Sunday, September 13, 2015

Book Review: The Program

Book Review: 

The Program
by: Suzanne Young

 


General Information:

Genre: YA; dystopian
Copyright: 2013
Pages: 405
Price: $8.87
ISBN: 9781442445802


Synopsis: In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program. 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.


Cover: I believe the cover went with the book but I didn't like it all that much. I thought it was well designed for the book because the "program" is very clean and pristine which is what the cover looks like.  Of course this review is only for The Program but I do not like that the second cover doesn't go with this one. Series covers should all look similar but these don't. 


Theme: This is a dystopian book so it is set far into the future in a world that is not like ours but an over lying theme that you can take from this is to stick up for yourself. I understand the rules of the world but you can still stand up! 


Point of View: The narrator is Sloane; everything that happened was in her point of view. It was in first person.

Intended Audience: This is a YA book. It was written for the older bracket of YA because there were bigger words and not written below teenagers. 

Author Style: It sounded like Suzanne Young was a very smart writer and knew what she was talking about. I even had to look up some words!

Characters: Sloane: I really liked her in the beginning because she genuinely stuck to her guns and was open and honest. By the end of the book she totally changed in what she was doing and her attitude. The author really wrote her well because it felt like you actually knew her. 
James: Yet again I loved him in the beginning because he was such a good person but I don't know if he was supposed to be perceived as this but by the end of the book he was a horrible person! He was one of my most hated characters. 

Plot: The idea of this book was really cool but I wish the world was a little more built up. Suzanne Young wrote the entire plot really well to make it flow really well. But I will have to say that there was a lot of information included that was not important to the story.

Setting: It took place in the future. It was set in a neighborhood and in the program. 

My Opinion: I really liked the book because all in all it was a great story and world. It left me wanting to read the next one right away. It did have a lot of slow parts but I have to remind myself that it is only to give the information that's needed. But on the other hand there were no really big 'Wow' moments. I am going to be picking up the next book in the near future but it didn't live up to the hype. If you are looking for a good dystopian you could pick this one up but you might want to look for another one.  

Score: Image result for 4 out of 5 stars

Would you recommend this book?  Maybe 

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Image result for pivot point book      

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Book Review: This Book is Gay

Book Review: 

This book is Gay
by: James Dawson






Here is the link to my youtube review - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saJ1WPySZyQ

General Information:

Copyright date: 2015
Genre: Non-Fiction YA
Pages: 271
Price: $9.17 (via link below)
ISBN: 9781471403958


 Synopsis: Former PSHCE teacher and acclaimed YA author James Dawson gives an uncensored look at what it's like to grow up as LGBT. Including testimonials from people 'across the spectrum', this inclusive book explores everything anyone who ever dared to wonder wants to know - from sex to politics, how to pull, stereotypes, how to come-out and more. Spike Gerrell's hilarious illustrations combined with funny and factual text make this a must-have read.


Cover: Wow - This cover makes a statement but a really good statement! I'm sure many people will not pick this book up if they are homophobes just because of the title and the rainbow cover but I personally love how gay it is! It is so simple and well said.


Theme: Since this is a non-fiction book there is not really a theme but it is clearly all about LGBTQ issues. 

 Point of View: Yet again - its a non-fiction book so it is just written for the reader. It kinda seems like your reading a college class lecture. 


Intended Audience: This book is literally written for everyone! It is not written towards younger or older people. It is on the YA shelves though.


Author Style: James Dawson is an excellent writer! He takes the seriousness of a situation and puts a spin on it and makes you smile in the same sentence. He writes smart enough but not to smart to make you feel stupid. 


Characters: There are no characters in this book. Only blurbs from different people about the issues talked about. He did add in stories from some people that had been really affected by some of the issues. This was the only problem I had with it because since he is in England all of the blurbs were from the UK. They were still good but being from the USA I would have wanted to read some from people here. 


Plot: Yet again there is no real plot since it is non-fiction but there were a lot of topics that come up. There is nothing he is scared to talk about. 


Setting: Every where I guess I could say because the people that blurb are from the UK but all these issues are throughout the world. 


My Opinion: This was one of the best books of 2015! I have read so many this year so far but this one just puts all of those to bed. It makes you laugh, cry, smile and so many other emotions that you never thought you would have with a book. His great writing style and way he talks about the serious issues that everyone needs to be aware of makes it so easy to read. Not many people read non-fiction because they automatically think it is not worth reading because if they wanted to know about that topic they would have learned it in school or some other medium. Of course since I am a lesbian and have been submersed in the culture since before I came out I knew a lot of the information he spoke about but it was still some new ways of thinking. He made it fun to learn! I believe that everyone wither they are under the classification of LGBTQ or not should read this book! I do not think I can even speak enough justice for this one! 


Score:

Would you recommend this book?  YES! 
Want to buy this book?  http://www.bookdepository.com/This-Book-is-Gay-James-Dawson/9781471403958

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