Graduation Day is Joelle Charbonneau's final book in the Testing series. Her protagonist, Cia, is prepared for her final endeavor. She, along with others, has become aware of corruption in the government of the Commonwealth school. Even the rebellion has been compromised. As a lone wolf, Cia must combat the system, headed by Dr. Barnes. She brings down the entire system, regardless of great personal risk, but her reward is ostracism. The fall of the Commonwealth narrowly precedes the collapse of the greater political system, which hurts many private citizens in the process, all of whom blame Cia.
Cia accepts responsibility throughout her journey. She is not content merely to recognize truth but to advocate for it. In the context of the Commonwealth, this means employing all her ingenuity and resources to outwit Dr. Barnes. She alienates herself from classmates, the rebels, and even her own friends at times, all for the sake of bringing down the system.
Cia's story parallels the social drama which many university students encounter in the final stages of their academic careers. The academic system is far from perfect, often favoring certain values over others and enforcing this preference through regulation disguised as unity rather than division. In Cia's case, her school discouraged open admission, instead forcing students to engage in rigorous mandatory testing which humiliates and scars them emotionally. The system is designed to break the students. Although this circumstance is extreme, the issue of admission and free speech on college campuses is still very much relevant. Sometimes the agenda of the university leaves students feeling, like Cia, that they must be their own advocate and confront the entire system. Of course Cia's approach is fictional and dramatic. Civil disobedience and open conversation go a long way in real life scenarios.
