Review Detail

The short synopsis I read of this book said teens age 13-18 could be Unwound. I figured I was buying a dystopian, and eagerly started to read. The premise is actually that the pro-life and pro-choice camps took up arms and fought a second civil war. The way they ended that war was to compromise on a bill that allowed parents to retroactively abort their children once they reach the age of 13.

He lost me.

I think he was trying to be thought provoking, but I just couldn't get past the complete improbability of this premise. The idea that the pro-life people would approve of ANY abortion, much less one while the child is a teenager, struck me as ludicrous. The idea that the pro-choice people would be fine with the killing of teenagers struck me as equally ludicrous. And in the book, HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of families have signed this order against their own children, and THAT really strikes me as ludicrous.

I also wasn't won over by the author's frequent use of exclamation points. It felt like it was written to a younger crowd, but the subject matter is clearly not intended for chapter book readers.

However, all of that aside, this book has a ton of action, some very interesting characters (I loved the character arc for Conner, one of the heroes), and the conclusion will keep readers on the edge of their seats. I'm sure it will have fans.