The Program

By: Suzanne Young

Narrated by: Joy Osmanski

Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Includes a bonus interview with the author.

©2013 Suzanne Young (P)2013 Simon & Schuster

Pleasantly Suprised

Definitely hooked me in with the story line - Bought the second book of the series as soon as I was done with the first one!

Teenage dystopian story for girls

The book is not extremely graphic, but it has sexual content and a great deal of sexual tension. Perhaps I am a bit "old fashioned", but I did not think the casual approach to recreational and pre-marital sex was appropriate, especially from an author who teaches in a high school. I hope I do not find my children or grandchildren accepting the level of morality that this book takes for granted. I guess the story is about a different time and different place and as a work of fiction perhaps we have to go with it for the sake of the story, but I fear this attitude is entirely too pervasive in our youth of today.

I enjoyed the performance of the reader. The ending left me hanging a bit, but I didn't realize until I finished it that this was just the first of a 6 book series. The open ended ending was by design.

The story did suggest some interesting philosophical questions about whether it would be better to risk the possibility of suicide for your children or to have their memories erased and having them try to adjust to a new life with great holes in their memory of their past. Our memories are what makes us who we are.

The story line was interesting, but I could have gotten on with my life quite well if I had left this book on the shelf. Even without the issue of sexual tension, I would not have invested the time and money for this book, let alone the time or money for 5 more books like this one.

Excellent first book in this series

I really enjoyed this book and story. It was an interesting take on the mental health crisis facing many parts of the world, though the book takes place in some type of alternate universe or dystopian society. I really liked the main characters and felt empathetic towards their situation. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. Many times I would stay in my car long past when I arrived home in order to hear more of the story. I was a bit disappointed when the story ended, because I wasn't fond of the ending. However, when I realized that this is just the first book in a series, I was no longer disappointed. The ending made more sense, because it wasn't a true ending per se. It was just an ending to this part of the overall story. I quickly purchased book 2 in the series because I really want to hear what happens next to these characters. I don't want to say much about the plot out of fear of giving it away, but it is a really interesting concept for a story and I found it be quite thought-provoking.

This was meh

I thought about it for a while before writing my review and choosing the ratings. This book could have been infinitely better but it did some things that made me regret spending on it (can't remember if it was a credit or wallet).

I'll start with the performance. The narrator was quite flat for most of the story. Whether they whispered, cried, sobbed, or yelled, they all sounded the same as if she was stating the weather. Closer to the end of the story she did use more tone, but before that, I cringed every time the same tone was used for every expression.

Now, onto the story. Where do I start? The only reason I didn't give this book 1 star was because about one third into it, it became a little more interesting.

Let's start by the plot. We are told that teen suicide has spiked though apparently no one is really investigating this and they just assume that it's because the "overuse" of antidepressants in the parents made teens weaker to it. First off, did every single parent in the world take antidepressants? Because the sudden spike of suicide, so out of nowhere, was too widespread. It would mean that every single parent for generations had been taking antidepressants and this new generation suddenly couldn't handle it. It just made no sense and there was no attempt to explore this.

So we have teens dying, and suddenly everyone who shows any sort of emotion that isn't happiness is flagged as suicidal. Parents, teachers, even psychologists! You're telling me that these adults don't know the freaking difference between having emotions and being suicidal? And teachers and psychologists should know even more how teens are by nature hormonal and emotional wrecks. They know that this is normal! Yet no one in this freaking world who is over 18 seems to remember that being sad or frustrated is a very normal thing and doesn't mean you're suicidal. It makes no sense how they're all so hysteric about it.

Now, we have The Program, the one thing designed to save teens from suicide. Just one problem; they're evil! And the government isn't allowed to investigate their methods cuz "it can disrupt the process and put the kids at risk". So, you're telling me that they're working with teens at high risk, messing with their minds, and the government won't push cuz"oh we said no cuz we need our privacy to deal with them." That's all sorts of red flags that would have merited a police squad to break in. Still, what I don't understand is why the author decided to make these people who are supposedly so adamants about helping their kids "bad." The way they are treated, the disregard for their emotions, the cruelness that they sometimes use while pretending to be so nice and happy just never seemed to fit. It felt more like a forceful foil to add a villainous figure to the story.

Speaking of forceful villainous figures, we have Roger.

WARNING, partial spoiler alert, tho I won't go into specific details and you can see this coming the second this character is introduced.

Roger is a handler, one of the people who monitor students and take them to the program if they show signs of suicide sickness. This guy from the moment he arrived, was staring sleazily at our main character, Sloane. In the middle of the school, might I add. He literally follows her around with a smirk and no one seems to notice this guy and his disgusting behavior. He is a standard, cookie-cutter picture of a sleazy guy. That's all he is. The way he talks, the things he says, the things he does, it's all just that. He has no other characteristics other than being sleazy. And apparently, no one in the freaking program ever noticed him stalking girls, and having sexual advances on them, eve so far as to suggest he raped a few (all rooms are monitored and can be heard and seen in so it's no excuse). He was there only to be that creepy dude that embodied a villain for no other reason than to have a villain. Oh, and you're more likely to go to jail if you ever spill any information the program doesn't want to share than you are for sexually harassing girls.

Now, for our main character, Sloane. She's as weak as you can get them. She needs constant support. She needs a boy to tell her that everything will be alright. She needs to be rescued because she might put up a semblance of a fight and then just need help. And she'll do anything a handsome boy tells her to do, be it her boyfriend or her future friend. She's basically nothing without a boy. As for her attempts to fight the program.... well she didn't attempt anything really. There were so many possible solutions that I could think of for her to work with her situations in the program, yet she tried to use Roger? Really? We have someone who can literally fetch your files and read you back all the info in the memories you lost, (tho later we see that wouldn't have been possible but she could have used what little brain she had to try) or she could pretend to swallow the pills but keep them hidden in her mouth. There’s a time where she became resistant to the dosage that makes her speak her memories! So why the hell did she have to be so fucking stupid and go against the doctor when she could have LIED!!! She could have taken advantage of this and just lie to keep her memories. But guess what? Our dim-witted main character considers lying.... AFTER she’s been given a stronger dosage. The fact that she even considered it at that point was enough to make me stop reading for some time, because this shows that this was a possibility, but she just had to be stupid. She also could find a way to write down all she doesn’t want to forget and hide it. If you’re telling me they can’t have pens or paper, again, we have a guy who can get “contraband” from the outside. I just think the main character was dim witted, so much so that it took her more than a week to even realize what the hell was happening when it was so painfully obvious from the very start.

Another thing that really annoyed me about this is the repetition of memories and past events. Sloane recounts the past several times. We get some info on her before she is sent to the program, and then we have to go through that same information again. It might have a few extra details, but I don't care about it at all. It's all sappy romance stuff about her relationship with her boyfriend James. Literally, all she can ever think about is James. He is literally the thing that defines her. This repetition of memories really didn't add anything to the story. This could hve been fixed by avoiding all the memory recall at the start and leaving it for her time in the program.

As for the boys in this series, there's only one way to describe them, and that is cocky confidence and possessiveness. That's it. All boys here act only like that. They can be assholes too, and basically get away with it. And their respect for women is questionable. Speaking of boys, Realm, Sloane's friend in the program.

WARNING for trigger warnings and actual spoiler information

does some things that are right sexual harassment. You can't tell me that because she decided to kiss him back after fighting him off and failing, this is made okay. You can't tell me that climbing into bed with a girl under the influence, even if it's to hold her to you when she clearly doesn't want you to touch her, is okay. You can't tell me that kissing who is now oblivious to what you did to her because you drugged her for your own sake, is alright. Yet he never sees consequences or is written as someone bad. He might have had a good chance of being a better foil than Roger had there been actual consequences for his actions.

I never want to dislike a book. I avoid going in with either expectations or ideas of what the story will be like because I know that it's unfair to the author. They can't possibly make a story for how each of us imagines it. But I do expect a good execution of the story and its elements, and sadly, there was hardly anything enjoyable in this story.

Can't wait for the next book!!!!

What did you love best about The Program?

I was pleasantly surprised on how much I really liked this book. It did have some repetitive sayings but the storyline pulled me in enough for me to have forgotten about them. I really hope the sequel comes out soon. I keep looking to see if there is a set date for the audio version. Please start writting Suzanne Young!!! :D

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Program?

The unfolding after the forgetting.

What does Joy Osmanski bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Different tones and attitudes of the characters...quite enjoyable

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yup! Will listen to again before the next one.

Any additional comments?

I recommend it to all my friends. Hope to read more of Suzanne Young's work

The Program is WONDERFUL!

Where does The Program rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The Program ranks on my list as #3 best audiobook series I have listen too! Great for a car trip to GA!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Program?

The program itself is a great and twisted thought!

What does Joy Osmanski bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Joy brings the story to another of a heart moving story a couple is not allowed to be together after the program and find each other still!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was creeped out about Roger and I did laugh once of twice also was on the edge of my seat the entire time!

Any additional comments?

GREAT! AMAZING! HEARTBREAK! CREEPY! ILOVEITSOMUCH Cant wait for book 2 !

Definitely a YA novel

The romance is childish, the idea of banning antidepressants definely is the only way this plot works at all. Even if it doesn't make sense. IDK it was just kind of boring in the end.

awesome

one of the best books I've Read. it's supereasy to Read/hear and the voice was perfect!

Fun YA dystopia

Nice. I’m enjoying YA lately, and The Program fit well in that trend. I liked the story premise, as well as the love stories.

Could happen today

Great read for those of us who do not trust the government. Ms. Young really puts you in the action. Loved the entire book.