“I was in The Program.”

From Suzanne Young’s Program: The Complication.

Tatum Masterson’s life has been thrown upside down just a simple conversation from her friend Nate; not only does she learn that her (sort-of-old) boyfriend, Wes, has returned to school after having his memory of her wiped (again), but she’s also just found out that she went through The Program last year and her memories of the mind-wiping-suicide-epidemic-stopping program was removed.  Her grandparents have been lying to her, friends have been lying to her, and the only person she feel she can trust is Wes… the boy she can’t be honest with for fear that the truth will fatally override his post-Program Adjustment.  However, Tate finds herself falling again for Wes and he seems to be also falling for her, but she keeps her time in The Program secret confiding instead in her friends (Foster and Nate).  As her memories begin to come crashing back, so does the fear that handlers are watching and waiting for her trip up (including the mysterious Michael Realm).  Tate’s desire to be with Wes grows with each shocking memory that she gets back, but she also starts to realize that she may be the cause of all his problems.  The more the Tate searches for answers into what happened to her both last year and as a child, the more it becomes apparent that her involvement with the Adjustment Office and The Program go deeper than anyone ever could have imagined.

The sixth and final book in the series really stands out as one of the catchiest stories besides the first novel; the action and suspense push the story forward quickly, but creates a strong plot as it goes.  Young manages to bring all three storylines together for one satisfying conclusion, blending characters (both good and bad) into one story that seems completely natural.  One issue that can be annoying is the importance of certain secondary characters can be forgotten due to the time between the publishing of the different books.  Overall, The Complication is a great book that almost seems to reward readers that have followed the story from the beginning, resulting in an exciting series that is well worth the read.