The Epidemic by Suzanne Young

Series: The Program (bk. 0.6) Prequel Duology

Genera(s): Near-future Dystopian Sci-fi/Romance/Thriller/Realistic

Subjects: death, love, mental disorders, suicide, mystery

Setting: Oregon

POV/Tense: 1st person POV, present tense: Sloane

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 378 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Summary/ product description: “Can one girl help others find closure by slipping into the identities of their loved ones? Find out in this riveting sequel to The Remedy and companion to the New York Times bestselling The Treatment and The Program.

In a world before The Program…

Quinlan McKee has spent her life acting as other people. She was a closer—a person hired to play the role of the recently deceased in order to give their families closure. Through this process, Quinn learned to read people and situations, even losing a bit of herself to do so. But she couldn’t have guessed how her last case would bring down her entire world.

The only person Quinn trusts is Deacon, her best friend and the love of her life. Except Deacon’s been keeping secrets of his one, so Quinn must set out alone to find Arthur Pritchard, the doctor who’s been trying to control her life. The journey brings Quinn to Arthur’s daughter, Virginia, who tells Quinn the truth about Pritchard’s motives. The former closer will start to see that she is the first step in fighting an epidemic.

But Quinlan doesn’t want to be a cure. And with all the lies surrounding her, she realizes she has no one left to rely on but herself—even if she doesn’t know who that is anymore.”

My Review:  The Epidemic if the sequel-finale to The Remedy in a prequel-duology to the The Program duology. It takes place in Oregon, not far from the other book’s setting. Quinlan McKee was a closer, a person that pretend to be the deceased person to help family members move on. Now she’s discovered her life is a lie. That she was the closer for the real Quinlin when she was six.

Quinlan feels betrayed by her boyfriend Deacon, and her father (who’s not her real father). Quinn does her best to ditch Deacon and hide. She ends up taking on the identity of Elizabeth Major and enrolls at the school that Arther Pritchard’s daughter Virginia attends. Pritchard runs the Department of Grief, so she hopes to gain Virginia trust to get information about her real identity. Also, at Virginia’s school, there’s been a bunch of suicides. This is the beginning of an epidemic of copy-cat behavior. A suicide cluster, and the deaths are only rising.

This book was definitely better than the previous one. It was much more thrilling and it definitely kept my attention. The twist at the end of the previous book set up for a great sequel. The romance was also enjoyable and the dialogue was pretty fun. I like Deacon, even if he hid some of his life from Quinn. I also liked the other closer Reed, who seemed a little narcissistic, but he had some experiences that really affected him emotionally.  

This series has been a unique experience. It’s not quite dystopian, but it’s still considered dystopian because it’s about a shift in society to something unethical. It takes the tough subject of suicide and turns it into a dystopian. This Department of Grief is trying to wipe memories and control emotions. If you enjoyed the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver, them you might enjoy this series too.

Cover Art Review: Nothing special looking. Pretty basic.