No. of pages: 400+
Plot: 8/10
Characters and development: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
Recommend: Yes (for people with a love for thrill and emotions)

I borrowed this book from the nearby library, and it took me about a week and a half to finish reading it. Once I started reading it I was completely hooked, because it was that good. I pretty much have no complaints about this book; it was so captivating, so thrilling and so exciting, I couldn't wait to see where the plot would go.

The Program is set in a world where depression had become a worldwide epidemic within the population of youths, with suicide rates among youths soaring high. Thus the Program was set up in order to "cure" youths who were infected. The problem was that cured youths that came out of the Program did not remember much about their past: their friends, who they dated, the experiences they had. The plot is centred around Sloane and her boyfriend James, who had lost many of their closest friends to the epidemic or to the Program. Young seamlessly incorporates the couple's past experiences into the present, giving readers the backstory of how their relationship came about. Eventually, James and Sloane both succumb to the epidemic, and are both forced to enter the Program. Of course, even though they struggled, they came out of it remembering nothing about each other, and are left to search for their soulmates again with old emotions in their hearts but no memories of where they came from.

The book comes in 3 parts: before the Program, during the Program and after the Program, in Sloane's point of view. I found it amazing how the book had a cyclical quality to it; how Sloane's past experiences with James became new experiences after they both went through the Program. The raw emotions as described by Young felt so real; at one point I actually put down the book deciding not to read it any more because the vivid descriptions Young wrote about Sloane's depression was too real and making me feel depressed as well. But obviously, I took the book up again because it was just too captivating to pass.

Perhaps the only criticism I had for this book was the fact that depression cannot be so easily defined - it is not a matter of whether one has it or not. There are various factors that lead to a gradual change from a normal to a depressed person, and not a sudden switch from one to the other. In this respect the plot was a little unrealistic. But other than that, I have nothing but praise for Young's book. I definitely recommend it for those who are looking to read something different, something that would spark raw emotions. This book would undoubtedly cause one to smile, cry and be angry all at the same time. It's one of my best reads this year so far.

No. of pages: 400+
Plot: 8/10
Characters and development: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
Recommend: Yes (for people with a love for thrill and emotions)

I borrowed this book from the nearby library, and it took me about a week and a half to finish reading it. Once I started reading it I was completely hooked, because it was that good. I pretty much have no complaints about this book; it was so captivating, so thrilling and so exciting, I couldn't wait to see where the plot would go.

The Program is set in a world where depression had become a worldwide epidemic within the population of youths, with suicide rates among youths soaring high. Thus the Program was set up in order to "cure" youths who were infected. The problem was that cured youths that came out of the Program did not remember much about their past: their friends, who they dated, the experiences they had. The plot is centred around Sloane and her boyfriend James, who had lost many of their closest friends to the epidemic or to the Program. Young seamlessly incorporates the couple's past experiences into the present, giving readers the backstory of how their relationship came about. Eventually, James and Sloane both succumb to the epidemic, and are both forced to enter the Program. Of course, even though they struggled, they came out of it remembering nothing about each other, and are left to search for their soulmates again with old emotions in their hearts but no memories of where they came from.

The book comes in 3 parts: before the Program, during the Program and after the Program, in Sloane's point of view. I found it amazing how the book had a cyclical quality to it; how Sloane's past experiences with James became new experiences after they both went through the Program. The raw emotions as described by Young felt so real; at one point I actually put down the book deciding not to read it any more because the vivid descriptions Young wrote about Sloane's depression was too real and making me feel depressed as well. But obviously, I took the book up again because it was just too captivating to pass.

Perhaps the only criticism I had for this book was the fact that depression cannot be so easily defined - it is not a matter of whether one has it or not. There are various factors that lead to a gradual change from a normal to a depressed person, and not a sudden switch from one to the other. In this respect the plot was a little unrealistic. But other than that, I have nothing but praise for Young's book. I definitely recommend it for those who are looking to read something different, something that would spark raw emotions. This book would undoubtedly cause one to smile, cry and be angry all at the same time. It's one of my best reads this year so far.