Book Review: Unwind by Neal Shusterman

I have never personally heard of this author or the series that has captivated my attention for the past month, I had Pinned a page entitled "If you like the Hunger Game series, then you'll love these books" or something like that. This was on the list and I decided to give it a try since the series I really wanted to read was not at my library.
 
Unwind is the 1st book in the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman. This series time frame is  about 50-70 years in the future - basically, you and me are old folks. There was a big war between Pro-Life and Pro-Choice people and the only way they could settle on an agreement to end the war was to ban abortion; however, if a parent felt as if their child was unfit for society or was better off not being born, between the ages of 13-18, a parent can sign an order to "unwind" their child.
 
Unwind means to send that child off to a Harvest Camp where his/her body would be "donated" to other people (regardless if the part is needed for injury purposes or personal purposes). However, according to the law, the child has to remain conscience during the entire process of unwinding, because that way it's not killing them outright. After the procedure, the doctors name this state the "undivided state" because you are not techincally dead, nor technically alive.

So you have a world that has all these parts from unwind children - there is no such thing has donors anymore because, in the book, about 20% of teenagers are unwind - meaning that if you wanted a new set of eyes, you'll get a perfect 20/20 vision set of eyeballs from a child who was unwind.

In Unwind, you'll mean three main characters:

Connor - a 16 year old boy who has gotten into minor trouble during his teenage years by stealing and getting into fights. His parents signed the unwind order and he found vacation tickets that didn't include him, and then he found the unwind order. The cops came to his house to collect Connor to send him to the Harvest Camp to get unwound.

Risa - another 16 year old who was raised in the State Home - these homes were built by the state because, since abortion was no longer legal, a mother who didn't want her baby could "Stork" her baby by placing the infant on a step of a house. When the owners found the baby on their doorstep, it is legally theirs. If that particilar couple or person didn't want to raise the baby, they could place the baby in the State Home. The State Homes were going through cut backs because too many babies were coming in and they needed to make room. Risa was chosen to be unwound and was sent onto a bus to go to the Harvest Camp.

Lev - a 13 year old Tithe. A Tithe was a child who was taught from the beginning that they were God's chosen child to be given back to Him- hence Tithe. Most tithes were unwound at the age of 13, and were taught from day one that their mission in life is to help others while being in the undivided state. So Lev was actually on his way to one of the Harvest Camps, anxiously anticipating his time to be unwound.

The three all meet up in one massive collision, where they find themselves running from the Juvenile Authority (also called the Juvie Cops). Lev comes to his senses soon enough and Connor and Risa get into a safe house for runaway unwinds where they are transported to a airport graveyard that is a safe haven until they turn 18 and are no longer under the unwind law. The graveyard is operated by a Navy Admiral, who actually goes by the name of The Admiral.

But trouble arises from the graveyard and hell breaks lose. Dead bodies are found and The Admira'ls reputation starts being questioned by a rough teenager named Roland. Soon enough, Connor, Risa and Roland find themselves in a Harvest Camp because Roland's plan backfired on him.

Roland gets unwound. Connor's next. But something happens - clappers. Clappers are teenagers who have injected their blood with explosives and all it takes is one clap to explode. When Connor enters the Chop Shop - the name given for where teenagers are unwound - two clappers explode themselves and Connor's life is spared - but he loses consciousness due to lost of blood and shock.

Connor becomes conscience in the hospital and when Risa visits him, she's in a wheelchair. She refused a spine from an unwind. Since Connor was not conscious, he had gotten a new arm and a new eye since the explosion took off one arm.

Lev - who was actually one of the clappers who did not clap because he came to his senses before doing so - is being held at a prison and arms spread wide to make sure he would not clap as the doctors detoxed his body from the explosive fluid coursing through his bloodstream.

My Take:

I really, really enjoyed this book! The twist and turns that Shusterman puts in his novel was well done! You get to explore the feelings behind these teenagers as their lives are in danger - from their parents. The three characters are from all sorts of backgrounds and unwinding means something differently to each one. Lev was convince that his life was meaningless if he did not follow what he believed God wanted, which was to be unwound. Risa never thought she would be unwound because she was not the typical trouble maker or any sort like the children who were usually unwound. She was the victim of government cuts. Connor made a few bad choices and his parents signed the contract to unwind him because instead of helping him, they gave up.

I don't know what side Shusterman is on - if he sides with Pro-Life or Pro-Choice, but what I do find interesting is how he depicts the emotion of unwinding and the consequences of unwinding. In the book, you meet a kid who had part of his brain replaced from an unwound kid. His name is Cy-Fy and he developed memories of the places that the kid had and how eventually, the kid over takes Cy-Fy all together. Because the unwound kid had a bad habit of stealing, Cy-Fy stole like it was second nature - even though he didn't want to. When the unwound kid over takes Cy-Fy, you realize very quickly that the kid didn't know he had been unwound. And now Cy-Fy had to deal with a whole new traumatic experience because of unwinding.

I also liked how Shusterman deals with unwinding in the series by describing how easily accepted it was by people. People took advantage of it to the point of if a person didn't like the color eyes they had, all they had to do is get a new set of eyes. If someone wanted to play the guitar and didn't want to learn how, they just had to get a new set of arms from a kid who knew how to play the guitar. In the book, the muscles from unwind children still had muscle memory. It just goes to show how Americans are too lazy to do something on their own most of the time - unwind is a easy way out.

It also deals with the issue of dealing with rebellious teenagers to an extent - rather than showing love or discipline, parents sign a waiver to get rid of their kid, resting in the lying reassurance that their body parts will be used for the "greater good". It goes back to the American way of thinking - it's an easy way out. Don't deal with the trouble - just get it out of your life in whatever fashion that may be. It shows how easily a human heart can be turned from their own child. 

It's such a good book as far as the questions that Shusterman asks and how he starts developing the answers. So, yes, if you enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy, then you'll enjoy this book!

Here's a short film of the book Unwind: It's the take from the teenager who is becoming unwound. It's intense, but it gives you a sense of what this world that Connor, Risa, and Lev live in.