Review : The Treatment by Suzanne Young

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : The Treatment (The Program #2)
Author : Suzanne Young
Publication Date : April 29th 2014
Publisher : Simon Pulse 
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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?

Personal Thoughts

I've been wanting to read The Treatment ever since I finished The Program last year. It was an intense and emotional read that made me want to curl up in a ball and cry for the pain the characters were going through. Still, I was convinced that Suzanne Young would not leave me feeling hopeless after The Treatment, so I did manage to come out of my mini cry-fest. For the most part, The Treatment was a satisfying conclusion to a duology, but I was a little disappointed with how the book wrapped up.

My heart broke for all the obstacles that Sloane and James had to go through in the first book, but regardless of how much people tried to separate the two of them, they found each other at the end of The Program. Their romance has always been my favorite part of this series. It's the kind of romance that is intense, deep and based on love and respect. I was glad that they were still going strong at the beginning of The Treatment. James was his usual snarky, sweet self, but some of the changes in Sloane's character had me shaking my head a couple of times. Sloane came across as a little naive from time to time and some of her choices baffled me, especially when it came to Realm, a guy she met in The Program who claims to love her. Yes, there is a love triangle, but Sloane doesn't reciprocate Realm's feelings. It's clear from the page of the first book that Sloane and James are the end-game. There's absolutely no doubt about that but that doesn't mean Realm's presence didn't bother me. He was like annoying itch on your back that's hard to get rid of. I didn't like how Sloane would let him do little things like hold her hands, kiss her hands and constantly remind her of how much more he loves her than James does without saying anything to him. I just wanted him to disappear. For good. We also get to meet a few new characters who added to the story.

As far as the story goes, it's mostly about the aftermath of Sloane and James having lost their memories and trying to get back to who they were. It's a lot of constant running, but I have to admit that it left me feeling pretty breathless. I was terrified for these characters because I've grown to really care for them. I did wish that we could have learned a little more about the rebels. However, we do learn a lot more about The Program, especially as to how it came to be and who was behind it. It was interesting concept but I feel like the causes of the depression could have been elaborated on. In addition, I was left a little conflicted about the ending. It was definitely the kind of ending I like, but it was rushed and sort of came out of no where, honestly. It wrapped up a little too fast for my liking. Still though, this was a decent read that I will still recommend despite my mixed feelings for The Treatment.

My review might sound like I had many qualms with The Treatment, but I still very much enjoyed it and this will remain one of my favorite dystopian series, but if I have to choose a favorite between The Treatment and The Program, it's going to have to be The Program.

Rating

Cover : 3/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 3/5
Writing : 4/5

**Overall Rating : 3.5/5**


Thank you to Edelweiss and Simon Pulse for the e-ARC of The Treatment.

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