Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 416pgs
The Story
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.
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.
The Review
THE PROGRAM is both a book, a story and an actual program that is so gritty and terrifying to me that even I could imagine something like it to actually happen in the future. While I don't know what it was that actually appealed to me - whether it was the story itself or the interesting characters - but this book is unlike any other I have read thus far and I love how it was just so edgy, emotional, risky and yet so ideal for teenagers to read considering the subject matter it covers and how it's affecting (and still affecting) so many teenagers's lives even today.
When you sum all of that up, I guess that is why I enjoyed the book so much and why I flew through it so quickly too. One, because I already loved Suzanne Young as an author, and two, because I loved the fact that she took a risky subject matter of suicide and created a world from it, while also dealing with it in a manner that was realistic in every sense. I mean, what can I say? I thought it was immensely well-written and it was just so interesting to explore, especially with how the characters went down the path of 'The Program' and what eventually happened to them when they finally got out. Or rather . . . when they still remained locked up in the program. I admit it's definitely not the happiest read ever (it's quite depressing for the most part) but I really enjoyed it! Loved it even.
Sloane, our main character, is one of my favourite parts coming from this book. To me, she felt like a normal teenager with feelings and I could relate to her on so many levels, especially when she was beginning to lose her mind and how she dealt with things in the 'after' when one of her friends was taken away to 'The Program'. You just wanted to fight right alongside her and I loved when I became so invested with a character like that. James, Sloane's boyfriend, on the other hand, was definitely a very likable guy for the most part and I cared about him because Sloane cared about him. Sure during the book there were at times where I found myself wanting a bit more development from James's character considering he's our main character's boyfriend and all, but whenever he and Sloane were together . . . they were just so fascinating to watch as a couple and I loved how their romance played an important role in the book so in the end I loved those too.
But on a side note, there's another guy Sloane eventually meets in 'The Program' named Realm and my god I fell so hard for him in the book. So hard. He was 'kind of' working for the enemy (a slight spoiler there folks), but I didn't care who he worked for or what he's main purpose was, because I thought he had genuinely cared (and maybe even loved) Sloane more than he first lead on, and like her, I too struggled to justify what was wrong with the program and such so it's completely understandable why someone like Realm confused her at times. But in the end, I thought he was just such an interesting and mysterious character that I wanted more and more of, so I hope to see more of him in the upcoming sequel because . . . I just love him so much! FANGAL ALERT!
Overall, THE PROGRAM is definitely a read that tugs on your heartstrings (too many times actually) and maybe sensitive to some readers when it comes to the subject matter, but in the long-run this book has so many cool twists that you won't even see coming and on a whole I thought it a very unique book which I think most people will love and fan-gal/fan-boy over!
When you sum all of that up, I guess that is why I enjoyed the book so much and why I flew through it so quickly too. One, because I already loved Suzanne Young as an author, and two, because I loved the fact that she took a risky subject matter of suicide and created a world from it, while also dealing with it in a manner that was realistic in every sense. I mean, what can I say? I thought it was immensely well-written and it was just so interesting to explore, especially with how the characters went down the path of 'The Program' and what eventually happened to them when they finally got out. Or rather . . . when they still remained locked up in the program. I admit it's definitely not the happiest read ever (it's quite depressing for the most part) but I really enjoyed it! Loved it even.
Sloane, our main character, is one of my favourite parts coming from this book. To me, she felt like a normal teenager with feelings and I could relate to her on so many levels, especially when she was beginning to lose her mind and how she dealt with things in the 'after' when one of her friends was taken away to 'The Program'. You just wanted to fight right alongside her and I loved when I became so invested with a character like that. James, Sloane's boyfriend, on the other hand, was definitely a very likable guy for the most part and I cared about him because Sloane cared about him. Sure during the book there were at times where I found myself wanting a bit more development from James's character considering he's our main character's boyfriend and all, but whenever he and Sloane were together . . . they were just so fascinating to watch as a couple and I loved how their romance played an important role in the book so in the end I loved those too.
But on a side note, there's another guy Sloane eventually meets in 'The Program' named Realm and my god I fell so hard for him in the book. So hard. He was 'kind of' working for the enemy (a slight spoiler there folks), but I didn't care who he worked for or what he's main purpose was, because I thought he had genuinely cared (and maybe even loved) Sloane more than he first lead on, and like her, I too struggled to justify what was wrong with the program and such so it's completely understandable why someone like Realm confused her at times. But in the end, I thought he was just such an interesting and mysterious character that I wanted more and more of, so I hope to see more of him in the upcoming sequel because . . . I just love him so much! FANGAL ALERT!
Overall, THE PROGRAM is definitely a read that tugs on your heartstrings (too many times actually) and maybe sensitive to some readers when it comes to the subject matter, but in the long-run this book has so many cool twists that you won't even see coming and on a whole I thought it a very unique book which I think most people will love and fan-gal/fan-boy over!
The Rating
5/5 stars
I've been wanting to read this one especially because of the subject matter. It helps too that it's told by Suzanne, whose A Need So Beautiful I had quite a thing for.
ReplyDeleteI love this author so I can't wait for the sequel for this one! :)
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