasn't a smart kid.

[@multishippingtrash728]

The sad thing is that this could've been a commentary on the public school system in America and yet they did...this

[@leahj5247]

oh my god you’re so right. that’s the thing about writers, sometimes we have good ideas with good potential but have no idea how to execute them. some get so caught up in finishing and publishing that the actual story and message goes down the drain

[@ladystoneheart8155]

Lol. Imagine the school board meetings

[@crouchingidiot]

for me what really made the hunger games so compelling wasn’t the plot to overthrow the government, although that was well written in its own right. what was really compelling was katniss’ ptsd. we see how much the hunger games destroys people, we see the aftermath of children being forced to murder each other. there are some truly devastating lines in each book. when katniss talks about how if she kills peta she’ll never leave the arena, she’ll always be there trying to figure out a way she could have saved them both. her life after the games in catching fire, how she hates petas paintings because they are all about the games, how when prim is standing in their house she thinks of rue, how haymitch sleeps with a knife, how she drinks with him when the quarter quell is announced. in mockingjay how she simply roams around district 13 hiding in closets, how finnick cares around a piece of rope to keep him sane, how joanna is afraid to shower, how katniss completely loses her mind when prim dies. and the clones don’t ever give us moments like that, and that’s why they don’t work.

[@raynajcarter]

wow. wonderfully written.

[@yannickgrignon2473]

that's a great point, and really articulates the kind of vibe I've always felt about those books.

[@SpecialInterestShow]

And... SPOILERS! The ending The dang ending It ends with... Things being not entirely resolved. She "chooses" Peta, but not really out of love. She decides on him because he shares her trauma. The book ends with her essentially retiring and being severely traumatized from everything that's happened. She's lost the will to fight, burnt out. The most she can do is just keep living on. I hope eventually she got SOME sort of therapy, but God only knows who she'd be able to get it from. Peta is also clearly traumatized. They're also both disabled in the books by the end, iirc. Katniss blew out one ear in one of the Games I believe, due to being too close to an explosion. And Peta I think loses a foot? The two of them have just been through so many traumatizing things together that by the end of it her only option IS Peta, not out of love but out of... He's the only one who shares the same trauma

[@chandra_creator]

@@SpecialInterestShow Spoiler Peeta loses an entire leg in book 1, and is mentioned having a prosthetic in book 2.

[@SpecialInterestShow]

@@chandra_creator oh yeah and dude I'm pretty sure they cut katniss's and petas disabilities from the movies, didn't they? Iirc. :(

[@Summer-it3wh]

I like the idea of offering the HMG as a choice, because there would definitely be someone daft enough to try and lug 120lb of gun across the wilderness.

[@timfrank7461]

HMG?

[@CN-yb5gn]

@@timfrank7461 heavy machine gun

[@dannylamb456]

not to mention the additional 60lbs of ammo

[@metaparalysis3441]

the ammo wouldn't need to last that long :)@@dannylamb456

[@rainingcomplete3018]

I love it as well if it was just an insta fail flag. The moment you pick it up no matter how well you do you are not passing because of how bad of an option it is.

[@davebowman5152]

The fact that the ghost stories bits sprinkled throughout the review fits so well says alot about this book 😂. P.s. if anyone hasn't seen the ghost stories dub go see it now its a masterpiece.

[@carlosanthony4972]

You should do a series on the first Red Rising Trilogy it starts off as very YA but gets better and more mature with each passing book until you get to the second Trilogy and it's some of the best character driven sci-fi story ever

[@mitchellhouser1572]

My brother is obsessed with this series and I am currently partway through Golden Son. Definitely worth reading for anyone interested.

[@pinkrose8272]

I had to read the first book for school and honestly I really didn’t like it. I do get why people do enjoy the series. I also did find some of the battles fun and I liked some of the ideas. But the fact I had to read it for English class destroyed all my enjoyment of it. The second I had to start analyzing it and thinking about it critically it fell apart for me. But either way I would also love to see a video on the series. As there is a lot to say about it.

[@carlosanthony4972]

@@pinkrose8272 the first book is by far the weakest in the entire series the next two books are great and form a really strong foundation for the second Trilogy which so far some of the best books in modern sci-fi and fantasy

[@timfrank7461]

Nope best ya sci fi series by FAR is conquerored earth

[@furrybacon1512]

There is probably a College Board joke you could make out of the whole Testing being a independent part of the Government

[@NotoriousLightning]

I refused to read The Hunger Games when I was the right age, as I was an edgy little shit who Staned so hard for Takami's Battle Royale. Now I kind of feel the moment has passed me by.

[@johannageisel5390]

I read it at 27 when I was relatively freshly politicized (aka radicalized from kinda-somehow liberal to socialist) and I liked it a lot. Didn't read it before and didn't watch the movies, but then I saw the first movie on free TV because I had nothing better to do and it drew me in enough that I got the books.

[@tkay-1313]

12 year old me thought this series was such a slay.. i was convinced i would have passed all the “tests” haha

[@jadeharley7190]

I’d argue that the opening is more reminiscent of Divergent, where it’s one of the rare times she was looking at herself in the mirror in Abnegation. Now that I think about it, that was before Tris’s choosing ceremony or whatever just like how Sia goes to her graduation after. In fact, it seems like a direct rip off which is funny bc Divergent is also terrible, so maybe let’s just not open any YA dystopian series with looking in the mirror

[@anjoliebarrios8906]

I personally really liked the first Divergent book. Even tho there was hunger games influence, I still think it was compelling because the story went in a different _direction_ with the premise. Instead of being about losing your humanity thru trauma (ex: Katniss's PTSD) Divergent was about finding your place in society and making a new 'family' after leaving your childhood behind. Also I found the 4 factions gearing for war to be far more gripping than a revolution that is supposedly happening (that we don't see) in hunger games. Didn't bother reading the other Divergent books tho, bc my friend told me they were bad, lol

[@Liminalsubliminal404]

It might just be me and my edgy 15 year old-ness but first person drives me nuts. I can’t stand it. It gives me shitty fanfic vibes Edit: retarded is a slur dude. I know it’s not common knowledge but still…

[@Nockgun]

It was a medical term, and them we all agree its a slur. Every word can be used maliciously some compliments are backhanded. some words are always a slur at the start though

[@NapaCat]

When I read the book, I was just so infuriated about how Cia wasn't a real character. She was good with machines, building things, leadership, calculus, identifying plants, oration, and a lot more while the things she was bad at were just art and gardening. Everyone loves Cia in-universe.

[@reywilson4337]

The part of this series that annoyed me most was when Cia was waffling for what felt like AGES over whether killing the testing officials would be worth it to end the testing or whatever. Like she got the world's easiest trolley problem and she had SUCH a hard time deciding that ~80 innocent kids pointlessly dying each year was worse than the deaths of a handful of adults who were actively orchestrating those kids' deaths.

[@classicsmajor9699]

A bad young adult novel? You'll never see it coming

[@8BLOO8]

This could be dumb but I feel like something interesting for the journey from Chicago in the first book is you only pass the test if you get a certain amount of points and you gain or lose points by doing various things. Killing people could get you a point and saving a life could lose you one. It incentivizes people to kill and makes our hero more heroic if she saves someone’s life and there could be a character moment about her not wanting to save someone cause she doesn’t have that many points but she does it anyways. (Also there would be other things that gain or lose points that could be relevant to the skills the society values like fixing the bikes and stuff. This way the protagonists could still win without killing) and as for the plant stuff. It makes sense that she sucks at growing them but if it’s just identifying them then you could make a way for her to be good at it with it still making sense. She’s clearly book smart because she got recruited for the testing and her dad and brother care about plants so maybe her dad could have explained the dangerous plants in a way that made sense to her like “oh the juice of these berries have the same color as this random engine oil” or some bullshit like that. That way she passes and is able to overcome her obstacle because she made it make sense to her specifically not just because she isn’t bad at anything.

[@paulssss5463]

We had to read this for some reason in 8th grade. My taste for fiction was horrible back then and I still knew it sucked lmao

[@thereallocke8065]

These tests don't make sense. If you hit a skill you're bad at you die before you reach a skill you're good at. This is working on the idea that you'll be good at every skill

[@jackfelldown1]

It's not the most mundane thing imaginable. There's still waking up from sleep, taking a shit, brushing, showering, character description in front of a mirror, and so on before the first day and the subsequent days go on until the plot stumbles upon the protagonist somehow.

[@SGresponse]

"... but while my brothers are not immune to flirting, none of them seems INTERESTING.." a perfect Freudian slip if I've ever seen one.

[@CarolinaKley]

"My hair does not like to go straight when it's wet" Me neither.

[@Michael-xw2qu]

I remember reading it, and I remember thinking that it was bad even at 14. I got bored of it at the beginning of the second book.

[@911smilingbunny]

I think reversing the premise of this book to taking those who score the lowest and making them “test” would fix the issue about why this book matters ☠️☠️☠️ like then it would be a commentary on inequality in education and how society actually treats people who can’t put education before survival. And I think it could be interesting because then people who are testing could have barriers like navigating the world being unable to read and things like that. Idk wtf was this author thinking LOL

[@arturnicaciodeandrade9861]

James, are you planning on doing more video on writting advice/worldbuilding ?

[@JamesTullos]

Sure, but how much I do that depends on how much inspiration I have and what my patrons vote for.

[@kittymae335]

As an aspiring writer I really love how you always give suggestions on what the author could've done instead to make it better

[@Mario_Angel_Medina]

1:40:00 at first, when the father started talking about "contributing to the advancement of science even through they weren't strong enough to be leaders" I though the kids who failed the testing where turn into brains in jars like in _Psycho Pass_

[@honeybeeees6666]

I love how every Hunger Games clone seems to try and copy, beat for beat, a checklist of boxes from Hunger Games, but never take 10 seconds to think about WHY they worked in Hunger Games. Its like trying to make a Beef Wellington by throwing mushrooms, prosciutto and a bag of flour at a cow.

[@penginlord9396]

I'm sorry, but the point where i truly lost it was when she chose a gun over a crossbow. Sure, a gun is more deadly, and she's used one before, but crossbows aren't that hard. And if you are going into a wasteland environment with hostile mutants and the possibility of hostile students, a crossbow is a better choice then a gun. Not only is it quieter, sparing your own hearing and granting yourself better stealth, but it's ammunition is reusable, modifiable, and most importantly, simple enough that you can easily make more with what can be found in a wasteland. Guns are cool and all, but they have limited ammunition that is much harder to replicate in a wasteland environment, as well as being quite loud. A handgun may be better in close combat, but overall I'd rather choose the crossbow for the sake of survival and stealth.

[@blueturtle3623]

They probably could have gone 45 mph in a day, mountain bikes typically go 8-12 mph depending on terrain. Granted, they may not be using bikes designed for that terrain, but if you can travel 45 miles in ~4.5 hours with one, you could travel that distance in double that time without.

[@AnEdgyWeeb]

The Ghost Stories clips are welcome inclusion to this review, please consider including them in all future reviews.

[@prcervi]

many of these names just scream "wow your parents really didn't like you at birth" and i can buy "shit with plants" as just being the human equivalent of herbicide without strictly being unknowledgeable about plants, knowing about plants doesn't mean you can grow plants(i know plenty about succulents, doesn't mean any survived me trying to keep them)

[@utopua4all]

Why does the constant testing in this series remind me of a Fight Club quote: "On a long enough timeline the survivability rate for everyone is 0." If these people keep getting tested throughout their life the bound to fail SOMETHING at some point. Talk about an insanely brutal take on the "value" of human life.

[@ayukairo8722]

I've never heard of this series before, so the first book sounds like the average camping trip but the campers are allowed to kill each other (?) The only two dystopian book series i've read are the Hunger Games and Divergent so i might pick this up for laughs. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@Megafreakx3]

I take everything I've said about Divergent being a cut and paste Hunger Games clone

[@operation_turtle]

we arent gonna talk about how a character named "obadiah" is described with "exotic braided hair" and being "intimidating" while being a character that failed? i dunno if that was the intention with this character, but he feels like a black stereotype.

[@Aurelian369_]

“exotic braided hair” cringe

[@Silver94ig]

Am I the only one, that gets Danganronpa vibes, without Danganronpa? Like a bunch of YA thrown somewhere to kill each other, just because... Sounds like Junko struck again... Excuse me, Discount-Junko. Though Danganronpa was much more than just some bunch of guys killing each other.

[@Amanda-rd8fl]

There is a difference between identifying plants and keeping them alive. I haven't read this book, but that stood out to me in your review.

[@nate4636]

What sucks is the idea of a dystopia that comments on the education system and standardized testing is a good idea in it of itself

[@janNowa]

I read the first book when I was a little kid and I didn't really like it that much, at least not enough to seek out book 2 lol. For some reason the poioned cornbread her roommate had really stuck with me and I think about it every time I eat cornbread, otherwise barely remembered it.

[@BraUnY74]

8:20 To be perfectly honest, in some countries, like Russia, people do only go to one school, it covers everything from elementary to high, so maybe United Commonwealth adopted similar system, where they just don't have different tiers of school separated into different organization, people just do everything in one school. Also, as far as the name goes, I think, that the thing is, if it was kept vague, like just The Commonwealth, hinting, that this is just a part of the name, it might've work, like how United States of America are often called just US or States. Or it can be used to show how this organization doesn't see itself bound to geography or nationality - like, for example, USSR. Soviet means "Council" in Russian, it was a reference to the small democratic councils established as a main organ of communist government (not going to go into the efficiency or demoracy of such organs, I'm talking about the idea, not the result). So in fact it was called Union of Councils-Lead Socialist Republics, removing any mentions of Russia. I can also see a fascist government with a pretense of ruling the whole world doing this. Too bad they didn't use the name to actually sell such ideas and just had a mild democracy, but school now kills people. Actually, I'd argue, that the fact that people in general hate school so much, they would write books how the system sucks, proves that the educational system we have can be radically improved, and that could've been actually a nice idea to built a dystopia, but eh, instead we got The Testing.

[@sxth2915]

I read the first one back in middle school and I always get scenes from this book mixed up with one from Divergent and Hunger Games

[@SpicyButterflyWings]

This series feels like an assignment Joelle's kid had in school to rewrite one of their favorite books. Like, they chose the Hunger Games but decided that instead of a death game it was just about how kids hate taking tests, and then Joelle read it and thought "I can make money off of this." From James' descriptions alone, it doesn't feel like this book had any kind of professional thought put into it at all. Hell, it doesn't sound it went through more than a single draft. Too many pointless dead-end characters, a nonsensical premise of killing off your country's smartest children in the aftermath of an apocalypse, a very first world understanding of what industries and fields are critical to the foundation of a society, a severe lack of creativity on account of the "futuristic" world-building (you're telling me the only thing stopping people from running away on their way to the capital city is a fucking fence?) and on top of all that we have the shoddy execution of Hunger games tropes. I do love watching these laughably god-awful book reviews, they really do make me feel a bit better as someone who has ideas of their own potential books yet has reservations about the quality of their own writing.

[@pulkitverma7447]

The final installment of The Expanse is out, btw

[@nimthegoodra8130]

Something I want to note is that you can identify a berry without being able to grow it. I can tell a blackberry from a raspberry without any knowledge on keeping either alive so the whole issue on her identifying the berries easily, something that would be normal being raised around people good at keeping plants alive, isn't as big an issue as you seem to think it is. Itd make sense for her to know what berries would and wouldnt kill her without having to explicitly tell us. Just something that bothered me about this review that I wanted to touch on.

[@axeldenault1165]

Who's that bad boy on the thumbnail?

[@akuma4321]

i remember reading this a while back. i saw the title, saw the cover, read the summary, and was super invested. i read it and got pretty far through the first book, and i really enjoyed it!! and then my favourite character whipped out a crossbow out of nowhere and shot the love interest (i don't remember any of their names). instantly stopped reading. it felt so unnatural, especially after the development and building the character had received. i returned the book to my school library and have never picked it up again. i'm still mad about it edit: IT WAS WILL!!!!! I REMEMBER HIM!!!!! i remember really relating to him and liking him as a character and thinking he was interesting AND THEN HE JUST FUCKIN SHOOTS SOMEONE FOR NO REASON!!!!! i'm still upset about it

[@bird2793]

Ah yes, two lightning bolts...the symbol of the goodest guys.../s

[@supergingerr]

“The capital is called Tosu…I don’t know why either.” Answering the important questions before we even ask them.

[@carydorse705]

These books just sound so stupid and you have my respect for forcing yourself through them. Also, vote of confidence is what it's called in Germany. We have a parliamentary system where the judicative and executive branches are more interlinked. If parliament really doesn't like the chancellor they can ask the president for a "Misstrauensvotum" of a vote of mistrust/confidence. We have the constructive version of that so parliament has to present a suitable replacement candidate, otherwise it would be destructive. It's how we replaced Helmut Schmidt with Helmut Kohl. Contrary to that we also have the "Vertrauensfrage" or question of trust, where it's the chancellor asking the parliament if he still has their trust. If he doesn't he can ask the president for new elections.

[@martinsriber7760]

It is clearly rip-off of Hunger Games, but is it worse than Hungry? 🤔

[@markredacted8547]

I don't want to go on any lists but making bang bang is very easy, I use household items to teach my nieces and nephews about chemistry and flour by far is an excellent demonstration of stable in one form and very explosive in another.

[@Ly_Lord]

I think the editor was binging Ghost Stories while editing.

[@godzilla5803]

Am I missing something with the criticism of the "weird" names? I always assumed that if a story takes place in a setting that's significantly different from the real world, then the names would be different. Many fantasy/sci-fi stories feature strange names, so why is it bad that this book does it too?

[@BrandonPilcher]

18:50 I’ve noticed quite a few more novels these days are being written in present tense than they used to. Was it really the Hunger Games series that popularized that trend?

[@ToweringPsychic]

In the ya dystopia/fantasy/sci-fi, yes.

[@marocat4749]

Why doesnt she at the start how sh hangs out with her favourite brother, if he is her favourite brother. Like a " i visit him all the time when he does his experiments with breeding tomatoes. Mayb she could help mechenical even somehow. And he maybe him even supporting and encouraging her going into mechanic stuff. Then we know why she would care so much about him that she adore him so much?! Still could ention how the othersiblings are annoying giving a broad biased but description. they are annoying but x is ls so, and is ok, just, and that is i hate ... but he is my brother still and , i just dont wanna talk. Could really mak a childish immaturity that grows in the book. And she is bad with plant but also thats ho she figured out with hr brother , she is mechanical inclined somehow. And her brothe jut , sh is still not good and he truggles but he knows the poiisionous because she nearly ate one.

[@realGBx64]

Ok what filter was used to make our host a total Jürgen on the thumbnail??

[@GreatGreebo]

I’m back to watching your KZbin content and YAY! Loved that you called The Testing “just borderline trademark infringement”. Thanks for such a long video!

[@tundradeer]

I'm not sure where you got the idea that handguns are not very accurate. They are extremely accurate in shorter distances (shorter being relative in this case. a long gun can easily hit targets at 100 or even 200 yards out, a handgun is usually more accurate at 50 yards. its still a pretty far distance). the length of a firearms barrel determines how far it can shoot and how accurately. the longer it is, the more accurate it will be. except shotguns are weird because instead of 1 projectile, its like throwing a handful of metal marbles. the times shotguns are more useful, are times that need quick reactions (and bird hunting). if a dangerous animal surprises you in the forest, you don't need to aim for a penny-sized spot on the animal. if you are holding a shotgun you can hip fire with that thing. so if you go to the forest wanting to hunt an animal on purpose, its best to bring a rifle or cross bow. but if you are not hunting and just need protection from potential dangerous animals (including bears), shotgun is the way to go.

[@StickWithTrigger]

James talking about a shitty book for 2 hours Me: Neurons activated

[@jayjay2172]

i really enjoy this kind of content and your reviews but one thing i can not figure out is why some of your thumbnails are in german???? Someone please tell me so i can get some rest

[@Nivalyr]

I'm very much disappointed, that this book, despite its title, isn't about GLaDOS from Portal.

[@eventhorizon853]

"We know that she's not poor so she doesn't really have any reason to dislike the government" Not trying to defend the book, but... how the hell does that sentence compute?

[@lewispascoe1145]

Well as described, this government is perfectly reasonable and non-evil, with the sole exception of their bizarre testing wing.

[@AllisonMiller30]

You ever put James on as background noise and then he says something like he did at 1:12:00 to make sure you’re paying attention.

[@CraftsmanOfAwsomenes]

I think you're off the mark on the idea the thing "united" describes as an adjective is usually plural. "united front" "united effort". If anything "United States" seems to be an outlier based on the fact early documents refer to the country as a "nation" and not a "state". If they did the latter "United State" wouldn't even sound particularly out of place, in the same sense the UK was multiple kingdoms that became one as you mentioned.

[@lindala2602]

It's a very different genre, but if you want a book about having lots of siblings, you should check out 'how to be a woman' by Caitlin Moran

[@OrangeLibrary]

This is increasingly reminding me of a Brazilian Netflix series called 3%

[@gingerkatherina]

I think it's not exclusively hunger games inspired but a mix of all of them including divergent and maze runner part 3

[@BigElbows]

15:15 Switch the A and the E and it becomes portuguese for watermelon. Huh

[@Terestrasz]

The Testing is like those novels about boarding schools that makes you wonder how the hell these institutions even exist - because well, it would have been shut down. LIke, say what you will about Harry Potter - but at LEAST when shit is going down at Hogwarts, the ministry's coming in and going "Hey, what's going on here?. Some things like Morning Glories justified it by being some kind of conspiracy that presumably buys off all the authorities, and Code Lyoko justified it by having the kids literally resetting time every other week. Like in the manga Beastars - what parent in their right minds would send their kids to Cherryton? A kid gets eaten on campus, another kid gets kidnapped, and when someone goes to rescue her the person in charge of the dorms is more concerned that both aren't in for curfew and that they're in a love motel rather than, you know, A STUDENT WAS FUCKING ABDUCTED.... The school has one security guard who is literally unarmed *rimshot*, the student to teacher ratio is worse than any inner city public school....

[@Milkra]

I will never forget reading this in middle school after finishing Hunger Games and Divergent. I’ve never felt a book to be immediately trash quite like the testing.

[@ubertaco6416]

in fairness, growing plants and identifying plants arent really the same skill, which is why humans lived before creating farming lol