The True Nature of the Program

One of the worst things imaginable is for a parent to lose their child. The idea of teen suicide becoming an uncontrollable epidemic has to be something we can't even imagine. In Suzanne Young's The Program, we see a world that has done everything to find a way to stop their teens from killing themselves. Unfortunately, the Program might not be as successful as they had hoped. 

Sloane survived her brother Brady's suicide, but only because she had James to help her survive the tragedy. With suicide rates amongst teens out of control, the government has started a few pilot operations of the Program. The Program is meant to monitor teens for any sign of depression or an inclination of wanting to hurt themselves; if spotted, students are then pulled from their schools, entered in the Program, and once they are cured, they are returned to a self-contained school for returners, sans all memories that might have contaminated them in the first place. For Sloane, James and Miller, the Program is the worst kind of abuse, and they would do anything to avoid it... until Miller can't go on living after his girlfriend returns from the Program and doesn't even recognize him. 

James barely survived the loss of Brady, but Miller's choice has sent him over the edge. Unable to get a grip, he is flagged as a potential for the Program. Sloane tries to survive without James as her rock, but she isn't doing so well. When he returns and clearly doesn't remember her, it is too much for Sloane to handle. Her parents become worried about her state of mind, and they choose to do the only thing they think will save their only surviving child: they contact the Program. What they don't know is that the Program has its own demons. Could the very program that is meant to save the world's children be the thing that is driving them to take their own lives?

I wavered back and forth with this book throughout the entire thing. First I was really intrigued, then I was really turned off, and finally I ended up wanting to know where the second book was going to go (but admitting to myself it might have been better without a second book). I knew a book about teenage suicide wasn't going to be sunshine and daisies, but there were parts of this book that were pretty disturbing. In particular, when Sloane was enrolled in the Program. I fully accept that being disturbed as a reader was what Young was going for, but it was almost too much at times. So much that it actually turned me off from the book at one point. I won't give you any spoilers, but I am sure you can figure out what I am talking about when you read it yourself.

For a number of reasons, I find myself struggling to picture the kind of reader I would give this book to. I know it would be a small population, but I still can't think of anyone off the top of my head, in terms of students, who could handle the strange and sometimes highly disturbing subject matter. Don't get me wrong, Young did a good job of handling such delicate subject matter with careful hands, but there were times where I think she almost went too far- farther than she needed to in order to accomplish her goal. I will certainly be reading the second book, but I am not sure I really even liked this book. It absolutely got me thinking and that is the sign of a great book, but then again, you don't necessarily have to LIKE a book to appreciate how much it made you think!

There are No Limits

Do you know that feeling when a book far surpasses the expectations you had for it? When you read a book and think to yourself, "It is so good I don't want it to end!" When I started katie McGarry's Pushing the Limits, I expected teen romance. What I got was so much more.

Echo was once the popular girl with everything going for her, but two years ago she fell off the grid. Her brother died in Afganistan, her mother disappeared, and her father married her former babysitter, but Echo has a secret almost no one knows. Her arms are horribly scarred from something that happened to her at the hands of her own mother, something so terrible Echo has repressed all memories of that day. Living life like an empty shell, Echo is back in therapy, but something is different this time.

Noah lost his parents in a house fire, lost his brothers to foster parents, and the only thing that keeps him in line is the idea that he might get them back when he turns 18. After punching his first foster father (who was abusing his own son), Noah has been bounced from house to house, but he has been at this house with his foster brother and sister for a while. Isaiah and Beth are just as damaged as Noah, but together they make a decent but dysfunctional little family who actually care about each other. But when Noah continues to press the courts and the system to get more visitation with his brothers, their foster parents block him every time. In order to appear to be following the rules, Noah agrees to therapy to deal with everything he has lived through... as long as getting his brothers back is the end result.

What Echo and Noah don't expect is to be put together with Echo tutoring Noah by their mutual therapist. It seems like it would end in disaster, bad boy with tattoos and little rich girl with everything she ever wanted, but their mutual demons give them something in common. Two people who have not had the happy loving lives all children should have find comfort and respect in one another. Together they fill in each other's empty spaces until they become whole again. But there is more at stake than anyone understands. With the emergence of every repressed memory, Echo gets closer to the terrifying truth of what her mother did to scar her, physically and emotionally, and with everything Noah does, his actions and choices are scrutinized to the point where he could lose all hope of getting his brothers back. They know the risks, they fight the feeling, but how can you turn your back on the one person who makes your shattered life whole again?

Oh, sweet Zeus. I loved this book. I read this book, turned the last page, closed my eyes to digest for a minute, and started at the beginning again. This book defied all my preconceived assumptions with buckets of dynamite. With 50 pages to go, my husband came into the living room to find me holding the book with a troubled look on my face. He asked me what was wrong, and I said, "I don't want this book to end!" Yes, he laughed at me a little, but it was true. I didn't want to let go of Echo and Noah. They were the most dynamic, tragic, and beautiful characters I have read in a long time. By 50 pages into this book, you know these characters so well you find yourself laughing, crying, living, and dying along with them. I couldn't believe such characters could exist... especially with such a cheesy cover!

And why would publishers choose to cheapen this incredible story with such a craptastic cover? I will never understand that, but I hope people will look beyond the cheese to see the heart of this really fantastic story. It isn't just a romantic story. There is so much more to this story that the feelings between Echo and Noah are only a fraction of what makes this story so wonderful. The writing is so raw and real you will find yourself hanging on each and every word, living the story along with them. The demons these two carry with them are so difficult to digest, and you never really know the whole story. But most of all, the sacrifice they make for themselves, for their families, and finally, for each other, is beautiful. I loved this book both times I read it and I know I will be reading it again soon. This is the kind of book that stays with you for a long time. So give Noah and Echo some life, because every page makes them just a little more real.