The Program - Suzanne Young

 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.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  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

Update 4/18/2014

I'm back everyone!

My project's deadline was extended so i'm not finished with it yet but I knew I couldn't push out my hiatus any longer since it's already been months since my last review.

Be sure to check up on my Goodreads every once in a while so you know what books i'm reading or you can request a review a book that I have read.

I thought since Easter is this Sunday I wouldn't put up a review so they start up again on the 27th.

Update 1/16/2014

Oh my goodness everybody I could have sworn I made an update post months ago but apparently I didn't!  So here's my little update.

I have been crazy busy with a big project these past few months but don't worry I have still been reading (but it's been pretty slow) so don't worry there are plenty of books I can review probably this spring.  I think I will finish up by March or April so I can start reviewing again in April or May.  I'm kind of at a turning point in my life so a long hiatus shouldn't really happen again and if it does it probably won't be for a long time.

You all should read Diary of a Mall Santa by Stewart Scott it's really good and has some wonderful stories it. Some are hilarious and some are kind of sad.

if you want to see the books I have read so far you can check out my Goodreads.

The Underwood and Flinch Chronicles - Mike Bennett (Happy Halloween Everyone!)

Underwood and Flinch

Mike Bennett

For hundreds of years, the first born son of the Flinch family has grown to become servant and guardian to the vampire, Lord Underwood. Then in 1958, Underwood lay down to rest for fifty years, and the world moved on without him. Now, upon arising, Underwood finds the Flinch family is not what it was, and service is the last thing on the mind of his would-be servant.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

First off Mike Bennett is a very talented author and a superb story teller, he knows how to bring his characters to life and makes them feel like real people who you can relate to.   You might get a little confused at the beginning trying to keep track of all the different characters and story lines going on at once but it does it get easier and it all comes together as the story goes on.   I really liked how Bennett kept old vampire myths (like burning in the sun) that we all know and also made up some of his own and they still made sense. it's the perfect book for someone who like a good ol' bloody vampire horror story and not a story about vampires who sparkle in the sun.

I actually should have finished this over a year ago because that was when the last podcast episode was finally put out but I just couldn't bring myself to do it! It's not that I didn't want it to end I just couldn't finish it!

45 podcast episodes.

Happy Halloween everyone!

*Note
Oh my goodness you guys I am so sorry! This was supposed to post on Halloween but It was still saved as a draft!

4 to 16 Characters - Kelly Hourihan

4 to 16 Characters

Kelly Hourihan

Fifteen-year-old Jane Shilling’s best friends don’t know her real name. In fact, they don’t know anything about her at all. Jane’s life has collapsed in the last few years; following the death of her mother, her father turned to drinking, and Jane is reeling from the double blow. To escape, Jane devises a number of online personas, each with a distinct personality, life history, and set of friends. But things become trickier when she finds herself drawing close to some of her online friends, and winds up struggling with the question of how to maintain a real friendship while masquerading as a fake person. With the help of Gary, a socially awkward classmate and competitive Skeeball player who is Jane’s only offline friend, and Nora, her therapist, Jane begins to sift through her issues. The only catch is that that involves taking a long, hard look at what her life’s like when the computer is shut off, and that’s a reality she’s been fighting for years.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

First off I bet people who are not in fandoms had a lot of googling to do!  While I have never had her as much... passion for any of my favorite shows/movies/books as Jane does I can relate with her internet life (not the personas though).  You can still see similarities with Jane and her personas but at the same time they are still very distinctive and I really liked how every one of her personas reflected a small piece of her.   You can really see the difference between Jane talking to her therapist out loud and chatting with her online instead of just sitting across the desk from each other staring at each other. She would ignore her in real life while they were chatting online but would giggle out loud and seemed more open and friendly online.  I really liked watching her come out of her shell with Gary and I think why he was able to get so close to her is because when he would talk to her he was in her element so she felt more comfortable,  The down side of this book is there would be times there would be an email or something from someone to someone and I would be really confused on who they were.  I lose interest in the long chat sessions/conversations, and during some of the chats she would ask someone if they were there but if you looked at the time stamps it had only been like a minute!

If you go to the author's website there's a really cool fan work contest going on.

I was provided an E-galley from netgalley.com
Pages: 314

Seeds of Trust - Cynthia Reese

Seeds of Trust

Cynthia Reese

When Becca Reynolds heads for rural Georgia to investigate a suspected crop insurance scam, she's concerned about her career, not her heart.

Chief among the suspects is handsome Ryan MacIntosh, who isn't telling everything he knows. Could his involvement possibly be deeper than his devotion to his grandmother and the small farm that's been in the family for generations?

Becca can't be sure, even though she and Ryan have shared the most intimate of conversations—at least online. She's certain he's the charming stranger with whom she's exchanged countless emails…and fallen in love. But she can't admit the truth any more than Ryan can—nor predict what it will cost them in the end.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

This is actually a book I can't say too much about it's kind of a slow beginning but once you get past the first few chapters it picks up and I started to enjoy it more. The characters aren't necessarily bad but they aren't memorable and for me they aren't very relatable.  I did really enjoy the mystery side of it and I liked how it didn't just focus on Becca and Ryan's relationship the whole time. Mee-Maw was one of the better characters and she gave me a few chuckles here and there.  

Pages: 204 pages (mine was 362 because I got it from the library and it ended up being a larger print version)

Phone Kitten - Marika Christian

Phone Kitten

Marika Christian

Shy, slightly overweight Emily would die if she had to talk dirty face-to-face-especially to her hot cop boy friend. She sure didn't set out to do phone sex-she wanted to be a writer. But when her BFF framed her for plagiarism, she got in a tiny financial hole and saw this ad for "phone actresses" . . . Hey, it's not nearly as bad as it sounds. No pantyhose or pantsuits, no regular hours, you're your own boss, and lots of people to talk to. Guys, that is. But here's the odd thing-lots of them want to talk about more than Emily's imagined attributes; they start to think of her as the best friend they'll never have to meet. Next thing you know, one of her customers gets killed and Emily knows a lot more about it than she should. But she can't tell the nearest cop, who's also her own true love, because then he'll find out about her secret life. What's a phone kitten to do? Solve the murder herself, of course-because wouldn't it be a great story for the newspaper that wrongly fired her? It's her ticket back to her real life-if it doesn't get her killed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

First off the cover is pretty cute but nothing too special. I was really worried this book might be a little too similar to the movie For A Good Time Call but I was wrong to thing that! Who would think to mix murder mystery with a phone sex line?  

I loved how in the middle of laughs or drama there would be these sweet little lines that the author would throw in there like one of the characters telling Emily to remember that she is one of the pretty girls.

It was definitely interesting reading about Emily's different phone customers and what they like (Beef jerky in certain body cavities was my favorite! I laughed for a good ten minutes.)

Now I know some people will agree with me and some won't but the book automatically made men (I don't believe there were any women) perverts just because they called sex line and I didn't really agree with that.  

There was a part of the book that made me laugh because Emily goes over to her date's house and thinks 'I took a deep breath and said a little prayer, hoping he had his porn hidden in his bedroom.' and my note said  'girl you work for a phone sex line you can't be complaining about porn!'

One thing about the book that I didn't like was how Emily complains about her granny panties quite a bit and my thoughts were why she bought them and why she keeps wearing them!

I felt like this book would be interesting from another character named Rachel-ann's point of view.

Over all I really did enjoy the story line and it gave me a few good laughs.

Pages: 253

SPOILER

I thought the author kind of threw Jim Alexander's death at you but at the same time it was pretty realistic.  I feel like the main place someone would find out about someone's death would be the news (in this case the newspaper) if you weren't close to them or their family.