The Program
Suzanne Young
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 idea for The Program is actually a really good idea and I am so glad Suzanne Young decided to make it into a book. This book isn't a dystopian, it's pretty much the same government that we have today.
The way the Program helps kids who are thought to be suicidal is by slowly erasing their memories and even though it was sad to see her memories wash away it was really nice to see her get better and to realize how sick she actually was but since we were viewing it from Sloane's point of view you don't notice how sick she actually was in the beginning. Even though they erase your memories I do think the Program could be a good thing.
One unspoken rule in the book is that you can't acknowledge that you know anyone who is in/has been in the Program or anyone who has committed suicide. It's weird that these kids having to go on with their normal lives like the people in the program or those who killed themselves never existed. How does knowing someone who is/was suicidal make you more of a risk for suicide? Depression is not genetic but if you grow up around someone who is depressed you can be more likely to be affected yourself but since the suicide epidemic starts with teenagers it shouldn't really influence anyone unless they had a sibling with depression as a child. Sloane was not a child when her brother committed suicide.
I love this book and I love how it was written. The way Young wrote it was exactly how I wanted it to be written. It was actually really sad seeing her memories slowly go down the drain but it was perfect for the book.
I was kind of surprised that Sloane took the pills when she first got to The Program so willingly. She did a lot of fighting just to be so compliant once she got there so I thought that seemed to be a little out of character.
A lot of people seem to focus on the dark side of the book and I feel like they forget that the Program could actually be a good thing if done right.
Things I liked about the book:
I really like how she mentions about how is the program helping them or is it pushing them more towards suicide and I think lot of people, not just teenagers (and not necessarily someone suicidal) can relate to putting on a face to hide how you really feel inside
I liked the little flashback/story time parts
While I was reading this I ended up reading a lot more pages than I thought. I would finish reading and then add up my pages and it was like 'I read that many!?'
Things I didn't understand about the book:
Just because they cry means they're depressed? I guess they don't cry I guess because first it's crying and then it leads to something else but it seems like crying would help since they would be letting their emotions out and not bottling them up until they explode.
Why is it only teenagers? Do adults not commit suicide? Or are teenagers the only ones worth saving?
If it's only teens what happens when you turn graduate and magically become immune to suicide? Are they magically happy?
What do the black spirals mean or represent? Shouldn't the Handlers just be looking at school notebooks?
Are homeschooled kids totally fine? or if they are suicidal do they not have the Program? or is it just up to the parents to admit them into the Program?
Depression is caused by a chemical imbalance rather than the events in your life so wiping memories wouldn't be an instant fix.
Slight Spoilers
How naive are you Sloane you seriously thought they were just relaxing pills?
P.S I really don't like the cover but it's much better than the sequel's cover.
Pages:405
