The Program

Exploring a dystopian science fiction premise, Suzanne Young explores the power of memory and love in her young adult novel The Program (2014), which spawned several sequels.

Sloane, a teenager, sits in class talking with Kendra. Kendra and Sloane haven’t been close for some time, and Kendra is obviously depressed, looking physically bad and joking about a poison called QuickDeath. Sloane struggles with her aversion to interacting with Kendra, but their chat is interrupted as two ‛handlers,’ men in white jackets, enter the classroom and take Kendra away.

In this future, teen suicide, which has reached epic proportions, is considered a kind of infection. The Program has been devised to prevent suicides; as children evince the signs of depression, they are forced into The Program, returning months later as empty shells, their memories largely removed. For Sloane and other children, this seems like a fate worse than a simple suicide. Sloane remembers her brother Brady’s suicide two years earlier; a few weeks before, her friend Lacey was taken by The Program when Lacey’s father called to report her as sick. Sloane is terrified she will be taken next. Many of her friends have expressed that they would prefer death to the emptiness that The Program leaves behind.



Sloane, her boyfriend, James, and their friend, Miller—Lacey’s boyfriend—conspire to evade The Program by carefully pretending to be happy at all times. They hope this will enable them to deal with the tragedies in their lives without being taken away. They hear that Lacey has returned from the Program and is attending a different school. Miller decides he must know if she remembers him, and he goes to find her. He discovers that she has no memory of him at all, and is a blank slate, an empty person. Distraught, Miller kills himself.

Sloane and James are shaken; James cannot handle the loss of his friend. Despite their efforts to act happy, James is soon taken into The Program, leaving Sloane all alone. Sloane manages to hang on until James returns, showing no recognition of her at all. Pushed over the edge, Sloane becomes openly depressed, and her mother contacts The Program and has Sloane taken away.

Sloane attempts to resist The Program but is helpless. She is forced into drugged therapy sessions with Dr. Warren. She is forced to take a red pill that induces her to talk openly about herself, and Dr. Warren guides her to reveal her deepest secrets and memories, especially about James. Then she is given a yellow pill that erases those memories completely. Sloane attempts to stop taking the pills, but this is quickly discovered and, thereafter, she is held down and the drugs are injected into her to ensure her compliance.



Sloane meets Michael Realm in The Program. He is friendly and seems to care about her, and she takes comfort in having a friend to lean on. Sloane comes to have feelings for Michael but begins to suspect he is not what he seems when he tells her that when she leaves The Program he will find her and make contact.

When Sloane completes The Program she is empty and has no memory of James or other recent events. Sloane’s parents have completely redone her room and purchased an all-new wardrobe for her in an effort to forestall her slipping back into her old life. She goes to a different high school and is assigned a handler named Kevin to oversee her reintroduction into society. Kevin tells her that when the time is right he will put her in touch with Michael.

At school, Sloane meets James. Despite having no memory of him, she is strongly attracted to him and senses a familiarity. Alarmed, Sloane’s parents warn her to stay away from James. Kevin also warns her, but Sloane cannot resist—she feels that something is missing.



Michael meets Sloane and tells her he wants to be with her. Sloane is confused, having feelings for both Michael and James. Sloane regains her memories; Michael is revealed to be secretly working with The Program; Sloane was considered a difficult case, and his job was to help her through the process. Michael insists to Sloane that he did have legitimate feelings for her, but Sloane, remembering her love for James, rejects him.

In an epilogue, Michael is shown encountering a different girl in The Program. He uses the same scripted lines on her, even mistakenly calling her Sloane a few times, revealing that he was lying: Sloane was not a special case; Michael had deceived many other girls in The Program at the behest of his bosses. Michael feels bad and has regrets about what he has done.