SOLVED. YA Dystopian Fantasy series/ front cover is paper flower on water flowing from a sewer pipe/ about disfigured or disabled people being put in sewers by government. [s]

[Jen]

I'm looking for a YA fantasy Utopia/Dystopia book that I read as a teenager (around 14) in the very early 2000. It was an older book so potentially published in the 80s or 90s.
Front cover was a Paper flower flowing on a river/ body of water potentially from a sewer.

Spoiler alert for plot:
Main characters are older Teen/ 18+ Male and Female. They live in a society which has a border wall (to keep people in and unfriendlies out) its a Utopian society, but only because 10+ years ago the government decided to round up all the disabled and disfigured people and cast them out of the city forcing them into the sewers. Government believe there's no contact with these unwanted people, but they sometimes sneak into the city through sewer systems.
Male protagonist fancies Female protagonist and so, to impress her, tells her his secret. The secret being he knows about the sewer people because one of them is his brother (who was born without an arm). He takes her down into the sewers to meet his brother, and she ends up falling in love with the one armed brother.
The male protagonist is royally miffed by this turn of events and exposes the sewer people to the government.
The Paper flower on the front cover is relevant because I believe one of the sewer children (it may be the one armed brother) makes the flowers from old books and sends them out of the sewers to the 'surface world' as to show people they're down there.

If anyone remembers this book, or is able to tell me the title, I'd really appreciate it!

[Becca]

Waterbound by Jane Stemp?

[Jen]

Becca wrote: "Waterbound by Jane Stemp?"


Yes!!! That's it! Becca you are amazing. I am so happy, I've been trying to type into google anything to find this book for years.
Thank you so so much, a memory bubble from my young adulthood has just been solved.
Wow.
Thank you so much again, I'll change the status to solved!!!
Have a fabulous week!!!