Title: THE PROGRAM
Author: Suzanne Young
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: April 30, 2013
Number of Pages: 416
Source of Book: ARC from Publisher
In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.
Sloane
knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an
international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the
only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one
child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also
knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank
slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.Under
constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave
face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person
Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both
safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough
to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other,
it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker.
Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.
Thought: I could not stop reading this book. It was engaging and I couldn’t put
it down until I had raced to the finish.
story set in a realistic dystopic future where you never know who to trust – not
even yourself because your own memories may not be real. From the very beginning
I was intrigued by the setup for this world where teen suicide is an epidemic
and those who are depressed are sent into The Program where any memory related
to the experiences or people that made them fall into depression is taken away.
This leads to secrecy and bottling up of emotions and a pressure cooker of a
high school experience for these teens, especially those who were close to
someone who was “infected,” who are constantly watched for any signs of needing
to be taken away. This is how we meet Sloane and James, as they try to keep the
sadness from her brother’s suicide from overcoming them and leading to them
getting “flagged” for treatment. They have only each other to rely on and be
honest with because neither one would ever turn in the other. They have to keep
up the façade, but when they’re alone together they can let their emotions out.
They look out for each other and are madly in love. But when more and more of
their friends are being taken away to The Program and returning not remembering
them, it boils over into being too much to handle. But after getting the memory
treatment, will they remember each other? Will their love surpass all of the
memories being taken away?
book in three parts: the before, the during, and the after of being put in The
Program. Each one building upon the last and to a conclusion that is a game
changer. Her writing style has an easy to read contemporary feel and builds the
suspense and fear so the reader feels invested in what happens and sympathizes
with the characters. The first person narration from Sloane adds an element of
feeling all of the emotions as she falls into depression becoming “infected,” the
fear of having her memories taken away during her treatment and not knowing who
to trust, and the confusion and hope of being “returned” to the outside world
having been cured but knowing there are pieces missing. And when she runs into
James, will she even know who he is? Will he know her? Or is she better off
just forgetting about him like everyone tells her she should? Or, no matter
what happened to the memories in their brains, will their hearts scream they
are destined to be together? How can you trust yourself when you know your
memories aren’t complete and you don’t know what your life was like before?
I am so looking forward to reading this-very glad that the release date is almost here!
I had already marked this one to read on goodreads, and now I think I might move it up on the list! 🙂
Shannon
I Run Read Teach