Suzanne Young – Adventures in Reading

TTT: Top Ten (Or More) Auto Buy Authors

August 18, 2015August 7, 2015 by Alexia, posted in Brandy Colbert, Corey Ann Haydu, Courtney C. Stevens, Emery Lord, Jessica Verdi, Kate Karyus Quinn, Rachael Allen, Stephanie Kuehn, Suzanne Young, Tess Sharpe, Top Ten (Or More) Auto Buy Authors, Trish Doller, TTT

cd680-ttt This weekly feature is hosted by the ladies of The Broke and the Bookish

This week we’re talking about the authors that we consider our auto buy authors. This list was pretty easy for me. I don’t think most of you will be surprised by the authors on my list.

Emery Lord

Brandy Colbert

Tess Sharpe

Stephanie Kuehn

Courtney C. Stevens

Jessica Verdi

Kate Karyus Quinn

Trish Doller

Suzanne Young

Corey Ann Haydu

Rachael Allen

So do we share any of the same auto buy authors? Be sure to let me know in the comments!

Review: The Remedy (The Program #0.5) by Suzanne Young

June 25, 2015June 28, 2015 by Alexia, posted in 4 Stars, April 2015 releases, Book review, Edelweiss, prequel, Simon Pulse, Suzanne Young, The Program, The Remedy, The Treatment

Book Title: The Remedy

Author: Suzanne Young

Published Date: April 21st, 2015

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Genre: YA/Dystopian

Series: Prequel from The Program duology

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In a world before The Program…

Quinlan McKee is a closer. Since the age of seven, Quinn has held the responsibility of providing closure to grieving families with a special skill—she can “become” anyone.

Recommended by grief counselors, Quinn is hired by families to take on the short-term role of a deceased loved one between the ages of fifteen and twenty. She’s not an exact copy, of course, but she wears their clothes and changes her hair, studies them through pictures and videos, and soon, Quinn can act like them, smell like them, and be them for all intents and purposes. But to do her job successfully, she can’t get attached.

Now seventeen, Quinn is deft at recreating herself, sometimes confusing her own past with those of the people she’s portrayed. When she’s given her longest assignment, playing the role of Catalina Barnes, Quinn begins to bond with the deceased girl’s boyfriend. But that’s only the beginning of the complications, especially when Quinn finds out the truth about Catalina’s death. And the epidemic it could start.

Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC of this book from Simon Pulse via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review:

Oh my goodness, how much do I love this series?

I read The Program and The Treatment awhile back and reviewed them here & here. When I heard Suzanne Young was writing prequels to this duology I was majorly excited. I had loved The Program and The Treatment and couldn’t wait to get back into the world.

Then I read the synopsis of this book ans was even more intrigued. The idea behind being a closer like Quinn was, was heartbreaking and soul crushing. Grieving families would hire her to be the person who died and she would help them get closure. I suspected there would be lots of feels in this book. In fact, I had kleenex beside me so I’d be prepared.

But for some reason I didn’t feel the feels. I didn’t cry or even get emotional at all. It took me awhile to even get into the book. I considered DNFing it because I just wasn’t feeling invested in it or the characters. But because it was Suzanne Young and I loved this series, I kept reading and kept hoping that I would fall in love with this book.

A little past the halfway mark, it began to pick up and as it began to pick up, I got more invested in Quinn, Declan, Aaron and the other characters. I’m still not exactly sure what caused the shift. Maybe it was my mood prior to Friday night, I’m not sure. All I know is that in a span of 135 pages, my final rating of this book went up significantly.

Like The Program and The Treatment, this book was very character heavy and I generally love character heavy books. I like knowing what makes them who they are, how they got to where they are and what makes them tick. We got a decent chunk of those questions answered, but I was left with more questions. Usually I’d consider that a negative, but in this case, I was okay with it.

Yes there was a twist at the end of the book and it was a twist that absolutely shocked me. For a minute or two I thought it had broken my brain (nope, not kidding about that) It was a twist I never saw coming so I was excited. I love being shocked by a twist. It makes me happy. I am giving it 4 stars because the ending was awesome and it made me really excited for the next book, The Epidemic.

Review: The Treatment (The Program #2) by Suzanne Young

March 31, 2014June 28, 2015 by Alexia, posted in 5 Stars, Arthur, book 2, Cas, Dallas, e-ARC, Edelweiss, Evelyn, James, Kevin, Lacey, perfection, Realm, Roger, Sloane, Suzanne Young, The Program, The Treatment

Book Title: The Treatment (The Program #2)

Author: Suzanne Young

Release Date: April 29th, 2014

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Genre: YA/Dystopian

Series: Book 2 in The Program duology

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Link: Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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?

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

How often is it that less than a week after you feature something in a WOW post, that you get access to an e-ARC of it? Well it happened to me. You may recall that I made The Treatment by Suzanne Young the featured book on my first WOW post. Imagine my joy and elation when I got the email from Edelweiss that my request was accepted.

You may remember that I loved the first book in this duology. My review of The Program is here. All I knew at the end of that book was that I needed more Sloane, James and yes, even Realm.

Well I got more of these three. I also got to meet some new characters. Dallas was a badass and I adored her to pieces.Cassanova “Cas” was a bit of a mystery throughout a lot of it. Then there was Kellan, Asa & Arthur and of course Evelyn. All of them played a part in how the book turned out.Even some returning characters such as Lacey, Kevin and Roger played a part in this sequel.

I’m going to do my absolute best to keep spoilers out of this review but oh my goodness, I loved this book. It was emotionally taxing, but not quite as much as the first book had been. I ugly cried quite a bit while reading this one. There were connections that no one saw coming. There was one connection that I totally called, but for the most part, the bombshells came without a single hint as to what was going to happen.

I still adored James and Sloane’s relationship. At times Sloane was a bit co-dependent on James but those brief moments were just that, brief.They were stronger together than apart and I rooted for them all the way through. I cannot always say that with couples in YA books so James and Sloane were a welcome exception.

Sloane was an awesome character. She was stubborn, she was compassionate and she was loyal. I absolutely adored her. Probably even more than I adored her in the first book. James was awesome too. He seemed different somehow and I couldn’t quite put my finger on how. He seemed more hopeful (the Program creators probably thought it was because of them) He was totally loyal to Sloane, despite a girl making the moves on him.

Realm turned out to have a lot more secrets than anyone could have dreamed! The vast chunk of the bombshells connected to him in some way.By the end, I was no longer sure if he was trustworthy.

I am going to give this book five stars.The editing was great, the feels were back in full force and the characters were awesome and multi-dimensional, which always makes me really happy. It was absolutely perfect and I loved it completely. I definitely plan on pre-ordering a copy of this book.

YA books Made Into Movies

February 21, 2014 by Alexia, posted in A.G. Howard, Discussion Post, Divergent, Ensnared, Harry Potter, Splintered, Suzanne Young, The Program, The Treatment, Trilogy, Twilight, Unhinged, Veronica Roth, YA Books Made Into Movies

So I came up with this discussion idea after the ladies of Epic Reads discussed it on their weekly show called Tea Time this past Wednesday. I love, LOVE books as evidenced by me having a book blog and talking incessantly about books. I am also a major movie buff. There has been an influx of YA books being turned into movies over the past 5-10 years. Some of them have been amazing and some of them have sucked the big one.

I cannot mention YA books & movies without mentioning the 8 Harry Potter movies. Some of them were better than others and one of them I actually enjoyed more than the book (No I didn’t love all seven books the same) There was another one where I adored the book but the movie adaptation of it was terrible. Which depressed the crap outta me.

Twilight, now I read the books once and now looking back, I am embarrassed that I read them. Totally cannot believe that I enjoyed them. However I went to go see Twilight when it came out in theaters and basically hated it. Kristen Stewart just cannot act to save her life. So I got New Moon on Netflix later on and could only make it through about 45 minutes before I had to turn it off. I have yet to see Eclipse or Part 1 & 2 of Breaking Dawn. The idea of a werewolf imprinting on a baby just… BARF!

Now The Hunger Games was a pretty decent movie adaptation. Yes there were changes that people had to accept. However it’s successor Catching Fire basically knocked it out of the park in terms of adapting the book to the movie. They had kept so many of the lines from the book and that thrilled me. The casting for Catching Fire was fantastic (RIP PSH) I even ended up loving Sam Claflin as Finnick though I was initially nervous about as he was my favorite male character in Catching Fire. Jena Malone was PERFECTION as Johanna Mason. They could not have cast that one better.

I have not read Vampire Academy but I saw the premiere for the film and I could not understand the hype. If the books are anything like the previews for the movie, I think I’ll pass. Yikes. It just looks totally cringe-worthy.

Now I am excited about Divergent even though I am still not 100% sold on Theo James as Four (Yes I know I’m crazy) I love that they were able to get some big names into the film (Kate Winslet & Ashley Judd) I really hope that the movie is as good as the previews made it look. I think I’ll be really upset if it ends up not being good.

Now onto the books that I would hate to see made into a movie. The Splintered series by A.G.Howard. I have absolutely adored the first two books but I would be terrified that the movies would be trash. They would have to get just the right director to do it (I would say Tim Burton but he’s already directed Alice in Wonderland and I don’t think he’d do this one.) The special effects would be dynamite, that much I am sure of. So movie people, if you are, by some miracle, reading this, please don’t make Splintered & Unhinged & Ensnared into movies.

My other YA movie don’t is The Program & The Treatment by Suzanne Young. Again, I absolutely LOVED this duology but please movie people bypass this duology. I am absolutely terrified to think what would happen to this series if a director got their hands on it. First off, the books are long so lots would be cut which I would not be happy about. Secondly, I’d be worried about the casting of the key players (James, Sloane & Realm) among others. Amazing books that need to just stay books.

So what books would you hate to see be turned into movies?

The Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry

February 7, 2014June 28, 2015 by Alexia, posted in Corey Ann Haydu, Courtney C. Stevens, Courtney Cole, Jessica Verdi, JK Rowling, John Green, Katie McGarry, Katja Millay, Melissa Kantor, Suzanne Young, The Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry, Trish Doller

So normally I would have done this on Tuesday with everyone else but I had something else scheduled for that day. However this feature is still hosted by the ladies of The Broke & The Bookish no matter when I post this.

This week’s topic was The Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry. This post was both easy and hard for me as I cry a lot when I’m reading. So I may or may not be able to keep it to ten books. We shall see. I’ll try to keep them in order but no promises.
1.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K.Rowling.

This book destroyed me. I cried so much and so hard that I was essentially hyperventilating on the floor of my (ex) best friend’s bedroom floor. I seriously considered sending JKR my therapy bill after this one. I mean…really Jo. Why kill them. Yes I’m being vague for the few people who haven’t finished the series yet.Chapters 32 & 33 did serious emotional damage.

The Program (The Program #1) by Suzanne Young

This book had me basically locked in a fetal position for pretty much the entire book. I loved it, I adored it and I repeatedly told people that it was my favorite read of 2013. I pushed this book so many times but also told people to load up on kleenex.

Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

It’s been no secret that I loved this book. I’ve basically told everyone what an amazingly beautiful and heartbreaking book this is. It’s beautifully written and it made me cry so much. To the point of having to catch my breath between the sobs.

If You Leave (Beautifully Broken #2)

Okay first of all Courtney Cole is a goddess. She knows how to write wonderfully real characters that people can relate to. I loved this story as I could relate so well to Madison and what she experienced as a child. I understood why her childhood experiences made her tentative about love.Watching her realize that she was not going to be her mom and that she deserved love was beautiful and it filled me with a lot of hope.

Where The Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller

Beautiful book about family and how you can overcome things. That just because you experienced things that no child should ever experience, does not mean you are “tainted” or “dirty” or unlovable. Watching Callie evolve from being fiercely loyal to her mom and suspicious of her dad and stepmom to realizing that her dad wanted only the best for her and her mom wasn’t it, was beautiful and at the same time, heart wrenching.

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins

There were two parts that I cried over but they were major parts that involved major characters. I remember finishing the book and just being heartbroken at some of the things that happened. It involved killing off my favorite male character (which I STILL haven’t forgiven Suzanne for) I am not looking forward to those parts in the book.

Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor

This book was more than just another one of those “cancer books” It was a book about loyalty, family and friendship. I remember vividly, finishing my e-ARC of this and just sobbing so hard I was sure I was going to puke. It was beautiful and heartbreaking and gosh just so wonderful.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

So I cried in this book as did many MANY other people. Yet it was funny too which I didn’t expect from a “cancer book” However the last 75 or so pages, I sobbed. It was so heartbreaking and at times I couldn’t believe that this was happening. At this point, I ran out of kleenex so I had to use paper towels.

Pushing The Limits (Pushing The Limits #1) by Katie McGarry

I probably could have put this one further up on the list but I had forgotten about some of the others on the list. Or maybe my brain helped me forget how much I cried over this one. Not sure. Anyway, this book was beautiful and both Noah’s and Echo’s back stories were heartbreaking and pretty much caused a flood of tears through a good chunk of the book.

10.

The Summer I Wasn’t Me by Jessica Verdi

Now this one doesn’t come out until April but I read it and loved it. I cried through a lot of it. The journey that Lexi goes through is inspiring that alone was enough to make me cry. Not to mention the crap that one of her friends’ goes through.

-Honorable Mentions-

Dare You To (Pushing The Limits #3) by Katie McGarry

I love Beth and reading her story was heartbreaking. She is so fiercely loyal to her mom which I understand because I am the same way. Yet she knows that her mom is an adult and she insists on making bad choices. My heart ached for Beth.

The Sea Of Tranquility by Katja Millay

Beautiful writing and beautiful characters. I had managed not to cry until the very end and that’s when the tears started falling. These characters were great characters and I found myself rooting for the couple but also liking Josh’s best friend.

OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu

Yet another amazing debut. Corey Ann Haydu managed to be raw and honest about OCD and the various forms it takes while giving us characters to root for, to smile with and to laugh with. OCD Love Story made me cry mostly because I know what it’s like to deal with OCD on a daily basis and Corey Ann Haydu portrayed it wonderfully.

So there ya go. What books were on your TTT this week? Put your links in the comments and I’ll do my best to stop by.

Top Picks of 2013

December 27, 2013June 28, 2015 by Alexia, posted in A.G. Howard, books, Corey Ann Haydu, Emily Murdoch, Jessica Verdi, lists, Suzanne Young, Tahereh Mafi, top pics of 2013

So I know I already took part in this for another blog, but I also wanted to make a best of post for my own blog. So look at my choices for books that were published & that I read this year. In the comment section, let me know what you think of my choices.

Best debut novel(s)

OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu was in my opinion one of the best debut novels. It was written wonderfully and the characterization of OCD and it’s variables was quite accurate.Splintered was also one of the best debut novels. It was definitely a “dark” book but so, SO good.

Best start of series

The Program by Suzanne Young. I adored this book more than I ever expected to. It was beautifully written and the characters were amazing.

Best series finale/ Continuation.

So I haven’t read any series finales this year so I decided to pick the best 2^nd book in a series. For that, I go with Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi. It was amazing and left me desperate for the final book in the trilogy.

Best standalone

There are not enough words in my vocabulary to accurately describe my love for If You Find Me. It was beautifully written and the characters were wonderful and enjoyable. It had all of those feelings that are so important to the enjoyment of the book.

Best unexpected favorite

My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi. It was one of my favorite YA contemporaries of the year. I bought this one after a friend recommended it to me. I had no clue how much I would love it.

Best all around

The Program by Suzanne Young. I had heard some iffy things about it prior to purchasing it but I went ahead in purchased it anyway. It had romance, action and all the feels that a reader could ever want.

Most anticipated 2014 book

My most anticipated 2014 book is definitely Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi. I am dying to see what happens to all of the characters.

Cover Love

The cover of Splintered is absolutely gorgeous. I drooled over the cover for ages after I unwrapped it on Christmas morning. The pictures absolutely do not do it justice.

Waiting on Wednesday #1 The Treatment (The Program #2) by Suzanne Young

November 6, 2013June 28, 2015 by Alexia, posted in #2, April 2014, book 2, duology, excited, my favorite book of 2013, Suzanne Young, The Program, The Treatment, Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It’s purpose is to spotlight upcoming releases that we are eagerly waiting for.

My Pick This Week

Book Information

Title: The Treatment (The Program #2)

Author: Suzanne Young

Release Date: April 29th, 2014

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Series: Book 2 in The Program duology

Genre: YA/Dystopian

Book Link

Goodreads

Pre-Order

Amazon

My Reaction

Oh my goodness, I cannot wait! The Program was my favorite book of 2013. It had everything a person could want in a book, especially the all-important feels. A whole lot of feels.After the way The Program ended, I have no clue what The Treatment has in store for us readers. All I know is that I need more of James, Sloane and Realm. I don’t know how I am going to be able to wait until April to get my hands on this one.Which is why I am hoping that Edelweiss approves me for this title.

So what book are YOU waiting for?

Review: The Program (The Program #1) by Suzanne Young

September 11, 2013June 28, 2015 by Alexia, posted in 5 Stars, Brady, Dystopian, epidemic, James, Lacey, Miller, Sloane, suicide, Suzanne Young, The Program, YA

Book Title: The Program

Author: Suzanne Young

Published Date: April 30th, 2013

Published By: Simon and Schuster

Genre: YA/Dystopian

Series: Book 1 in The Program series

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

Disclaimer: This book was purchased by me.

Review:

I really wasn’t sure about this one initially. It had gotten a few not so good reviews from people I trust so I was a little iffy. Thank goodness I took a chance on this one. Oh my goodness it was amazing and heartbreaking at the same time.

One would think that a program to help the suicidal would be a good thing right? Well it’s not. The program essentially wipes your memory under the guise of removing the infected memories.When the Program releases the participants of the program,the returners are shells of who they used to be. They don’t remember their connections to anyone around them.

My heart ached for Sloane. She had gone through so much in such a short time,her brother committed suicide,her best friend doesn’t remember her and then her other best friend commits suicide. She had every right to feel depressed. The one thing that seemed to help her was her relationship with James. James had this ability to pull her out of whatever she was feeling, even if it only lasted a moment.I adored James. His sole purpose seemed to be, keeping Sloane safe.

No matter how much they love each other,they can’t hide from the program.I just couldn’t believe this.It felt like a never-ending circle of sadness and that was so heartbreaking. The idea of being forced to forget everything and everyone who you love was completely uncomphrensible to me.

The second part of the book wasn’t as heartbreaking as it focused more on the idea that even if you had your whole life essentially erased, would you still end up in the same place,around the same people. Now you have to rely on what people tell you which is hard as the families and friends who do remember the “old” you cannot tell you the truth about some things. Now you aren’t even sure that you can trust the very people you once trusted wholeheartedly.

I know that there were some mixed feelings on Realm. I liked him but he does have an air of mystery around him that I find very compelling. I have a feeling we’ll learn more about him as the series goes on.

This series is definitely my new favorite Dystopian series. It’s new and fresh. It doesn’t recycle the same old formula.I zipped through this book at lightening speed and I cannot wait to find out what happens next in this series. It was a perfect start to what I’m sure is going to be an amazing series. Five stars to this book with its amazing characters and unique plot.