The Program by Suzanne Young

    In America, teen suicide has reached epidemic levels, killing one out of every three young people, while the suicide rate for adults has remained steady. Psychologists say suicide is a behavioral contagion that spreads from one person to another. A treatment program has been put into place in some school districts to combat the rise in suicide and despair. Pupils are closely watched for indications of depression or suicidal ideation; if a threat is found, it is identified. When a teen is recognized as being at risk, handlers are called in and enroll the person. When a person enters, all of the "infected memories" are removed, and they are then sent back to their family without any memory of the events that had caused them to become melancholy. "Returners" are placed in aftercare, where specialized handlers keep an eye out for relapses. This is The Program. 

    When Brady, Sloane's elder brother, and James' best friend, kills himself, everyone instantly turns their attention to Sloane and James. The couple makes an effort to behave as "normally" as possible, but James eventually enters the program because the agony and memories of that terrible day are too much for him to handle. All of his memories—both happy and bad—are completely wiped throughout the six-week stay. He changes completely. 

    Suicidal ideas are absolutely absent from my head. Yet when Sloane comes to see him, he has no idea who she is since he has lost all memory of who she is. Sloane's parents decided to have her handled because of how rejected she feels and the painful memories of her brother's passing. She makes every effort to defend herself as the two men arrive at her residence. She wakes up in a new location, which indicates that the attempted retribution was a poor decision. As she learns "they" have her, she makes every effort to refuse to obey, but it is ineffective since she is injected with sleeping pills along with a dosage of memory-erasing medicines. She changes into a new person and loses her memories against her choice. When she is allowed to return to her previous life, she encounters James, a boy she finds cute. Will James and Sloane defeat the program? Or will they get flagged? 

I think I finished this book in 2 days. I definitely could have in one. The pacing is absolutely terrible, first half is SLOW, mainly because of all the little cutesy moments with Sloane and James. But you know, go them. This book is dark dystopian/romance. Those are my 2 favorite genres in 1. Yes, the pacing was bad but I just couldn't put the book down. LIKE I HAD TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS COMING NEXT OR I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO STOP THINKING ABOUT IT. After reading this book I ended up buying the entire series and it did not disappoint! I have recommended this book to so many people. If you have not read it, READ IT!! You will not be disappointed. this author is so intelligent with her writing and you can really feel what the characters are feeling and what they're going through. 

Thanks for reading,

Lynn Lee