Unwind (Unwind Trilogy #1)

Reader reviewed by Chelsea, 2008 Teen Demi-Goddess

In Unwind, a demented society has taken root. A war has been fought between the prolife and prochoice groups, ending in a terrible contract.

Every child must be born, but if deemed unworthy, can be unwound between the ages of 13 and 18 basically killing the child in the process. Society agrees to this on the condition that every body part remains alive in another human being. Every single organ and limb of the unwind goes straight to the hospital to be used.

Unwind focuses on three children who, each for different reasons, are being sent to unwind centers, better known as Harvest Camps. After certain situations, all three find themselves fleeing their lives in order to remain whole.

In the beginning of the novel, I found it extremely hard to believe this could happen. The prolife supporters, who believe in saving childrens lives, would in no way agree to this process. And the Prochoice supporters sure, they can get rid of their kid, but only after thirteen years, and in an incredibly more horrific way. It was hard for me to grasp this, and impacted the first quarter of the book for me in a negative way.

But as I got deeper into the storyline, the plot thickened and it was easier to see why the society came to be. There were a few twists and turns that kept me surprised, and a whole lot of suspense. After the first quarter of the book, the storyline was fast-paced and extremely easy to get sucked into. I highly suggest this for fans of science fiction. Or anyone else, for that matter.

Reader reviewed by the book muncher

Imagine life in the future. The Second Civil War, also known as The Heartland War has been fought and eventually resolved by certain constitutional amendments known as The Bill of Life. So while human life may not be touched from conception until the age of thirteen, a child may be retroactively aborted between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. This process, known as unwinding doesnt technically end life, but separates all the body parts to be used for medical transplants. In this futuristic society, unwinding alters the meaning of life.

Unwinding is the fate set for three teens that meet by chance. Connor has always been a troublemaker, and his parents have finally had enough. Risa is a ward of the state, and budget cuts have forced Risa into this situation. Lev is the only one of the three who doesnt see unwinding as a terrible thing; rather, as a tithe, he accepts that being unwound is his purpose in life. In a deadly car crash, these teens escape the fate that awaits them at harvest camps and flee for their lives (although Lev is more of a kidnappee). In this incredible and thought-provoking novel, Neal Shusterman questions what it means to be human and the value of life.

Unwind may see like just a unique action novel, but it is so much more. The desperation, danger, and running-for-your-life sequences may thrill the action lover, but the story is more profound than that. It was actually quite difficult for me to read this novel because of the horrible atrocity called unwinding. Half the time, I couldnt even believe how inhuman some of the characters were to commit these morally wrong acts. What relieved me, though, was that for every bad thing, there was something good; the random acts of kindness strangers performed for the fugitives sometimes brought tears to my eyes. This novel revolves around the controversial topic of the pro-life/pro-choice debate, because it focuses on the sacredness of life. However, Shusterman does not take the topic from a religious or scientific perspective, but bases this book around moral everyone should have: everyone deserves the right to live and not just in the scientific sense that all your body parts are functioning, but living as a whole. All this was channeled into the lives of runaways who were slated to be unwound in this unforgettable story.

I cant really explain how amazing this novel was; youll just have to read it for yourself to understand. Just know that although most of the novel was pretty depressing, the story ends on a hopeful note. Fans of The Host by Stephenie Meyer, the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld, and Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer will also enjoy this novel.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com

Reader reviewed by mlecompt

After the war between the Pro-Choice and Pro-Life factions a compromise was made: it was decided that life begins at conception, but when a child is between the ages of 13 and 18 a parent or guardian can have him or her unwound. This means that almost all of the unwind's body parts will be used to replace other peoples' parts and the unwind will live on in essence.

Connor has always had a temper and causes a lot of trouble for his parents. They decide it would be easier to have him unwound. Risa lives in a state home, but she doesn't display enough talent in any area to allow her to survive budgets cuts, so she is slated to be unwound. Levi is from a very religious family that tithes ten percent of everything, including their children. He is going to unwound as a tithe. This book follows each of them as they try to escape their fates.

This book was very good, but very hard to read. It's difficult to imagine a world in which parents can send their troublesome teens away to be harvested for body parts, but Shusterman makes it real. The three main characters are compelling and they all grow a through the book. For me, the most interesting character was Levi. He is brought up believing that being tithed is a wonderful thing and he is doing it in the service of God, but when he doesn't end up at the harvest center as planned his entire world-view is thrown into question and he invents a whole new persona to cope with this loss. I highly recommend this book.