YA Fanatic

I only just realized that there is indeed a sequel to this book. I have read this before and decided to listen to it to refresh my memory on specific plotline's and character points. I definitely liked it as much as I did the first time.

Imagine a world where suicide is an epidemic. Kids between the ages 13 and 17 are eligible to be taken by the program - created by the government. The Program is supposed to cure suicide. When you come out of it, you remember nothing of your past life.

Sloan, her boyfriend James, and his best friend Miller have to keep up appearances in order to keep far away from the program. With Sloan's brother dead its becoming harder and harder, and when Lacey comes back, memories swiped, knowing nothing of her best friend, Sloan, and her boyfriend Miller, keeping a straight face becomes near impossible for the three best friends. They just have to make it to 18 to be free of the program.

This is about a tough subject, there are tough scenes, and it is probably not a book for everybody. But I really liked the world and the idea. The dystopian theme is very, very strong, a program controlling kids and parents, making them think that they are there to cure suicide.

There is a lot of romance, in fact its pretty heavy - not in the smut way - just a big part of the plot. Told in the first person through Sloan, we see flashbacks on how her and James got together, how their romance develops and how the two are willing to do anything for each other.

The one big thing that did annoy me is that Sloan is almost too dependent on James. She's constantly waiting for him to take care of things, for him to protect her. I do love how strong their connection is, I just wanted her to break out and become a strong, independent woman.

I am looking forward to reading the sequel, The Treatment, which I have in my pile of books to read, there were plenty of things left unanswered in this book, including the fate of our main characters.

Audio Book: This wasn't my favorite. I'm not sure if the author was trying to pull off dull characters because of the suicide theme, but, if I didn't love the plot so much the voice and tones of the characters would have bored me.