Unwind

The science fiction novel Unwind, written by Neal Shusterman, follows the lives of “Unwinds” forced to run away from their parents, the police, and their past. The reason for their avoidance of the government and their escape from their parents -“The Bill of Life”. Unwind takes place in a near future where the Second Civil War has occurred here in the United States; the two opponents- those who argued about the human life and when it begun. After much bloodshed and loss an agreement was established between the Pro-choice and Pro-life armies, this agreement was called “The Bill of Life”. This bill stated that every child had a chance to live and grow up until they reached the age of thirteen. At the ages of thirteen to eighteen, however, parents had the legal right to have their child “unwound”, a process feared by most teenagers and its details hidden by the government. “Unwinding” is the process through which those chosen, or forced to undergo, donated their body parts. When three “Unwinds” -delinquent Conner, orphaned pianist Risa, and the willing “tithe” Lev- find one another, they all must help the other in an attempt to escape being “Unwound”. However their thrilling adventure, unbeknownst to them, will change and affect their entire world.

This book was amazing. From the very first chapter it has you wanting to keep reading and never putting the book down until you find out everything that happens. The incredibly vivid details and characters in this novel have you cheering for their success, wanting them to live their lives out and escape. In this novel every little detail counts. You cannot simply look over a small fact and not expect it to come back in the most mindboggling way. The close encounters with almost-death, betrayals, enemies, and slight romance keep you reading until the last page. Neal Shusterman incorporates current controversies and debates in a possible future that seems incredibly similar to our own society. This scary future seen through the eyes of those the most threatened. It is an overall, thrilling, exciting, thought provoking novel that truly has you rethinking your previous judgments from the beginning of the story.

I am suggesting this book, for it is a great book, and is among my many favorites. I spent a large amount of my free time reading Unwind. It is truly a book that has had me think over and over again about the issues we have today. This book has also given me a different perspective on the world. I began reading this book not expecting what I was going to obtain or learn from it. By the end I left this book in awe, almost inspired and hopeful. Unwind, written by Neal Shusterman, really is an amazing read, and I hope that many more people will choose to give it a chance.

Other books written by Neal Shusterman: Everlost, Everwild, Downsiders, Shattered Sky, Speeding Bullet…