“I can’t remember the last time I cried.”

From Suzanne Young’s Program: The Adjustment.

The Program has been officially shut down and the teen patients released back into society.  The threat of being “erased” may be gone, but it is still a very big problem for Tate because her boyfriend (Wes) has already been through The Program.  Every time Tate sees Wes, she is reminded of all their special moments together, but Wes doesn’t even remember meeting Tate.  After an awkward (re)introduction at lunch, Wes and Tate begin to redevelop their friendship (Wes) and try to rebuild their relationship (Tate).  The problems quickly develop with the complicated emotions and missing memories, which causes them both to look into a mysterious “cure” called The Adjustment (run by Dr. McKee).  While things seem to be improving, fear soon grips Tate, Wes, and the entire school when teens that have returned from The Program start to experience more frequent and violent meltdowns.  Are these meltdowns something that can be fixed with The Adjustment? Or it The Adjustment a new form of The Program?

This is the 5th book in Young’s dystopian series and it acts as a well-developed bridge for the other books.  The book opens where the Sloane/James story finished, but it takes place near the people and places from the Quinn/Deacon story.  The story has a slightly lighter tone since The Program has been disbanded, but also a darker tone with Wes’ return and lack of memories a main focus of the storyline. The book moves quickly and seems to skip the unnecessary slow points that some of the other books suffered from; there may be calmer moments, but everything works together to constantly build the story.  Unneeded drama is left out, so that the characters can really connect with the reader.  The Adjustment is a strong addition to the series and definitely not a book to be missed.