Title: INDEPENDENT STUDY
Author: Joelle Charbonneau
Pub. Date: January 7, 2014
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages: 320
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes
& NobleShe's fought death and won. But how can she fight her fears?
Avry knows hardship and trouble. She fought the plague and survived. She took on King Tohon and defeated him. But now her heart-mate, Kerrick, is missing, and Avry fears he's gone forever.
But there's a more immediate threat. The Skeleton King plots to claim the Fifteen Realms for his own. With armies in disarray and the dead not staying down, Avry's healing powers are needed now more than ever.Torn between love and loyalty, Avry must choose her path carefully. For the future of her world depends on her decision.
Now on to the Dream Cast!
A girl’s gotta dream….
I was really excited when Jaime asked me to come up with my
dream cast for The Testing trilogy. When
I write, I never think about which actor could play which part. In fact, even after Paramount optioned THE
TESTING on launch week, I purposely didn’t give casting any real thought
because I was too busy revising Graduation Day.
I could only see the characters that lived in my imagination. They didn’t look like actors. They looked like—well—them.
But now that the series is written and I’ve had a chance to
move onto a new project, I loved looking at the characters with the thought of
which actors would best bring them to life on screen. Now, I think I should best confess that I
totally want to play a part if it ever really gets made into a movie. I’m thinking I’d be great at Cia’s Mom or one
of The Testing officials. Of course, I’d
also be happy if they just let me sneak on set for a day to watch a scene being
filmed. The idea of someone bringing
The Testing off the page and onto the screen is just astonishing. Here’s hoping it happens. And if it does…ahem…here are my casting
suggestions!
Malencia (Cia) Vale – Francesca Santoro
You can’t look her up on IMDB because she isn’t there –
yet! Francesca (Chessie) is currently
finishing her senior year at Syracuse Univeristy where she is majoring in
Musical Theater. She is also my voice
student and one of the main inspirations for The Testing. She is also wickedly talented. Cia is a girl who is idealistic as well as
smart. I think casting an unknown talent
to play Cia is the best way to pull the reader into the world of The
Testing. That way they won’t be seeing a
star from some other movie. They’ll be
seeing Cia all the way.
Tomas Endress – Freddie
Highmore
Boy next door cute, looks trustworthy and he knows how to bring
great energy to the big screen!
Malachi – Nadji Jeter
I think he’d be fabulous as the shy, socially awkward Malachi.
Zandri – Emma Roberts
She might be a little too old, but she has the abandon and
fabulous hair of Zandri.
Stacia - Emma Watson
Okay – the world might know her as Hermione Granger, but I see
her as Stacia. Especially with the short
hair and the piercing looks she can give the camera. Let’s face it-- no one would have a problem
believing that she is smart enough to pass The Testing.
If I was Cia I’d trust him to help me. Wouldn’t you?
Will – Thomas
Brodie-Sangster
He’s got a smile that would charm anyone. And I think he could play the multi-layered
Will with a great deal of skill.
Dr. Barnes – Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid is one of my favorite actors. He has THE BEST smile. He is also the type you would automatically
believed had your best interest at heart.
Or does he?
President Collindar – Sigourney Weaver
Okay – I admit that this is taking some liberties with the casting. Afterall, President Collindar is described as having almond eyes and dark hair. I always pictured her as someone of Asian decent, but Sigourney Weaver is an amazing actress and she’s tall. With Cia’s short stature, I think having a President with some height could make for some really interesting scenes. Of course…you’ll have to read Independent Study and Graduation Day to know what those scenes are…
Raffe – Alexander Ludwig
Another controversial choice since he appeared as Cato in The
Hunger Games movie. However, I would
argue that he didn’t get near enough to do in that movie and that he is perfect
for Raffe. (Who appears in Independent
Study.)
Symon – Ralph Fiennes
Another Independent Study character. He could totally rock this role. Trust me!
Damone – Tyler Posey
I think he’d make for an intriguing choice.
Professor Holt – Joanna Gleason
Since seeing her appear as The Baker’s Wife in Stephen
Sondheim’s INTO THE WOODS, I have loved Joanna Gleason. She has the ability to stop everything in a
scene with just one glance. She’d be
awesome. And, truth be told, I’d love to
have an excuse to meet herJ
Thanks Joelle love the cast especially who you cast for Raffe! Love that guy :D
Ever since I can remember I loved telling stories. As I grew
up, I started performing those stories on the stage. Creating vivid characters
and singing wonderfully complex songs were my passion. I graduated from
Millikin University with a Bachelors Degree in Vocal Performance and then
continued onto DePaul University for my Masters Degree in Opera Performance.
From there I went onto perform across the Chicagoland area in a variety of
Operas, Operettas and Musicals. I also started teaching acting classes and
private voice lessons to pass my passion along to the next generation.
Not exactly the path you’d expect a writer to take.
I’d never dreamed of writing a novel. But I loved to read. Then
one day I had an idea and I started to write. I found my passion for creating
characters lived on the page as well as the stage. It is my hope that the
characters I’ve created resonate with you and make you smile.
I still teach voice lessons and sing for the occasional
professional event. But the rest of my time is spent with my husband and son
while dreaming up new and interesting stories. I hope that someday I hear
yours.
Giveaway
Details:
3 INDEPENDENT STUDY prize packs with a finished copy of the
book, a GRADUATION DAY ARC, a bracelet, pencil, & temporary tattoos! US
only.
Check out
the Tour Schedule:
Week One:
12/30/2013- My
Guilty Obsession- Review
12/31/2013- Magical
Urban Fantasy Reads- Interview
1/1/2014- Tales
of the Ravenous Reader- Guest Post
1/2/2014- Hannah
Reads Books- Review
1/3/2014- K-Books-
Review
Week Two:
1/6/2014- Fiktshun-
Interview
1/7/2014- Parajunkee's View- Interview
1/8/2014- Jenna Does Books-
Review
1/9/2014- The Book
Cellar- Guest Post
1/10/2014- Two
Chicks on Books- Guest Post
