The Remedy (Program)

"The Remedy" stands on its own as an excellent book. I purchased an e-copy without a clue that it was part of a wider series, and I enjoyed it tremendously. The concept is original and compelling: 'The Closer' is a therapeutically trained stand-in for a loved one who has been lost. The Closer has natural empathy and refined talents at mimicry. They gently guide back those who have been thrown to the edge of the abyss by tragedy. By its nature, the book has a lot to say about the grief process, and the goals of a healer caring for those who suffer from a wound that can never truly be healed. Grief and healing paths are elements upon which Suzanne Young builds her compelling story, but what dominates and drives the story is skilled character conception and development. From the earliest pages, you care about the characters. They take on a unique life and humanity. Add in a whirlwind of plot twists, and place it all within a dystopic society that cares less about human rights than it does about forcing role conformity, and you have a 'can't put it down' read. Here are some of the questions the story deals with: What would it be like to live in a world where individual privacy was considered to be a danger to the government? Where even the youngest school children are compelled to journal their lives - only to have these intimacies coldly scrutinized and cataloged by a heartless ruling class? What would it feel like to see a loved one, lost to tragedy, live again? Not only looking like the person you lost, but also speaking like them, acting like them? To know that the person was gone, but to see them essentially reincarnated by a Closer who was privy to their innermost thoughts and emotions? To grasp onto that person like a life preserver, while knowing that like Cinderella's carriage, the stand-in version would vanish forever in a few short days? What would you say to them? Would you eat favorite foods together with them, or sob out feelings of guilt and rage, or recoil at the Doppelganger that only great need and great wealth can afford? What would it feel like be be a Closer? Would you lose out on the chance to live life yourself? Would you become immersed in your own skills at enabling suspension of disbelief until you had lost your own soul? If there was such a therapy, and if it began as well intentioned, might it be misused by the greedy and sociopathic? Far from offering cold academic answers, Suzanne Young has woven a tale marked by intensely human bonds, and driven by her character's relationships. With a style that manages to depict conflicted emotions without becoming maudlin or operatic, I commend Ms Young on her skilled plotting, and masterful pacing. I think you will love this YA read.

Amazing, surprising, heartbreaking, suspenseful, sinister. THE REMEDY is an absolutely riveting story that will draw readers into a world where closers – or replacements – are used to help those suffering from loss move past their grief. It’s a richly layered story filled with unexpected plot twists, shocking revelations, disturbing realities, conspiracies, secrets and lies. It’s a page-turner of a read that promises chills, tears, trepidation, anticipation and excitement. It’s a must read for fans of the series and new readers alike. Even with the heavy toll it took on her, Quinn McKee liked being a closer. She liked knowing that she could help families get over losing their loved ones. She liked being a part of those families even if it was just temporary. She liked becoming someone else even if it meant losing herself for a while. But when her latest assignment comes so soon after her last, promises to be even more challenging, and is to be the longest one she’ll have ever been on, she’s worried about losing herself completely. Especially when she learns that it’s not just the parents of the girl she’ll be replacing that she needs to help, but the boyfriend who loves her. And that she’ll be more exposed to those who despise what she does. And that there are things about this assignment that are being kept from her – things that threaten to change everything. Suzanne Young has brought all that was deliciously dark and disturbing and inventive and thought-provoking from her other books in this series to THE REMEDY. She introduces new characters, with fascinating new roles, places them in a world that is familiar yet different, and at a time that precedes the events in her other stories. She puts her main character Quinn’s strength and emotional stability to the test. She drops hints that things may not be as they seem. She gives readers a sense of foreboding about what is to come. And she delivers an ending that will be jaw-dropping even to those who see it coming. THE REMEDY is yet another incredibly imaginative story in this series where something designed to be helpful is in reality more harmful, where good intentions are corrupted by hidden motivations, and where deception and betrayal ensure that no one can be trusted. It is a story that can be read as an introduction to the series and its characters or one that will return readers to the world before The Program, where it all began. But whether new to the series or an existing fan, it will be a captivating, thrilling, edge-of-your-seat read that will leave readers desperate for the the next installment.

I loved this. I loved how she was a professional doing a job to help people, and we got to watch that process, and I loved her relationships outside of that job, hanging out with her boyfriend and friends. I loved the story. This is the first prequel to The Program series - third written, but first chronologically. It is by far the best, and I imagine particularly so if you haven't read any of the others. I really found exceptional the authenticity of the language and the naturalness of her with her friends. I also loved the very deliberately "not in her authentic voice" choices she made that were due to her job training, to help the family she was working with. This book is exceptional. Unfortunately, the next book, while reasonable to read and finishing off her story, is a run-of-the-mill story where her skill set seems to have completely deserted her. That ends Quinlan's involvement in the series and I don't recommend you move onto the next, particularly the 4th, unless you like a romantic triangle where the girl does nothing useful.

The Remedy is like a prequel to the first two books in this series, unexpectedly backing the reader up and fleshing out the circumstances that led to the development of The Program. Quinn is a likable, pitiable character and Young doesn’t pull punches as she explores the commodification of human empathy, and its effect on the closers’ mental health. I didn’t expect to like this book, but it’s been my favorite in the series so far, particularly for the chilling twist that I didn’t see coming.

i was confused on how this worked into the first 2 books, but it all started to click together and MAN the ending really made this book for mr

I absolutely loved this book, if I'm being honest, even more than the Program and the Treatment. I'm really looking forward to the next installment in this series, only coming out in April (but I already pre-ordered my copy-yay!). It's really interesting to get a different perspective on how this disease of depression came about. Also, I had to have this one as soon as possible. I had to wait a bit for it (without tracking details). It's a hardcover, and my other 2 copies of the Programm and the Treatment are paperbacks, so it doesn't really match in my library, but what the hell. :-) Beautiful cover, beautiful book. Me happy.

Ich liebe die Bücher von Suzanne Young und konnte es nicht abwarten, bis die deutsche Version des Buches rauskam. Also laß ich das ganze auf Englisch. Ich kann ihre Bücher nur jedem weiter empfehlen. Sie ist eine super Autorin mit Bezug zur Realität.

Love this series

Very good book , personally I liked The Program the best but this book leads up to that.

Amazing