Books Like The Program

Ally Condie

Like The Program, it imagines a controlled society that decides what citizens may feel and choose. Cassia's growing attraction to a forbidden person mirrors Sloane's secret love with James.

Lauren Oliver

Love is treated as a disease in this world, so the central romance is an act of rebellion. Lena's slow awakening carries the same tension between obedience and feeling that drives The Program.

Veronica Roth

A teen must hide who she really is inside a rigid system that punishes difference. Its blend of fierce loyalty, fear of being discovered and a strong romance will suit fans of Sloane's story.

Jay Asher

Like The Program, it deals directly with teen suicide and the grief it leaves behind. Its emotionally charged narration will appeal to readers drawn to Sloane's struggle with buried pain.

Jennifer Niven

A love story between two struggling teens, told with honesty about depression. Readers who connected with Sloane and James's bond under the weight of despair will find it equally moving.

Ned Vizzini

A teen checks himself into a psychiatric ward and tells the story with wry humour. It takes mental health seriously in the same way The Program does, but with a lighter, hopeful voice.

Lois Lowry

A society erases pain and emotion to keep order, and a young protagonist begins to see what is missing. Its quiet unease about a perfectly managed world echoes the heart of The Program.

M. T. Anderson

Technology has taken over how teens think and feel, leaving them numb and easily manipulated. Its sharp satire of a world that sells comfort at any cost suits fans of Sloane's surveillance-filled life.

Neal Shusterman

Teenagers are legally harvested in a society that treats life as something to be managed. Its unflinching look at a system that trades young lives for social peace will resonate with readers of The Program.

Suzanne Collins

A teen is forced into a deadly spectacle by a state that controls its people through fear. Its tense, first-person pacing and sharp focus on survival will appeal to fans of The Program's relentless stakes.

Scott Westerfeld

Everyone is forced into a procedure at sixteen that enforces conformity. Its questions about identity, control and what a society is willing to sacrifice echo the themes of The Program.

James Dashner

Teens are trapped in a mysterious system with no memory of how they got there. The fast pace and the sense of being watched and managed will suit readers who loved Sloane's constant peril.