ARC Review: The Remedy - Suzanne Young

Title: The Remedy
Author: Suzanne Young
Pub Date: April 21st, 2015
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Page Count: 320

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.

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Ladies and gentlemen, Suzanne Young has done it again. - Nova @ Out of Time

When I heard that Suzanne Young was releasing a new book, I freaked. When I heard that it was a prequel to The Program, I freaked even harder. To those who don't know, I am a complete fangirl for the series. There was just something that hit me when reading both The Program and The Treatment. I'm so glad I get to experience those feels again in this installment.

Since we aren't dealing with Sloane and James [the protags in The Program], I wasn't sure how I was going to feel with this new girl, Quinn. Fortunately, I connected to her pretty easily. She wasn't the same as Sloane. I felt her to be a lot more vulnerable, more susceptible to the chaos around her. But she was definitely strong and persistent which led to me admiring her.

Also, I don't usually do this, but can I just take a moment to appreciate Deacon? First I fell in love with James from The Program and now there's Deacon. This guy is charming, funny and despite what Quinn repeatedly [with good reason] keeps saying, I found him to be pretty nice. Like all the ladies, please proceed to either swoon or fangirl because Deacon was just such a great part of the book.

The plot wasn't actually what I was expecting. We're told that Quinn is a closer, someone who dresses up and acts like a dead family member to help the rest of the family grieve. I don't know why, but in my mind, she appeared like Mystique from X-Men. Really, she wears a wig and studies diaries and footage of who she's playing. When I found this out, it actually lessened my excitement but not by much.
Honestly, I didn't find this book thrilling like The Treatment was and that's okay. It would've been better if it were thrilling but this book chooses to go another road. Quinn constantly dances the line of sanity and insanity by playing her roles. Sometimes she'll almost... forget who she is and it causes her a great turmoil. I felt like it was executed so well because we get right inside her head and can see the problems with the jobs that she does.

What was a bit of a damper was that it got boring somewhere in the middle. The idea initially felt really fresh and new. And it was. Unfortunately, it started to feel pointless because nothing was really happening. There was a mystery to Catalina's death but if you've read The Program, you'll probably get it quicker than Quinn did.
It was only nearing the end did the bomb drop. It wasn't what I expected, which is definitely on the bright side, but this book didn't feel complete. I found it to be open ended and almost... unsatisfying given everything that Quinn has done. Even after I read the ending, I didn't feel like it was done.

Overall, Suzanne's writing continues to bring out the fangirl in me. I'm always excited to read what she writes and The Remedy was no exception. While it had its faults, I found it enjoyable and well done in comparison to the rest of its series that I love so much.

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Originally from New York, Suzanne Young moved to Arizona to pursue her dream of not freezing to death. She currently resides in Tempe, where she teaches high school English. When not writing obsessively, Suzanne can be found searching her own tragic memories for inspiration.

Suzanne is the author of several books for teens, including THE PROGRAM, A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL, and A WANT SO WICKED. Friend her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @suzanne_young.