Delirium

In this version of Portland, Maine, the government teaches that love, called amor deliria nervosa, is the root of all unhappiness. Fences surround the city, curfews are strict, and every young person is evaluated, paired with a suitable match and cured by a brain procedure at eighteen. Lena Haloway, raised by her aunt after her mother's death, counts down the days to her own procedure and hopes for a quiet, sensible future.

Her best friend, Hana, is bolder and more curious about what lies beyond the rules. On the day of Lena's evaluation, a group of cows breaks into the lab and she glimpses Alex, a boy with an easy laugh who seems to know her. As summer goes on, he shows her secret parties, forbidden music and the Wilds, the forests outside the border where uncured people live free. Lena falls in love for the first time, and the more she feels, the more she sees the cruelty behind her calm world, including what really happened to her family.

Emotional and atmospheric, with a final chapter that sends readers straight to the sequel, Pandemonium. About 480 pages in paperback.