The Program by Suzanne Young

Goodreads Summary:

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.

My Thoughts:

I started this book without reading the description or any reviews. Yep, I judged it off the cover and title. I wanted something that was a series book and dystopian, I got what I wanted.

So get this, teenagers are offing themselves in record numbers. All of a sudden a kid can go from totally normal to "infected" and committing suicide. The descriptions in the book make it sound like the normal roller coaster of emotions that teens go through will randomly accelerate and derail. The book doesn't really give an explanation for this, just some theories. I like that the explanation isn't handed to me up front. I like that I will have to figure it out with the characters in the book.

So here are the good bits of the book: decent character development, decent plot, decent storytelling.

Here are the bad bits: it is of course predictable, the author doesn't give us enough reason to thing Sloane is "infected" she just seems like normal teen boohoo (maybe that is my mean girl judginess coming out), and the love triangle bit is tired (though it is extra fucked up in this one so I will give props for that).

I like Sloane, I don't really connect with her as much as other leading ladies in other books but then they can't all be Lena (Delirium... you haven't read it? WTF get on that immediately). Sloane feels like a normal kid in a fucked up society. Which is both a good thing and a bad thing. I wish she was a touch more rebellious, but then I wish that for all teen girls.

It is interesting and totally fucked up that the program deletes memories and therefore people from your life. I would be horrified to know that whole chunks of my experiences were gone in the blink of an eye. I think it is interesting that in the books they accomplish this with pills. As we are a society so bent on popping pills to make us better I think it is important to remember that those same pills can cause serious damage. Also, this book brought up a lot for me in terms of what it means to have your free will taken from you. I don't think it is right that a 17 year old can be thrown into this deep of treatment without anything beyond the word of a parent. I have felt for a long time that consent in treatment, even for minors, is a sketchy grey area and that needs to be addressed. I can't say that the author intended me to think about these things or not. You may not pick up on that vibe when you read it.

I think Sloane's relationship and connection with James is believable. I do wish it wasn't soooooo traditional. For once can the girl be the strong one in a relationship? Cause hello, real life.

The ending of the book felt inevitable but not in a bad way. I believe we repeat things until we learn from them and if you delete lessons learned, you will have to relearn them.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I have gotten my hands on the second book. I will post about it when I have finished it and thought about it a bit. I would recommend this book to dystopian series fans. I am not sure the writing is strong enough to woo someone who isn't a fan of the genre.

While writing this review I was listening to my stomach growl. Clearly, I need chocolate.