The Program by Suzanne Young
Set in the near future where suicide is an international epidemic, one breakdown can send a teen to The Program. An institution where memories are erased with the hopes of helping them get better, Sloane and her friends know better.
Sloane, James and Miller are inseparable, until Miller begins having problems and then James. Sloane is trying to hold herself together, but her well-meaning parents, decide the risk is too great and send her into The Program. Over-medicated and confused, Sloane is determined to remember her memories from Before.
I picked up this book to read numerous times, but everytime I did I would soon place it back on the shelf thinking, 'not another dystopian book.' I am glad I gave in to my dystopian side and decided to read The Program. I really liked it. I felt like the future-side of this story was very present. At first I had a hard time believing that suicide was "catching," like the flu - but then as I fell into the story, the idea was easy to embrace.
When Sloane was admitted to The Program, I wondered how memories were taken. I figured it out before it was exposed by the Roger, but I do wonder if I were in middle school if I would have figured it out so quickly. Though Sloane was over-medicated most of the time, her spirit was still spunky and she was determined to remember her Before. The Before, with her boyfriend James.
Sloane and James are typical teenagers in love, it just happens to be they don't remember each other. I appreciated the idea that who we are meant to meet, care about and love will be destined to come into our lives.
There will be a sequel to The Program. I generally don't read sequel's, but I may give this one a chance. Written for older teens, there is mild language and romance scenes.
**The Program will be our Twitter Talk book of the month for February.
