The Treatment (Program, #2)

by Suzanne Young

[Kelly]

I was surprised that The Treatment was the final installment in The Program series, making the duology fast paced and action packed. The Treatment begins with the young lovers Sloane and James on the run from The Program, a place where depressed teens are sent and medicated to steal their dark and negative memories. It begun as a few random teen suicides, but quickly spread to epidemic proportions. The storyline raises issues long held with teens, of how parents and adults can easily fail to relate to their children and lack understanding. The parents of the series don't see that teens experience a wide range of emotions, including depression and sadness, and send them off to The Program. The government brainwashing adults to believe that taking the dark memories of teens is the only way to stop a growing suicide epidemic. In The Treatment, the reader is introduced to both founders of The Program, adults who both begun with the best of intentions, but quickly spiraled out of control when the facilities were taken over.

Previous characters will resurface and we're introduced to new characters, such as Dallas and Asa. Dallas is a victim of The Program, but hides the horror of her experience behind a tough and sometimes terribly blunt facade. Asa is a carer within the facility, who steps up when the rebel teens need him most. A stroke of genius for Suzanne Young to wrap the series up within the two novels, eliminating the unnecessary middle book syndrome that so many of our favourite series suffer. I really enjoyed it and absolutely adored the Epilogue, one of the best I've read. If you love an awesome young adult science fiction, oppressive regimes and fighting a system that seems as though you have no hope of derailing, this series is it.

Even Chuck Norris approves.