Mindwalker

Gr 9 Up—Lain lives alone, with only her stuffed squirrel, Nutter, for comfort; her holographic cat to meet her information needs; and a housekeeper who comes three times a week, to keep things running smoothly. When she's not in high school, the 17-year-old trains as a Mindwalker, an elite position wherein she helps troubled clients forget everything from painful romantic breakups to war crimes. Lain has the gifts to be one of the best Mindwalkers ever, but the frequent neural links with trauma victims are taking their toll on her own mental and physical health. In this highly controlled future, cloning is common, suicide pills are advertised openly, and shock collars are placed on those the authorities deem unstable. When Steven, a desperate Type Four classmate begs her to help him forget a childhood trauma, she goes against Dr. Swan and those at the Institute for Ethics in Neurotechnology, and sees him in secret. Steven's memories are more complicated and dangerous than either teen imagined, and it isn't long before Lain and Steven have short-circuited her self-driving car and gone on the run. As their friendship turns into mutual attraction, they realize that continuing to look for answers could prove deadly. This novel is more dystopian romance than pure science fiction.