The Program & The Treatment by 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."
My boyfriend bought me a paperback copy of The Program along with some other books for my birthday. It took me about a month and a half to actually pick it up, since I had so many other books on my shelves, but I wish I had picked it up sooner.
Set in a time where depression is thought to be "contagious" and suicide has become an epidemic, these books just blew me away. After about 25 percent, I couldn't even bring myself to put The Program down. The twists and turns that Sloane and James go through just during the first two "parts" (of three) of the story, though inevitable, are just insane. There are definitely some unexpected plot points that happen during Sloane's time in the program. (I'd put that as a spoiler, but clearly there are two people holding hands in scrubs on the front - so that's just obvious.)
I finished the last 70 percent of The Program in less than a day, so I had to immediately run to Barnes & Noble to purchase The Treatment. I couldn't wait to tackle it!
The Treatment was more than I expected from a sequel to such a fantastically written book. If you're looking for surprises, you're definitely going to get them by reading this one!
I own both of these (thank goodness) so I can add them to my shelf and let friends borrow it or even read it again in the future. I also plan on reading The Recovery as soon as I can get my hands on it. I'll buy The Remedy once it comes out on paperback.
Books related to The Program & The Treatment:
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
"Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe. I wonder whether the procedure will hurt. I want to get it over with. It's hard to be patient. It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet. Still, I worry. They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't."
I bought this book for my kindle in October of 2014 without ever picking it up. I went through a horrible reading slump throughout the middle of 2015, so that explains why I kept forgetting that it was on there waiting for me.
Delirium is also a dystopian that has something that is contagious,,, but that thing is a disease, named amor deliria nervosa, commonly referred to as "the deliria". That's right, LOVE is believed to be a disease to these people - so they've developed a cure which is mandatory for anyone once they turn eighteen,
Delirium had a lot of predictable moments, but I was too captivated by the relationships between the characters to care. I get tingles in my stomach when I think of how much Lena actually changes throughout the book. She starts off as a do-gooder who just wants to live her life and is counting down the days until she can finally have her procedure.
I plan on picking up the second in the series, Pandemonium again, but there were so many things that happen at the end of Delirium that made me hesitant on even picking it up in the first place. I'll be posting a review on it once I finish, though, cause I definitely will.
Books related to Delirium:
Honorable Mention
Books that I enjoyed a lot, but wouldn't rate them 4 1/2 stars+
