The Treatment by Suzanne Young Review

The Treatment by Suzanne Young
(The Program #2)
Release Date: April 29, 2014
Publisher: Simon Pulse; 352 pages
Rating: 

Can Sloane and James survive the lies and secrets surrounding them, or will The Program claim them in the end? Find out in this sequel to The Program, which Publishers Weekly called “chilling and suspenseful.”

How do you stop an epidemic?

Sloane and James are on the run after barely surviving the suicide epidemic and The Program. But they’re not out of danger. Huge pieces of their memories are still missing, and although Sloane and James have found their way back to each other, The Program isn’t ready to let them go.

Escaping with a group of troubled rebels, Sloane and James will have to figure out who they can trust, and how to take down The Program. But for as far as they’ve come, there’s still a lot Sloane and James can’t remember. The key to unlocking their past lies with the Treatment—a pill that can bring back forgotten memories, but at a high cost. And there’s only one dose.

Ultimately when the stakes are at their highest, can Sloane and James survive the many lies and secrets surrounding them, or will The Program claim them in the end?

Warning there will be spoilers to The Program in this review.  If you do not wish to be spoiled, please proceed with caution.

I need to read more duologies.  Duologies get right to the point.  There isn't any unnecessary filler, nor are there any unexpected plotlines thrown in just to prolong the story.  The Program and The Treatment were both such a delight to read.  Yes, I am saying delight even though they feature a very strong subject matter.  I feel like every chapter in both books were necessary to the plot, and moved the story along very nicely.  This series is very character driven.  The lead protagonist's story grips you down to your very soul.  I can't tell you how much empathy I have for Sloane.  I wanted to give her a hug numerous times while reading.  She's definitely the heart of the series.

The Treatment picks up right where The Program ends.  It was revealed that the suicide epidemic has spread.  It is no longer just affecting teens.  Adults are at risk as well.  Sloane and James are on the run from the program.  They take refuge with Dallas and Cas.  Two others who are also hiding from the program.  At first I didn't really like Dallas.  I thought she was too bold and a little snooty.  But as the story progresses and you get to know her, you really do empathize with her.

But of course the foundation is Sloane and James.  When little snippets of them being lovey dovey are shown, as a reader you can't help but smile.  They two of them are just so adorable.  They've both beaten so many odds, and you want them to succeed.  You want them to fight this illness.  It probably because I have always been a hopeless romantic who believes that love can conquer all (at least in books, in real life I don't' know so much about that)  But the realism of Sloane and James relationship is crucial.  Yes.  Teenagers have sex.  No their sex life doesn't have to be this big thing.  James and Sloane love each other.  Point taken.  I think that was something that has always drawn me to this series.

As I've mentioned in reviews, in recent years I've been annoyed with love triangles in young adult books.  I find them to be overdone, and try to stay away from them.  But Michael Realm is a character that I love to hate.  And I wouldn't really call Sloane, James, and Realm a love triangle.  Also the dynamic between these 3 add a lot to the story.  I don't feel like Realm was just thrown in there to throw a wrench into their relationship, like I often find in love triangles.  Realm adds so much to the story.  In fact, I would LOVE a Realm spin off.  Because as much as I wanted to punch him in the face, at the same time I wanted to know what makes him tick.  There is something that is revealed about him that I thought was just so awful.

I did not want to put this book down.  In fact, I even read it while I was in the car.  Which is something that I never do because I get car sick.  But I just wanted to know what happened next!  Another interesting thing is the epilogue.  Now I am not easy to please when it comes to epilogues.  Some of my favorite books have had some of the worse epilogues ever.  But not this one.  I was so emotional after reading the epilogue, even though it was only a few pages.  But it just made sense.  Everything about this book made sense.  It wraps up well.  This was my first series by Suzanne Young, it did not disappoint, and honestly I can't wait to read more of her writing.